Arizona Lemon Law

The Arizona Motor Vehicle Warranties Act (A.R.S. 44-1261 et seq.) covers new motor vehicles purchased or leased in Arizona for personal, family, or household use, sold with the manufacturer's express warranty. Coverage runs for the shorter of the express warranty term or two years and 24,000 miles from original delivery. The defect must substantially impair the use or market value of the vehicle and cannot result from owner abuse, neglect, or unauthorized modification. Heavy commercial vehicles, motor homes (in part), and off-road vehicles are generally excluded.

Under A.R.S. 44-1264, a reasonable number of repair attempts is presumed when (1) the same nonconformity has been subject to repair four or more times during the warranty period or two years/24,000 miles (whichever is shorter) and the defect continues to exist, or (2) the vehicle has been out of service for repair for a cumulative total of 30 or more calendar days during the same period. The consumer must give the manufacturer prior direct written notice of the defect and a final opportunity to cure before the presumption attaches.

Used cars are not covered by the new-vehicle lemon law refund/replacement remedy. However, A.R.S. 44-1267 imposes an implied warranty of merchantability on used motor vehicles sold by licensed dealers for 15 days or 500 miles after delivery, whichever comes first. This is rare among states. If a serious defect appears within that window, the dealer must repair it (the dealer can charge up to a 50% co-pay after the first repair). Used-car buyers may also have Magnuson-Moss claims if a written warranty applies.

Yes. A.R.S. 44-1261 defines 'consumer' to include a person to whom a new motor vehicle is transferred during the duration of an express warranty applicable to the vehicle, which courts read to include lessees of new vehicles. The lease must be of a new vehicle in Arizona, used primarily for personal purposes. Lemon-law remedies for lessees typically include termination of the lease and refund of payments and capitalized cost reduction, less the reasonable use allowance.

Arizona has one of the shortest statutes of limitations in the country. Under A.R.S. 44-1265(B), any action must be commenced within six months following the earlier of (1) expiration of the express warranty term or (2) two years or 24,000 miles after the original delivery. That is effectively a one-year cushion at most after the lemon-law rights period ends. Missing this deadline bars the lemon-law claim, although Magnuson-Moss and breach-of-warranty UCC claims (four years under A.R.S. 47-2725) may still be viable.

If the manufacturer has established or participates in an informal dispute settlement procedure that complies with 16 C.F.R. Part 703 (most major manufacturers use BBB AUTO LINE), A.R.S. 44-1263 requires the consumer to first use that procedure before suing for refund or replacement. The arbitrator's decision is non-binding on the consumer. If the manufacturer has no qualifying program, you can file directly in Arizona Superior Court without arbitrating.