Buying a new vehicle is supposed to mean buying a vehicle you can depend on. If your new car, truck, or SUV keeps going back to the dealership for the same problem, it is natural to start wondering:
How many times does a new car have to be repaired before it is considered a lemon in
Nevada?
The short answer is that there is an important four-repair benchmark under Nevada law, but the answer is more complicated than simply counting repair visits.
Nevada’s Lemon Law looks at whether a manufacturer has had a reasonable number of
opportunities to repair a vehicle and whether the defect substantially impairs the vehicle’s use and value.
Four repair attempts are an important Nevada benchmark
Under Nevada law, there is a presumption that a reasonable number of attempts have been made when the same nonconformity has been repaired four or more times by the
manufacturer, its agent, or an authorized dealer during the applicable period and the problem continues.
That can be extremely important. For example, imagine you purchase a new SUV and experience a serious transmission problem.
You take it to the dealership.
- First visit: the dealer updates the transmission software.
- Second visit: the dealer replaces a transmission component.
- Third visit: the dealer performs another repair.
- Fourth visit: the dealer says the vehicle has been repaired, but the transmission problem returns.
At that point, you may have an important Lemon Law issue to investigate.
But there is an important distinction:
Four repair visits do not automatically mean you have won a Lemon Law case.
The nature of the problem, the repair history, whether the same nonconformity continues, the applicable warranty, and other facts matter.
What if the vehicle has different problems?
This is one of the most common questions.
Suppose your new vehicle has:
- a transmission problem;
- an electrical problem;
- an air-conditioning problem; and
- a navigation problem.
You might have four repair visits, but that does not necessarily mean the four-repair
presumption applies in the same way as four attempts to repair the same nonconformity.
That does not necessarily mean you have no claim.
A vehicle can have serious problems involving different systems. The overall repair history, time out of service, seriousness of the defects, and effect on the vehicle can all matter.
The 30-day rule is another important benchmark
Nevada law also provides a presumption that a reasonable number of repair attempts have occurred when the vehicle has been out of service for repairs for a cumulative total of 30 or more calendar days during the applicable period, subject to the statutory provisions concerning circumstances beyond the manufacturer’s or dealer’s control.
This means you should not focus only on the number of repair orders.
A vehicle that has spent weeks in the dealership’s service department may present a very different situation from a vehicle that has been repaired four times for short visits.
Keep every repair order
If you are concerned that your vehicle may have a serious warranty problem, start collecting your records.
Keep:
- every repair order;
- every warranty claim;
- invoices;
- dealership emails;
- text messages;
- appointment confirmations;
- towing records;
- rental-car records;
- photographs and videos;
- warning-light photographs;
- communications with the manufacturer; and
- notes about when the problem occurred.
Do not rely on your memory six months later.
The repair order may say one thing while you remember something different.
What if the dealer says the problem is fixed?
This happens frequently.
A dealer may return your vehicle and tell you:
“We fixed it.”
Then the problem comes back.
Repeated unsuccessful repairs can be important evidence that the manufacturer has been
unable to conform the vehicle to its warranty.
What should you do after the fourth repair?
Do not assume that your only option is to continue taking the vehicle back indefinitely.
Instead, review the complete repair history.
Ask:
- What exactly is the defect?
- How many times has it been reported?
- How many times has the same problem been repaired?
- How many total days has the vehicle been unavailable?
- Is the vehicle still under the manufacturer’s original warranty?
- When was the vehicle delivered?
- What does each repair order say?
- Has the manufacturer offered a settlement or buyback?
- Is there a manufacturer dispute-resolution procedure that applies?
These questions can determine what options you have.
Could your vehicle be a Nevada Lemon?
Possibly.
Nevada’s Lemon Law generally applies when a new motor vehicle does not conform to
applicable express warranties and the manufacturer or its authorized repair facilities are unable to conform the vehicle after a reasonable number of attempts. Nevada law provides specific presumptions involving four repairs for the same nonconformity and 30 cumulative days out of service.
There are also timing requirements. For example, Nevada law requires the buyer to report the nonconformity in writing within the period specified by NRS 597.610, and an action under the Nevada Lemon Law provisions generally must be commenced within 18 months after original delivery of the new vehicle.
That is why waiting indefinitely can be a mistake.
What about Magnuson-Moss?
There may also be a federal warranty claim under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
Magnuson-Moss can provide additional remedies in appropriate cases, including the possibility of recovering reasonable attorney fees for a consumer who finally prevails.
But Magnuson-Moss is a warranty law. The vehicle generally needs to be covered by an
applicable manufacturer’s written warranty when the warranty claim is being pursued.
The interaction between Nevada Lemon Law and federal warranty law can be complicated, so it is worth looking at the entire situation rather than focusing on one number.
The bottom line
If your new vehicle has been repaired four times for the same problem, may trigger Nevada lemon law.
If it has spent 30 or more cumulative days out of service for repairs, that may trigger Nevada lemon law.
But neither number should be viewed in isolation.
The best first step is to gather your repair records and determine exactly what has happened to the vehicle.
Take the 30-Second Nevada New Car Problem Quiz
If your new car has been in the shop repeatedly, you don’t have to figure out
whether it might be a lemon by yourself.
Take our 30-second Nevada New Car Problem Quiz.
We’ll ask about your vehicle, warranty, repair history and time out of service.
Precision Injury Law represents Nevada consumers with qualifying vehicle
warranty and Lemon Law problems.
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