Illinois Lemon Law Basics

The Illinois Lemon law applies to any written express warranty on the vehicle for one year or 12,000 miles driven, whichever is shorter. If the warranty has already expired, the Lemon Law does not apply. The manufacturer or dealer must repair a vehicle in accordance with the warranty if the defect or problem is covered by the warranty and the owner reports it within the warranty period or 12 months after delivery of the vehicle, whichever comes first. As long as the problem is reported within the warranty period, the manufacturer or dealer must make repairs, even if the warranty subsequently runs out.

The Illinois Lemon law has special provisions for vehicles with serious problems -- the real lemons. If the dealer or manufacturer is unable to repair a vehicle's problem after a reasonable number of attempts, the buyer or person leasing the vehicle has a right to go to the manufacturer's arbitration program or to court and seek a replacement vehicle or a full refund of the purchase or lease price. What constitutes a reasonable number of attempts depends on the problem. A reasonable number is four or more unsuccessful attempts to correct the same problem, more than one unsuccessful attempt to correct a problem that causes a complete failure of the steering or braking system if the defect is likely to cause death or serious bodily harm, or any warranty repairs that cause the vehicle to be out of service for repairs for 30 or more business days.

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