Florida’s Lemon Law covers new vehicles purchased for personal, on-road use only for a period of two years from the date of purchase. There is no stated mileage limit; please consult with the state if you have a high mileage vehicle.

Vehicles that weigh more than 10,000 pounds gross, vehicles designed for off road use are exempt from the law, as are motorcycles and the living facilities of recreational vehicles. The drive portion of RVs are covered, as are small trucks and vans.

Dealers of new cars are required to provide a written copy of the law to consumers at the time of purchase.

Under Florida law, vehicles may qualify as a lemon if they meet the following requirements:

• Have a defect that affects the safety, use or market value of the vehicle. As with most such laws, exempted are vehicles which have a defect due to abuse, neglect or unauthorized modification by someone other than the manufacturer or dealer.
• The vehicle must have been in the shop three or more times for repair of the same problem and the dealer must have been unable to repair the defect.
• Or a vehicle must have been out of service because of the defect for a cumulative total of 15 days for unsuccessful attempts to repair the problem. This is a fairly generous timetable; most states require 30 days or more.

Once a vehicle has qualified as a lemon, the owner should notify the manufacturer of his or her interest in obtaining relief through the lemon law. Florida law requires the manufacturer to replace the vehicle with a comparable vehicle of equal value or to refund the purchase price, once the manufacturer has had one final opportunity to repair the problem.

Terms of available refunds vary depending on whether the vehicle was financed or purchased with cash and the state offers a set formula for determining the reasonable adjustment for use by the owner. This value is derived by dividing the number of miles driven by 120,000, which is the expected life of the vehicle. The mileage figure used for recreational vehicles is 60,000. The resulting figure is the percentage of the vehicle’s price which is to be deducted from the refund amount.

If the manufacturer offers an arbitration program within the state, the owner must submit to this program. If the owner is not satisfied with the results of this arbitration procedure, he or she may submit to the arbitration procedure provided by the Florida New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board.

To obtain a copy of the consumer guide to the state’s statute, or to speak with someone about your defective vehicle, consumers in Florida may call the Lemon Law Hotline at 1-800-321-5366, or 1-850-488-2221 for consumers outside Florida.

If you live in the Sunshine State and have a car that you think may qualify, you may fill out a Defect Notification Form. This form is in Adobe Acrobat format.

If you are going through difficulties with your car, pickup truck or minivan, you may find that you need a lawyer. LegalMatch can help locate an experienced attorney for you in your area. Confidentiality is guaranteed, all lawyers are licensed, and there is no charge to apply.