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Florida Lemon Law

Lemon Law Lawyers in Florida

At RockPoint Law, lemon law is our core practice. We act for Florida drivers whose new vehicle spends more of its life on a service lift than in the driveway: a transmission that shudders every time it comes off the lift in Hialeah, or a drive-unit warning that comes back on the first hot afternoon on I-4.

Free Case Evaluation

Three quick questions. No cost, no obligation.

  1. The year and make of your vehicle
  2. What the dealer has already tried
  3. How to reach you, and we review it
Start My Free Case Review  Call (305) 697-6690

Sending this does not create an attorney-client relationship. A case evaluation is a first step, not legal representation.

Florida law can make the manufacturer buy the vehicle back or replace it, and the choice between the two is yours. A three-member panel of the Attorney General's arbitration board decides the claim, not a judge, and filing costs you nothing. The protection period is 24 months from delivery with no mileage limit. What sinks most claims is the order the steps are taken in.

  • 24 months and no mileage cap
  • All 67 Florida counties
  • No fee unless we recover
Key facts

Florida lemon law at a glance

The numbers that decide a Florida claim, in the order a claim runs into them, each with the section of Chapter 681 or the Attorney General's rule it comes from.

Key facts of the Florida Lemon Law, Chapter 681, Florida Statutes
Key figureWhat it meansWhere it comes from
24 monthsno mileage limitThe Lemon Law Rights Period runs 24 months from the original delivery. The defect has to be first reported inside it. No odometer figure appears anywhere in the definition.Sec. 681.102(9)
3 + 1repairs, then a final tryThe same defect repaired at least three times, then a registered or express letter to the manufacturer and one final attempt: 10 days to respond, 10 more to fix it (45 for an RV).Sec. 681.104(1)(a), (3)(a)
15 daysnotice triggerAt 15 cumulative days out of service you must write to the manufacturer. This is a notice point, not the qualifying number.Sec. 681.104(1)(b)
30 daysout of serviceThirty cumulative calendar days in the shop for one or more defects qualifies the vehicle. Sixty for a recreational vehicle. Weekends and holidays count.Sec. 681.104(3)(b); Rule 2-30.001(2)(c)
60 daysto reach the BoardThe deadline to file with the Board is 60 days after the rights period ends, or 30 days after a certified program's final action, whichever is later.Sec. 681.109(4)
$0to fileThe consumer pays nothing to use a certified program or the Board. A $2 fee collected on every new sale or lease funds the system.Sec. 681.117
40 / 60days to hear and decideOnce a request is approved, the Board has 40 days to hear the dispute and 60 to decide it.Sec. 681.1095(6)
120,000offset divisorThe deduction for use: base price times the miles you put on the vehicle, divided by 120,000. An RV uses 60,000.Sec. 681.102(19)
30 daysto appealEither side may appeal to the circuit court within 30 days of receiving the decision. The appeal is a new trial.Sec. 681.1095(10), (12)
The Short Answer

What is the lemon law in Florida?

Yes, Florida has a lemon law. If you bought or leased a new vehicle in Florida and a warranty defect survives three repairs plus a final attempt after you write to the manufacturer, or keeps the vehicle out of service for 30 days, the manufacturer has to repurchase or replace it, and you pick which. The protection period is 24 months from delivery with no mileage limit. A three-member panel of the Florida New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board, appointed and run by the Attorney General, decides the claim, and it costs nothing to file.

The law is the Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act, Chapter 681 of the Florida Statutes. The Department of Legal Affairs runs it. That's the Office of the Attorney General, not a motor vehicles agency. Your title and registration sit with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Your lemon law claim sits with the Attorney General's Lemon Law Arbitration Division, and the people who decide it are a panel of three. In each region, at least one Board member has to know vehicle mechanics.

The clock is where Florida parts company with its neighbors. The Lemon Law Rights Period runs 24 months from the day the vehicle was delivered to you, and section 681.102(9) sets no mileage limit at all. Texas and Georgia both stop at 24,000 miles. A Florida driver who puts 40,000 miles on a car in its first year is still inside the period. The defect has to be first reported within those 24 months, and section 681.103(1) then makes the manufacturer finish the repairs even if the work runs past the window. That rule gives you no extra filing time, though.

Florida has two ways to qualify, and only two. Under section 681.104(3)(a), the same nonconformity has been repaired at least three times and the manufacturer has had a final attempt after your written notice, with the defect still there. Under section 681.104(3)(b), the vehicle has been out of service for repair of one or more defects for a cumulative 30 days or more, or 60 for a recreational vehicle.

