Texas Lemon Law Requirements

Short answer

The Texas lemon law is subchapter M of Occupations Code chapter 2301. It lets an owner of a new vehicle with a warranty defect that will not get fixed file a complaint with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV). It is not a right to return the car at the dealership. A hearings examiner decides the case.

Eligibility summary

• A covered new vehicle. "New" means it was never the subject of a retail sale, whatever its mileage (section 2301.002(24)). TxDMV states only new vehicles can qualify for a refund or replacement.
• A warranty defect. The defect is covered by the manufacturer's, converter's, or distributor's express warranty (sections 2301.603 and 2301.604).
• Reported in time. TxDMV lists reporting the defect to the dealer or manufacturer within the warranty term as a condition.
• A serious problem. The defect creates a serious safety hazard or substantially impairs the vehicle's use or market value (section 2301.604(a)).
• A reasonable number of repair attempts. Usually shown by one of the three tests below (section 2301.605).
• Written notice and a chance to cure. The manufacturer, converter, or distributor got written notice and an opportunity to fix it (section 2301.606(c)).
• Filed on time. Within six months after the earliest of three dates (section 2301.606(d)).

What the law covers

Section 2301.002(23) defines a motor vehicle broadly. It includes self-propelled vehicles with two or more wheels built mainly to carry people or property on public highways, some off-road vehicles that meet title requirements, and towable recreational vehicles. It also covers an engine, transmission, or rear axle made for a highway vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating over 16,000 pounds. Section 2301.002(32) limits towable recreational vehicles to nonmotorized vehicles designed for temporary living during recreational, camping, or seasonal use that qualify for title and registration as travel trailers, are built on a single chassis, have at least one life support system, and are designed to be towed.

Some vehicles are left out. Section 2301.0045 says the chapter does not apply to an assembled vehicle or a hobbyist as Transportation Code section 731.001 defines them. TxDMV states the law does not cover repossessed vehicles, non-travel trailers, boats, or farm equipment, or defects that do not substantially impair use or market value, such as minor rattles. Section 2301.601(2) limits who can bring a claim to an "owner" in one of five listed groups, such as a retail buyer from a license holder or a Texas resident who registered the vehicle here.

The three repair tests compared

The statute does not define "a reasonable number of attempts." Instead, section 2301.605(a) creates a rebuttable presumption that the number was reasonable if one of three tests is met. The manufacturer can still try to rebut it.

The time window for all three tests. The attempts must be made before the earlier of the date the express warranty expires, or 24 months or 24,000 miles after original delivery of the vehicle to the owner, whichever of those two comes first. TxDMV's page describes the window as "the first 24 months or 24,000 miles." The statute adds the warranty-expiration cutoff, which can come sooner. TxDMV also states the mileage requirements generally do not apply to towable recreational vehicles or other vehicles without an odometer.

Other details that change the count:

• Section 2301.601(4) defines a serious safety hazard as a life-threatening malfunction or nonconformity that substantially impedes a person's ability to control or operate the vehicle for ordinary use or intended purposes, or creates a substantial risk of fire or explosion.
• Section 2301.605(c) leaves out days when the manufacturer or distributor lent a comparable vehicle while a franchised dealer did the repair.
• Section 2301.605(b) extends the periods, days, or miles when repair services are not available because of war, invasion, strike, fire, flood, or other natural disaster.
• Four different problems fixed once each do not meet the four-times test. It requires the same nonconformity.

Repair timing compared with the filing deadline

These are two separate clocks, and mixing them up can cost a claim.

The filing clock runs from original delivery, not from the purchase date. Those can differ for a vehicle that was ordered. Because the deadline runs from the earliest date, a long warranty does not add filing time. TxDMV advises filing as soon as the owner realizes the dealer is having trouble fixing the vehicle.

The duty to repair can outlast the warranty. Section 2301.603(b) keeps it in force after expiration if the owner or the owner's agent reported the nonconformity during the warranty term to the manufacturer, converter, or distributor or its designated agent or franchised dealer, or if a section 2301.605 presumption arose.

Written notice and the chance to cure

Under section 2301.606(c), an order cannot require a refund or replacement unless the owner, someone acting for the owner, or the department gave written notice of the defect to the manufacturer, converter, or distributor, and that company had an opportunity to cure it. TxDMV says to send this notice preferably by certified mail and links a sample letter on its lemon law page.

Section 2301.606(b) lets the manufacturer raise two defenses: the problem came from abuse, neglect, or unauthorized changes to the vehicle, or it does not substantially impair the vehicle's use or market value.

Evidence checklist

• Purchase or lease contract, and the date of original delivery
• The manufacturer's written warranty and its expiration terms
• Every repair order, with the problem fully described as TxDMV advises
• Odometer readings at each repair visit
• A running count of days out of service, with dates in and out
• Records of any loaner vehicle and who provided it
• A copy of the written notice to the manufacturer and proof of when it was sent
• A log of each recurring problem with date, time, and place, as TxDMV suggests
• Any recall or technical service bulletin notices you received

How a TxDMV lemon law complaint works

1. File the complaint with TxDMV

   Start at TxDMV's lemon law page, which its "File a Lemon Law Complaint" menu link points to. Its Complaint Process section directs consumers to the agency's Motor Vehicle Dealer Online Complaint System. When checked on 2026-10-02, the page listed a $35 filing fee. That fee is set by TxDMV, not by the statute, and can change. TxDMV also says the consumer gives the manufacturer notice of the complaint with a last chance to repair.

2. Review and mediation

   TxDMV states that staff review the complaint for completeness and eligibility and attempt to resolve it through mediation.

3. Hearing and decision

   If it is not resolved, TxDMV says a hearing examiner hears the case and issues a final written decision within 60 days after the hearing closes. TxDMV's Office of Administrative Hearings page is where it points readers for the hearing process.

4. Rehearing, then court

   TxDMV says either party may file a motion for rehearing with the agency. Under section 2301.609(a), a party affected by a final order may seek judicial review under the substantial evidence rule in a district court of Travis County.

Section 2301.607(a) bars a refund or replacement under the subchapter until the owner has used the administrative process. Under section 2301.607(c), if no final order issues before the 151st day after the complaint was filed, the department must send written notice by certified mail that the 150-day period has run and that the complainant may file a civil action. The department must extend that period if the complainant asked for or caused the delay.

What the department can order

Section 2301.604(a) applies when the manufacturer, converter, or distributor could not fix a defect that creates a serious safety hazard or substantially impairs use or market value after a reasonable number of attempts. It must repay reasonable incidental costs from loss of use and either replace the vehicle with a comparable one or take it back and refund the full purchase price. The refund is reduced by a reasonable allowance for the owner's use and any other allowances or refunds payable to the owner. TxDMV also lists repair as a possible order.

The use deduction has no formula in the statute. Section 2301.601(3) defines it as the amount directly attributable to use while the vehicle is not out of service for repair. TxDMV states the deduction follows a formula and posts repurchase calculation spreadsheets on its lemon law page.

A bought-back vehicle does not leave the system quietly. Section 2301.610 requires a disclosure statement through its next retail sale, repair of the cause to factory specifications, and a new 12-month, 12,000-mile warranty. A dispute with a repair shop, rather than with the company that built the vehicle, belongs instead to what Texas law provides when a car repair goes wrong. Section 2301.607(f) says the subchapter does not limit rights under other laws. One of those is explained in the Texas DTPA guide, one of the consumer protection guides in Texas Legal Answers.