Florida Lemon Law

Florida's lemon law (Chapter 681) covers new motor vehicles sold or leased in Florida and used for personal, family, or household purposes, plus demonstrators and limited recreational vehicle components. The defect must substantially impair the use, value, or safety of the vehicle and arise within the 24-month Lemon Law Rights Period that begins at original delivery. Coverage extends to subsequent transferees during that window. Excluded are off-road vehicles, motorcycles, mopeds, vehicles with a gross vehicle weight over 10,000 pounds, and the living facilities of recreational vehicles. If you bought a used car after the 24-month window ended, Florida's lemon law will not apply.

Florida requires three repair attempts for the same nonconformity, after which you must give the manufacturer written notice by certified mail of a final repair attempt. If the defect persists after that final opportunity, or if 30 cumulative days out of service have elapsed (60 days for recreational vehicles), the presumption of a reasonable number of attempts is established. Florida's structure differs from most states because of the mandatory written notice and final-repair step. Document every visit with a written repair order, even if the dealer says no defect was found.

Florida's lemon law has no separate used-car provision, but coverage transfers with the vehicle. If you bought a used vehicle that is still within the 24-month Lemon Law Rights Period that started when the original purchaser took delivery, you qualify as a covered consumer. After the 24 months expire, the statute no longer applies regardless of mileage. For older used vehicles, Florida buyers typically rely on the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, or any remaining manufacturer powertrain warranty rather than the state lemon law.

Yes. Florida's lemon law expressly covers consumers who lease motor vehicles for at least one year under a written lease where the lessee bears repair responsibility, or under a lease-purchase agreement. Lessees have the same rights to repurchase or replacement as buyers. Refunds in the lease context generally include the cash down payment, monthly payments made, and lease payoff to the lessor, less the standard mileage offset. The lease assignee (typically the manufacturer's captive finance arm) is required to cooperate in unwinding the lease.

Yes, in most cases. If the manufacturer operates a state-certified informal dispute settlement program (such as BBB AUTO LINE for many brands), you must apply there first. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome or the program does not decide within 40 days, you can file with the Florida New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board. The Board must hold a hearing within 40 days and issue a decision within 60 days. Either party can appeal a Board decision to circuit court for a trial de novo. Direct lawsuits skipping arbitration are generally barred unless no certified program exists and you have not invoked the Board.

Florida gives you one year after the expiration of the 24-month Lemon Law Rights Period to request arbitration with the New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board, or one year after the final action of a certified informal dispute procedure. Effectively, this means you have up to three years from delivery to invoke arbitration. After Board arbitration concludes, an appeal to circuit court must be filed within 30 days. This is one of the shortest filing windows in the country, so consumers should act quickly once the rights period ends.

Successful claimants are entitled to either a comparable replacement vehicle or a refund of the full purchase price including collateral charges (taxes, registration, title, finance charges, insurance refunds attributable to the vehicle), reduced by a reasonable offset for use. The offset is calculated as miles driven up to settlement or hearing, multiplied by the base sale price, divided by 120,000 (or 60,000 for RVs). You can also recover attorney's fees and costs. The Department of Legal Affairs may separately impose civil penalties up to $1,000 per violation against manufacturers, but those penalties go to the state, not the consumer.