There's no safety shortcut. Texas qualifies a safety defect after two failed repairs and Georgia after one. Section 681.104(3) has paragraphs (a) and (b) and nothing else, and the Attorney General's guidance says the law "provides two presumptions." A one-visit or two-visit safety rule for Florida is a rule from another state.

Two letters, two different jobs

After the third repair of the same defect, section 681.104(1)(a) requires you to write to the manufacturer, not the dealer, by registered or express mail, at the zone, district or regional office its warranty or owner's manual has to list. That letter opens the final attempt. The manufacturer gets 10 days to respond and send you to a reasonably accessible repair facility, then 10 days from delivery to fix the car, or 45 for an RV. Separately, once the vehicle has been out of service for 15 cumulative days, section 681.104(1)(b) requires a second written notice so the manufacturer gets at least one chance to inspect or repair. Fifteen days triggers notice. Thirty days qualifies the vehicle. Mixing the two up is a common mistake on Florida claims.

The first letter carries a penalty for a slow manufacturer. If it doesn't respond, doesn't offer an accessible facility, or doesn't finish the repair within its 10 days, section 681.104(1)(a) says the final-attempt requirement no longer applies. A manufacturer that sits on your registered letter loses its last chance.

The program you may have to use first

This part is Florida's own. If your manufacturer runs a dispute program the Attorney General has certified under the federal rule at 16 C.F.R. part 703, section 681.108(1) makes you go through that program before the state Board. The Attorney General publishes the list. BBB Auto Line handles Ford, General Motors, Hyundai and Genesis, Kia, Mazda, Nissan and Infiniti, Volkswagen, Audi and Bentley. The National Center for Dispute Settlement handles Toyota and Lexus, and Honda, Acura and Tesla vehicles bought on or after November 1, 2022. CAP Motors handles Porsche. A claim filed in the wrong place first burns weeks you may not have.

Florida's deadlines count from the end of the rights period, not from the defect. There are four of them:

  • the rights period: 24 months from original delivery, with no mileage limit, under section 681.102(9);
  • a certified program: 60 days after the rights period ends, under section 681.109(1) and (2);
  • the state Board: 60 days after the rights period ends, or 30 days after the certified program's final action, whichever is later, under section 681.109(4);
  • a court claim: one year from the end of the rights period, or from the final action of the program, the department or the Board, under section 681.112(2).

If the certified program doesn't decide within 40 days, or you're unhappy with its decision or with how the manufacturer carries it out, you move on to the Board. With no certified program, you go straight to the Attorney General inside the same 60 days.

One warning most pages leave out. Section 681.106 makes a consumer liable for the manufacturer's costs and reasonable attorney's fees if a court finds the claim was brought in bad faith, only to harass, or with no real issue of law or fact. Few state lemon laws do that. It's a reason to build the claim properly, not to live with a real defect, and section 681.112(1) runs the other way: a court shall award a prevailing consumer their pecuniary loss, litigation costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

Where Chapter 681 stops, two other laws still apply. The federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act has no mileage cap, no price floor and no vehicle-type exclusion. And under section 681.111, breaking Chapter 681 is also an unfair or deceptive trade practice under part II of chapter 501. For the paperwork order, see how to file a lemon law claim. The lemon law glossary explains the terms.

Eligibility

What qualifies for the lemon law in Florida?

Florida asks two questions. Is the defect serious enough? Chapter 681 only reaches a defect or condition that substantially impairs the vehicle's use, value or safety, so a loose cup holder won't do. Has the manufacturer had enough chances? Section 681.104(3) answers that with two routes, and either one is enough on its own.

Both routes have to happen inside the 24-month rights period, and both run through a question about which forum hears the claim first. These are the third and fourth cards. Each card includes a Florida example and a self-check you can perform against your own repair orders.

Three Repairs, Then One More

The same defect has been repaired at least three times and is still there. Then comes the step most summaries skip. You write to the manufacturer by registered or express mail, and it gets one final attempt: 10 days to respond and name a reasonably accessible repair facility, then 10 days from delivery to fix it, or 45 for an RV. The presumption in section 681.104(3)(a) needs both halves.

A Florida example A new SUV back at a Fort Lauderdale dealer three times for the same transmission shudder, a registered letter to the manufacturer's regional office, and the shudder still there after the final attempt

Thirty Days Out of Service

The vehicle has been out of service for repair of one or more defects for a cumulative 30 or more days, or 60 for a recreational vehicle. Days for different faults add together. Section 681.102(5) makes them calendar days, and Rule 2-30.001(2)(c) counts any day, weekends and holidays included, that the car sat at an authorized service agent for examination or repair. Routine maintenance from the owner's manual comes out, and the same rule also leaves out repairs of minor defects and of defects first reported after the rights period ends. At 15 days you send the manufacturer written notice, and it must then get at least one chance to inspect or repair.

