Tigard Lemon Law

Tigard residents file lemon law actions in the Washington County Circuit Court at 150 N 1st Avenue in downtown Hillsboro, which is the seat of Washington County. There is no separate Tigard civil courthouse for lemon law matters. Oregon's lemon law is enforced through the regular civil division and the Oregon eCourt eFiling system is mandatory for represented parties. Under ORS 14.080 venue is proper in your home county, where the dealer or manufacturer transacts business, or where the vehicle was purchased. Most franchised manufacturers transact business statewide so Tigard buyers usually have venue in either Washington or Multnomah County.

Heavy daily congestion on OR-217 and I-5 through Tigard exposes adaptive-cruise, automatic-emergency-braking, and lane-keep ADAS defects that owners experience as phantom braking, false collision warnings, or unwanted steering corrections during normal commuting. Oregon's lemon law under ORS 646A.400 covers any defect that substantially impairs use, value, or safety, and a recurring ADAS fault that activates on the daily commute generally meets that bar. Secure a written repair order each visit including the dealer's diagnostic codes and any software reflash version numbers so repeat ADAS issues meet the three-attempts presumption under ORS 646A.406.

Yes. Oregon's lemon law under ORS 646A.400 covers all new passenger motor vehicles, including battery-electric and plug-in hybrids. EV-specific defects such as drive-unit replacements, battery thermal-management faults, regenerative braking calibration issues, charge-port failures, MCU and infotainment failures, falcon-wing door defects, and software-related range loss all count as nonconformities if they substantially impair use, value, or safety. EV warranty terms vary widely, and arbitration provisions in Tesla and Rivian purchase agreements interact with ORS 646A.408 in case-specific ways that warrant careful review.

Under ORS 646A.416 you must file within one year after the expiration of the coverage period, which generally means about three years from original delivery. The coverage period itself ends at the earlier of two years or 24,000 miles. Tigard commuters racking up I-5 and OR-217 miles often hit the mileage cap first. Time spent in a qualifying informal dispute settlement program tolls the clock, and Magnuson-Moss federal warranty claims pled alongside the state lemon law generally follow Oregon's four-year UCC limitations period from delivery, giving you somewhat more breathing room on the parallel federal claim.

ORS 646A.406 presumes a reasonable number of attempts after three repair visits for the same nonconformity, or 30 cumulative days out of service during the two-year/24,000-mile coverage period. Safety-related defects likely to cause death or serious bodily injury require only one attempt plus a final opportunity. Before invoking the presumption you must send the manufacturer written notice and a final chance to cure. Tigard service customers at SW 99W or OR-217-corridor dealers should always insist on a written repair order each visit even when the dealer reports no fault duplicated, because phone or service-drive conversations do not advance the count.

Yes. ORS 646A.400 defines 'consumer' to include lessees and any person entitled to enforce the manufacturer's warranty, so a new vehicle leased through a Tigard-area dealer or captive lender qualifies for the same refund-or-replacement remedy as a purchased car. The statutory refund formula in ORS 646A.404 references both cash price and lease price, and lessees recover collateral charges including Oregon DMV title, registration, license fees, and finance charges. Used leases, lease assumptions, and lease-end buyouts are not covered because the lemon law only protects the original consumer during the initial coverage period.

Only if the manufacturer has established an informal dispute settlement procedure that substantially complies with 16 C.F.R. Part 703 and has notified you of it in writing. Most major manufacturers selling through Tigard and Beaverton dealerships participate in BBB AUTO LINE or a comparable program. In that case ORS 646A.408 requires you to use the program first before pursuing the statutory refund-or-replacement remedy in court. The arbitration decision binds the manufacturer but not the consumer, so you can reject it and file in Washington County Circuit Court. Magnuson-Moss federal warranty claims generally do not require exhausting the manufacturer's program.