Yes, Illinois has a lemon law. The Illinois lemon law, formally called the New Vehicle Buyer Protection Act (815 ILCS 380), lets you demand a replacement vehicle or a full refund when the manufacturer can’t fix a serious defect in your new car after a reasonable number of attempts. Those attempts have to happen within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first, and you have 18 months from the delivery date to sue.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 815 ILCS 380 – New Vehicle Buyer Protection Act
Which Vehicles and Buyers Qualify
The law covers new vehicles bought or leased in Illinois for at least a year: passenger cars, trucks and vans with a gross vehicle weight under 8,000 pounds, recreational vehicles (but not camping trailers or travel trailers), and fire department vehicles.2Justia Law. Illinois Code 815 ILCS 380 – New Vehicle Buyer Protection Act Motorcycles, heavy commercial trucks, and used cars are not covered.
You also have to qualify as a “consumer,” which the statute defines as the person who originally bought or leased the vehicle primarily for personal, family, or household use.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 815 ILCS 380 – New Vehicle Buyer Protection Act If you picked up the car secondhand from a private seller while it was still under warranty, the statute does not clearly extend to you. Leases are treated the same as purchases.
What Counts as a Qualifying Defect
Not every problem triggers the law. The defect has to be a “nonconformity” — a failure to meet the manufacturer’s express warranty that substantially impairs the vehicle’s use, safety, or market value.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 815 ILCS 380 – New Vehicle Buyer Protection Act Brakes that fail intermittently, a transmission that slips out of gear, an engine that stalls without warning: those qualify. A cosmetic scratch or a minor rattle will not.
The manufacturer can also defeat your claim by showing the problem came from abuse, neglect, or unauthorized modifications. Aftermarket parts and non-dealer repairs give them that opening. Keep the car in its factory configuration and take it to authorized dealers for every repair.
How Many Repair Attempts Are Enough
Your car doesn’t become a legal lemon the first time something breaks. You have to give the manufacturer a fair chance to fix it, and all the qualifying repair attempts must take place during the statutory warranty period: the first 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first.3Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 815 ILCS 380 – New Vehicle Buyer Protection Act
The law presumes the manufacturer has had enough chances when either of these happens inside that window:
- The same defect has been subject to repair four or more times by the seller or an authorized dealer, and it still isn’t fixed.
- The vehicle has been out of service for repairs for a cumulative total of 30 or more business days. The days don’t have to be consecutive.
Hit either threshold and you have the legal basis to demand a replacement or refund.4Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 815 ILCS 380/3 – Failure of Vehicle to Conform; Remedies; Presumptions Documentation decides these cases. Save every repair order and receipt. Write down the day you dropped the car off and the day you picked it up. If the dealer and the manufacturer later argue about how many business days the car was in the shop, your paper trail is what settles it.
Replacement or Refund
Once the threshold is met, the manufacturer has two choices: give you a replacement vehicle of the same model line (or a comparable one if yours is no longer available), or take the car back and refund you.4Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 815 ILCS 380/3 – Failure of Vehicle to Conform; Remedies; Presumptions
A refund covers the full purchase or lease price plus collateral charges like registration and dealer fees. Sales tax is specifically excluded from collateral charges, so you won’t get that back.4Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 815 ILCS 380/3 – Failure of Vehicle to Conform; Remedies; Presumptions If a lender holds a lien, the refund gets split between you and the lienholder according to each party’s interest.
The manufacturer gets to subtract a “reasonable allowance” for the use you got out of the car. This isn’t a simple per-mile deduction. The statute defines it as wear and tear accumulated before you first reported the defect, plus miles you drove during periods when the car wasn’t in the shop.4Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 815 ILCS 380/3 – Failure of Vehicle to Conform; Remedies; Presumptions Time the car spent at the dealer being repaired doesn’t count against you. The practical lesson: report problems the moment they appear, because every mile you put on the car before that first complaint grows the offset.
The Informal Dispute Settlement Step
Before you can file suit, you may have to go through the manufacturer’s informal dispute settlement program. That requirement only kicks in if the manufacturer has actually established a program, the program substantially complies with the federal rules at 16 CFR Part 703, and you received adequate written notice of it (often tucked into the warranty booklet).5Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 815 ILCS 380/4 – Informal Settlement Procedure; Notice If no qualifying program exists, you can go straight to court.
To open a dispute, contact the manufacturer’s designated representative, not the dealership. The contact information is usually in your owner’s manual.6Illinois Attorney General. Things You Should Know About Lemon Law The panel’s decision does not bind either side. You can reject it and sue, though whatever the panel found becomes admissible evidence in that case. If the panel rules in your favor and the manufacturer refuses to comply, you can sue to enforce it.5Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 815 ILCS 380/4 – Informal Settlement Procedure; Notice
Deadline to Sue and Attorney Fees
You have 18 months from the date the vehicle was delivered to you to file a lemon law suit.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 815 ILCS 380 – New Vehicle Buyer Protection Act The clock starts the day you drive off the lot, not the day the defect appears. Time spent in the informal dispute settlement process extends the deadline by the number of days your claim was pending there.5Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 815 ILCS 380/4 – Informal Settlement Procedure; Notice
If you win, the court can award your reasonable costs and expenses, including attorney fees based on your lawyer’s actual time. The award is discretionary with the judge, but the fact that the statute authorizes fees is why many lemon law attorneys will take a valid case on contingency. Not being able to pay upfront should not stop you from pursuing a strong claim.
Used Cars Are Not Covered
The New Vehicle Buyer Protection Act applies only to new vehicles. If you bought a used car, even a certified pre-owned one, this statute does not protect you.6Illinois Attorney General. Things You Should Know About Lemon Law Used-car buyers who received a written warranty may still have a claim under the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act if the warranty wasn’t honored, but that’s a separate route from the Illinois lemon law.