A Florida example A pickup that sits at a Tampa service department across three visits for three unrelated faults and passes 30 calendar days, with a registered letter sent when it crossed 15

The Right Forum, in the Right Order

Most Florida claims turn on this card more than on the repair count. If your manufacturer runs a program the Attorney General has certified, section 681.108(1) sends you there first. "State-certified" means the program meets state and federal rules. It doesn't mean the state runs it. And the Attorney General warns that taking a claim to a program that is not on the list "may cost you valuable time and your Lemon Law rights."

A Florida example A Kia owner who sends a Request for Arbitration to the Attorney General first and is told to go to BBB Auto Line, with weeks of the 60-day window already gone

Inside 24 Months, With No Mileage Ceiling

The defect has to be first reported within 24 months of delivery, and the odometer doesn't matter. Then section 681.109(4) gives you 60 days after the period ends, or 30 days after a certified program's final action, whichever is later, to reach the Board. A court claim has one year under section 681.112(2).

A Florida example A fault first written up at 31,000 miles, 14 months in, on a car that runs I-95 to West Palm Beach every day: inside the Florida window, and already outside a Texas one

The repair order the dealer owes you, every visit

Meeting a test is where the work starts. Manufacturers fight on whether the defect substantially impairs use, value or safety, and section 681.104(4) gives them defenses: the impairment isn't substantial, the fault came from accident, abuse, neglect or an unauthorized change, or the claim wasn't brought in good faith. Paper answers those arguments.

You don't have to ask nicely for it. Section 681.103(4) makes the manufacturer, through its service agent, hand you a fully itemized, legible repair order every time, showing any test drive and roughly how long it was, the diagnosis, the work done, parts and labor, the date and odometer reading at drop-off, and the date the work was finished. Florida doesn't inspect cars, so no state record runs alongside your repair history. Those orders are close to the whole file.

Not sure your repair history clears a test, or which forum it belongs in? Send it over and we'll read it for you.

Start My Free Case Review  Call (305) 697-6690
Where your case is heard

Where is a Florida lemon law claim heard?

Florida drivers usually ask first whether a claim means a trip to Tallahassee. It doesn't. The Request for Arbitration is a paper filing, and the Board hears cases in locations around the state. Here's how the system is put together.

A Law Office, Not a Motor Vehicles Agency

The Lemon Law belongs to the Department of Legal Affairs, the Office of the Attorney General, which screens every claim, houses the Board, appoints its members and supplies its legal advisors. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has nothing to do with Chapter 681. The Attorney General is also clear about its limits: its office "does NOT represent either party to an arbitration hearing," and it can't act for you on appeal.

Three People, One of Whom Knows Cars

Under section 681.1095, the Florida New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board sits in panels of three and decides by majority vote. Each region has up to eight members, and at least one in each region must have expertise in vehicle mechanics. No member may work for a manufacturer, a franchised dealer, or a manufacturer's own program. Manufacturers must take part once the department finds a dispute eligible, and hearings are open to the public.

Forty Days to Hear, Sixty to Decide

Section 681.1095(6) gives the Board 40 days to hear the dispute and 60 days to decide it after the request is approved. Missing either date doesn't void the decision, so treat them as targets. Ask for a continuance yourself and you give them up. Testimony is under oath, you can cross-examine and bring counsel, and the panel can inspect or test drive the vehicle. The panel usually announces its result at the end of the hearing, with written findings after.

An Appeal Is a New Trial

Either side has 30 days from receiving the written decision to go to the circuit court, and section 681.1095(12) makes that appeal a trial de novo, a full rehearing. Section 681.1095(10) lets you file it in the county where you live, where you got the vehicle, or where the hearing was held. Texas, by contrast, reviews on the substantial evidence rule and only in Travis County.

The dealer stays out of it

Section 681.113 says Chapter 681 creates no liability for a dealer, and "a dealer may not be made a party defendant in any action involving or relating to this chapter," except on written warranties the dealer gave on its own. The manufacturer also can't charge a buyback back to the dealer unless the dealer's repairs departed substantially from published instructions. So the dealership that keeps failing to fix the car is where your evidence comes from, not who you're up against.

