Montana Lemon Law

Montana's Lemon Law (Mont. Code §§ 61-4-501 to 61-4-533) covers new motor vehicles purchased, titled, or leased in Montana for personal use, that are less than 2 years old and have 18,000 miles or fewer. Motorcycles are included. The defect must substantially impair the use and market value or safety of the vehicle and must be covered by the manufacturer's express warranty. Excluded: vehicles bought for business use, trucks over 15,000 lbs GVW, off-road vehicles, the residential (non-chassis) portion of motor homes, and defects caused by accident, abuse, or unauthorized modification.

Under Mont. Code § 61-4-504, the manufacturer is presumed to have had a reasonable number of repair attempts if, during the warranty period, either: (a) the same nonconformity has been subject to repair 4 or more times by the manufacturer or its agent or authorized dealer and continues to exist, OR (b) the vehicle is out of service because of nonconformity for a cumulative total of 30 or more business days. The warranty period for these purposes ends at 2 years or 18,000 miles, whichever is earlier.

No. Montana's Lemon Law applies only to new motor vehicles less than 2 years old with 18,000 or fewer miles. A used vehicle may still benefit from the law only if it remains within both that 2-year / 18,000-mile statutory window AND the original manufacturer's express warranty. Montana has no separate used-car warranty statute. Used-car buyers in Montana rely on the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, any dealer or extended warranty, the implied warranty of merchantability under the Montana UCC, and the Montana Consumer Protection Act for deceptive-practices claims.

Yes. Leased new motor vehicles titled or leased in Montana are covered on the same terms as purchased vehicles — they must be less than 2 years old and have 18,000 miles or fewer. Lessees get the same 4-repair / 30-business-day presumption and the same right to a replacement or refund. The refund covers amounts actually paid under the lease plus collateral charges, minus the statutory use allowance, and is paid to the lessee and lessor in proportion to their interests.

Montana's warranty period itself ends at 2 years or 18,000 miles from original delivery, whichever is earlier (Mont. Code § 61-4-501). The defect must be reported in writing during that period. If you reported a defect in writing during the warranty period, the warranty may be extended, and you generally have an additional period to bring suit after completing the required arbitration. Because the Montana Lemon Law does not contain a separate civil-action statute of limitations, courts apply the Montana UCC 4-year warranty SOL (Mont. Code § 30-2-725) for breach-of-warranty claims.

Yes. Mont. Code §§ 61-4-507 and 61-4-511 require the consumer to first submit the dispute to a state-certified informal dispute settlement program before filing a Lemon Law civil action. The Montana Department of Justice certifies and annually audits these programs and can revoke certification. The decision is not binding on the consumer. If you reject the decision, you may sue in district court.

If the manufacturer cannot fix the vehicle, you are entitled to a replacement new motor vehicle of the same model and style and equal value, OR (at the manufacturer's option) a full refund of the purchase price plus reasonable collateral charges and incidental damages, minus a use allowance computed as price × (miles driven / 100,000) (Mont. Code § 61-4-503). Because Montana has no general sales tax, there is no sales-tax reimbursement line item, but registration and title fees are recoverable. A repurchased vehicle must carry a 'lemon law' disclosure on resale.