Consumer Protection · Lemon Law
Lemon Law in Arizona
How many repair attempts and days out of service before Arizona presumes your vehicle is a lemon — and whether used cars are covered.
presumption trigger (same defect)
Do I meet the Arizona lemon presumption?
Enter your repairs and downtime. This checks the presumption — it is not a legal verdict.
This checklist is educational, not a legal verdict. Every state writes these numbers as a rebuttable presumption: hitting them shifts the burden to the manufacturer, and the manufacturer can still rebut it. Keep every repair order, send any required written notice, and consult a lawyer about your specific facts. This is legal information, not legal advice.
How the presumption works in Arizona
The prongs that shift the burden to the manufacturer.
Arizona has no smaller safety-defect count — it is a flat 4 attempts / 30 days. Do not confuse §44-1267 (a 15-day/500-mile implied-warranty rule for used-car sales) with the lemon law.
Every state — Arizona included — writes these thresholds as a rebuttable presumption. Reaching them shifts the burden onto the manufacturer to prove your vehicle is not a lemon; it does not mean you automatically win. You may also qualify with fewer attempts if a "reasonable number" of repairs is shown some other way, and the manufacturer can rebut the presumption. This is legal information, not legal advice.
Used cars & leased vehicles
Which of the three coverage categories Arizona falls in.
The full picture, with the source
Every figure, and where it comes from.
| Same-defect attempts | 4 |
| Serious-safety attempts | No separate safety count |
| Days out of service | 30 calendar days |
| Coverage window | Shorter of the express-warranty term or 2 years / 24,000 miles from delivery |
| Used cars | New vehicles only |
| Leased vehicles | Covered |
| Statute | A.R.S. §44-1261 to 44-1265 (presumption §44-1264) |
What Arizona car buyers get wrong
Arizona keeps its new-car lemon law simple and flat: under A.R.S. §44-1264 the state presumes a lemon after 4 repair attempts on the same defect or 30 days out of service, measured over the shorter of the express-warranty term or 2 years / 24,000 miles. There is no reduced count for safety defects here — the same 4-attempt / 30-day test applies to everything, and those numbers are presumption triggers that shift the burden to the manufacturer, not an automatic verdict. The trap in Arizona is a different statute entirely: §44-1267 gives used-car buyers a non-disclaimable implied warranty of merchantability for the first 15 days or 500 miles of a dealer sale. That is a short used-car protection, but it is not the lemon law and does not make Arizona a used-car lemon state — the lemon law itself covers new vehicles only. Filing has its own clock: generally within 6 months after the warranty period ends.
Common questions
How many repair attempts is a lemon in Arizona?
Arizona presumes a lemon after 4 attempts on the same defect or 30 days out of service, within the shorter of the warranty term or 2 years / 24,000 miles. It is a rebuttable presumption that shifts the burden to the manufacturer.
Does Arizona have a used-car lemon law?
No. The lemon law covers new vehicles only. A separate statute, §44-1267, gives a 15-day / 500-mile implied warranty of merchantability on dealer used-car sales — but that is not the lemon law.
Does Arizona give a smaller repair count for safety defects?
No. Arizona uses a flat 4-attempt / 30-day test for all defects; there is no reduced safety-defect threshold.
Is there a deadline to sue under Arizona’s lemon law?
Yes. A suit generally must be filed within 6 months after the earlier of the warranty’s expiration or 2 years / 24,000 miles (§44-1265).
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.