Minnesota lemon law and warranty dispute resources
Status: Official page read; key points summarized. Last checked 2026-10-18.
What the official page says
Source: Minnesota's Lemon Law, MN Car Laws handbook chapter 1 (Minnesota Attorney General) (read 2026-10-18). This is a summary of that page, not the statute. Exact tests, exclusions and deadlines are on the official page and in the statute, and may have changed.
- The page says Minnesota's lemon law covers new and lightly used motor vehicles purchased or leased in Minnesota, including passenger automobiles, pickup trucks and vans, the chassis or van portion of a recreational vehicle, and used vehicles still under the original manufacturer's warranty, if used at least 40 percent of the time for personal, family or household purposes (leases longer than four months).
- The page says a defect must be reported within the warranty period or two years, whichever comes first, and that if reported in that time and problems with the same defect continue, a claim can still be made until the end of the third year.
- The page says the law presumes a reasonable number of attempts after four or more unsuccessful attempts to repair the same defect, or one unsuccessful attempt to repair a complete failure of the steering or braking system likely to cause death or serious bodily injury, or 30 or more cumulative business days out of service for warranty repairs.
- The page says you must first write to the manufacturer or authorized dealer (the manufacturer gets one more chance to fix the defect after notification) and try the manufacturer's arbitration program if the manufacturer requires it before suing, and that manufacturers doing business in Minnesota must offer an arbitration program located in Minnesota.
- The page says an award can include the full purchase price (or lease payments) less a use deduction that cannot exceed 10 cents per mile or 10 percent of the purchase price, whichever is less, plus certain options, sales or excise tax, license and registration fees, towing and rental expenses.
Numbers the page states
| Item | As stated on the official page |
|---|---|
| Report window | Within the warranty period or two years, whichever comes first (claims may continue to end of third year) |
| Repair attempts | Four or more for the same defect; one for steering/braking failure |
| Days out of service | 30 or more cumulative business days |
| Use deduction cap | 10 cents per mile or 10% of purchase price, whichever is less |
Counting rules differ (calendar days vs. business days, what counts as a repair attempt). Use the repair log tool to organize dates, then confirm how your state counts.
Not covered or not confirmed in this summary
- The handbook shows no date, and the statute (325F.665) was not compared with it line by line.
Other official pages used
Industry arbitration program summary (not a government source)
BBB National Programs, which runs the BBB AUTO LINE dispute program, publishes a state summary: BBB AUTO LINE: Minnesota lemon law summary (link checked 2026-10-18). It is published by an industry-linked program, so treat it as a starting point and confirm against the state's own page or statute.
What to do first
- Keep every repair order and receipt. See the records checklist.
- Write down dates and mileage for each repair visit with the repair log tool (nothing is saved or sent).
- Read the federal warranty basics and arbitration pages.
- Consider speaking with a licensed attorney in your state about deadlines. Many have free consultations, but we do not recommend any specific one.