You also can't skip straight to court. Section 681.1095(4) requires you to submit the dispute to the department, and to the Board if the department finds it eligible, before filing a civil action. If the department rejects it, section 681.109(7) keeps your right to sue and makes the rejection admissible. A rejection for thin evidence can be reconsidered on new information. Federal court is the exception: 15 U.S.C. section 2310(d)(3) keeps a Magnuson-Moss claim out of federal court below $50,000, and most single-vehicle claims don't reach that.

What it costs a manufacturer to ignore a Board decision

If the department hears nothing within 40 days of the manufacturer receiving a decision in your favor, with no compliance and no appeal, section 681.1095(10) lets it ask the circuit court for a fine of up to $1,000 a day, until the total reaches twice the vehicle's purchase price. The manufacturer can escape that only by proving, by clear and convincing evidence, that the delay was beyond its control or that you agreed to it in writing. The same subsection says the court "shall affirm the award" on your application, and section 681.110 adds a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each count.

If a decision for you is upheld on appeal, section 681.1095(13) gives you the value of the award, the attorney's fees spent getting it confirmed, all costs, and $25 a day for every day past the 40-day compliance window. A court that finds the appeal was brought in bad faith or to harass shall double the award and may triple it. Compliance is only counted on the day you actually receive the refund or the replacement, under section 681.1095(9).

Recreational vehicles go to a different program

For an RV acquired on or after October 1, 1997, section 681.1096 sends the dispute to an industry mediation and arbitration program the department has qualified, not to the Board. Every manufacturer involved has to take part, including chassis and component makers that warrant their own parts. The manufacturer pays the program's fees, none can be charged to you, and mediation and arbitration together must finish within 70 days of the administrator getting the claim.

Because an RV often has several manufacturers, the Attorney General advises sending notice to all of them if you aren't sure whose warranty covers the fault. If there's no qualified program, the dispute goes to the Board. The RV numbers differ throughout: 60 days out of service instead of 30, and 45 days instead of 10 for the final repair attempt.

Anyone who calls a Florida claim "three repairs and you're out" has skipped the part that decides most cases, which is the order things happen in. Our note on how to file a lemon law claim covers the paperwork, and how the lemon law works covers the basics.

Not sure which forum your vehicle belongs in? That's the first thing we sort out, at no cost.

  • Bring your repair orders with the dates and odometer readings. That's usually enough to see whether the record clears the three-repair or the 30-day route.
  • Tell us the make and the purchase date. Whether your manufacturer runs a certified program decides the order of everything else.
  • Bring the delivery date. Florida's deadlines count from the end of the 24 months, not from the defect.
  • You speak with the people who would work the file, not an intake desk.
Start My Free Case Review 
A Florida driver on the phone at home while a Request for Arbitration is prepared for the Florida New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board
You Stay Put

Most of a Florida claim happens on paper

"Arbitration board" makes people picture a day in Tallahassee. In practice the Request for Arbitration goes to the Attorney General's Lemon Law Arbitration Division, which screens it before anything is scheduled. The Attorney General also takes initial filings by email: PDF only, nothing over 8 megabytes, no photos or video, with the case name or number in the subject line and every file name. A hearing, if one is set, is held in a regional location, assigned by where you live.

We gather the repair orders, count the calendar days the way section 681.102(5) defines them, check for a certified program, draft the registered letter to the manufacturer's regional office, watch both 10-day windows, file the Request for Arbitration, and deal with the manufacturer. Your part is the phone call that starts it.

How It Works

How long does a Florida lemon law case take?

The thing about a Florida claim is that you get a long window but it has to be done in a strict order. There's no mileage cap and no filing fee, which is nice, but in exchange there are two notice letters and a required stop at the manufacturer's own program for much of the market, and then deadlines that get counted from the end of the 24 months. Once the Attorney General approves a Request for Arbitration, Chapter 681 counts the rest in days. The five steps below go in the order a Florida claim runs in, and if you'd like the document-by-document version, see how to file a lemon law claim.

  1. Day 0The Attorney General approves your Request for Arbitration and assigns it for a hearing
  2. Day 40Latest target day for the Board to hear the dispute, under section 681.1095(6)
  3. Day 60Latest target day for the Board to decide it
  4. Day 100Latest day for the manufacturer to deliver the refund or replacement, when it receives the decision on Day 60 (40 days to comply)

Check the Vehicle, and Check Who Built It

There are two questions here and it's the second one that's particular to Florida. Section 681.102(14) covers a new vehicle sold in Florida, a demonstrator, a lease of a year or more where you are responsible for repairs, and a recreational vehicle apart from its living quarters. It leaves out trucks over 10,000 pounds, motorcycles, mopeds, electric bicycles, off-road vehicles and anything bought for resale. A used car isn't covered, though section 681.102(4) can pass the rights to someone the car is transferred to inside the 24 months. After that you find out who built it, since that's what decides whether a certified program comes first.

