Westfield Lemon Law

Civil actions under Ind. Code 24-5-13 are filed in Indiana state court, typically the circuit or superior court of the county where you live or where the selling dealer is located. For Westfield residents that is the Hamilton County Circuit and Superior Courts in Noblesville. Before filing you must complete the manufacturer's informal dispute settlement program if it complies with 16 C.F.R. Part 703 (most major automakers' BBB AUTO LINE programs do). The two-year statute of limitations is tolled while arbitration is pending.

Yes. Indiana's Motor Vehicle Protection Act applies to any new motor vehicle designed primarily for use on public highways and registered in Indiana, including battery-electric vehicles. Defects substantially impairing use, value, or safety, such as DC fast-charge failures, range loss, drive-unit faults, and ADAS malfunctions, qualify if reported within the 18-month/18,000-mile term and not repaired after four attempts or 30 business days out of service. Tesla, Rivian, Ford Lightning, and other EV owners in Hamilton County are covered the same way as combustion-vehicle buyers.

Each documented dealer visit for the same nonconformity counts, even when the technician writes 'no problem found,' performs only a software flash, or releases the vehicle without parts replaced. Indiana presumes a reasonable opportunity to repair after four attempts on the same defect, or after the vehicle has been out of service for any nonconformity totaling 30 cumulative business days within the 18-month/18,000-mile term. Save every Hamilton County repair order, ADAS calibration record, and software-flash log; they are the backbone of an ADAS lemon claim.

Generally no. The Motor Vehicle Protection Act applies only to new vehicles. The narrow exception is a used vehicle still inside the original 18-month/18,000-mile window where the defect was reported during that window: the new owner can step into the original consumer's shoes. CPO and short-tenure luxury trade-ins sometimes fall into that window. Otherwise used buyers rely on the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act, or any written dealer warranty.

If the manufacturer cannot repair after a reasonable number of attempts, you can demand a comparable replacement vehicle or a refund. The refund includes the total contract price, sales tax, the unexpended portion of registration and excise tax, finance charges actually paid, dealer-installed options, and necessary towing and rental costs, less a use allowance equal to miles driven before the manufacturer's acceptance of the vehicle return, multiplied by the contract price, divided by 100,000. Indiana does not authorize civil penalties, but prevailing consumers recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs.

Civil actions must be commenced within two years from the original delivery date of the vehicle. Defects must have been reported within the 18-month/18,000-mile term of protection, but the four-attempt or 30-business-day determination can mature later. The two-year period is tolled while you participate in a qualifying manufacturer informal dispute settlement program. Federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act claims have a four-year limitations period, which sometimes provides a backstop if Indiana's two-year window has run.