Get the Itemized Repair Order at Every Visit

Florida counts repairs of the same defect and calendar days out of service separately, so whatever paperwork you've got has to support both of those counts at the same time. Section 681.103(4) requires an itemized, legible repair order each time, with the test drive, the diagnosis, the work, parts and labor, the date and odometer reading at drop-off, and the completion date. Before you leave the counter it's worth checking that each one actually names your complaint, and then you keep the purchase or lease papers in the same place as the repair orders.

Write to the Manufacturer by Registered Mail

After the third repair of the same defect, section 681.104(1)(a) requires written notice to the manufacturer, not the dealer, by registered or express mail, at the regional address section 681.103(2) makes it print in the warranty or owner's manual. The Attorney General publishes a Motor Vehicle Defect Notification form you can use for this, and it accepts certified mail too. The manufacturer then has 10 days to respond and 10 more to repair. Hit 15 days out of service and a second notice is due. Sending a copy of the form to the Attorney General is not filing a claim.

File in the Right Forum Within 60 Days

The first thing is to look at the Attorney General's list. If your make goes to BBB Auto Line, NCDS or CAP Motors, file there within 60 days after the 24 months end. If the program doesn't decide within 40 days, or you're unhappy with the result, move to the Board: 60 days after the rights period ended or 30 days after the program's final action, whichever is later. With no certified program, file the Request for Arbitration with the Attorney General inside the same 60 days.

The Hearing, Then the Forty Days

The department screens the request and asks for anything that's missing and then assigns an eligible claim to a regional office, where three panel members hear it under oath and vote. The hearing runs in two halves, with the first one about whether it's a lemon at all and the second about what it's worth. If you win, the manufacturer has 40 days from receiving the decision to deliver the refund or replacement, or face up to $1,000 a day. Either side can appeal to the circuit court within 30 days, for a new trial, in your county if you choose.

Every one of those steps is somewhere a Florida claim can come apart, whether it's a repair order that never named the defect, or a letter that went to the dealership instead of the regional office, or a Defect Notification Form filed with the Attorney General by somebody who believed it was a claim, or a request sent to the Board when BBB Auto Line had to see it first.

You can run this yourself, and some Florida drivers do, but the hard part is the order of things and not the law, and section 681.106 means a carelessly built claim can cost you. Nobody can tell you in advance how a panel will rule. A firm that does this every day can keep the record clean and the forum right and the dates intact so that none of that gets in the way.

Outcomes

What compensation can you receive?

Repurchase or replacement, and you choose

When a Florida claim succeeds, section 681.104(2)(a) gives the manufacturer 40 days to repurchase the vehicle and refund the purchase price, less a reasonable offset for use, or to replace it. Either way, the remedy includes all reasonably incurred collateral and incidental charges. The same subsection gives you an "unconditional right to choose a refund rather than a replacement motor vehicle." In Texas, the order can direct either one.

The offset, and the miles that come back out

The deduction for use is arithmetic. Section 681.102(19) sets it:

  1. Take the base price on your purchase invoice, leaving out taxes, government fees and dealer fees.
  2. Multiply it by the miles you put on the vehicle up to the settlement or the hearing, whichever comes first.
  3. Divide by 120,000, or 60,000 for an RV. That's the offset.

The Attorney General's own worked example: a $24,000 base price and 20,000 miles produce a $4,000 offset. "Mileage attributable to a consumer" is narrower than the odometer. The miles at delivery come out, and so do test drives by the dealer during repairs, by the manufacturer during its inspection, by a program's inspector, and by the Board at your hearing. On a replacement the offset works in reverse: you pay it to get the new vehicle. Do that sum before you choose.

Trade-ins, replacements and leases

"Purchase price" includes your trade-in allowance. Section 681.102(18) uses the net allowance in your contract if both sides accept it, and otherwise 100% of the retail value in the NADA Official Used Car Guide (Southeastern Edition) at the time of trade. If the dealer padded the allowance to cover negative equity, the Board works from the NADA value less the debt, and the Attorney General says that can turn the allowance negative. A replacement must be identical or reasonably equivalent, with an MSRP no more than 105% of the original's, under section 681.102(21).

Collateral charges under section 681.102(3) cover items the manufacturer or its agent installed, service charges, earned finance charges, sales tax and title charges. Incidental charges under section 681.102(7) are the reasonable costs the defect caused, and the Attorney General lists postage, long-distance calls, a rental car, towing, and warranty deductibles or repair bills. On a lease, the lessee gets back the lessee cost and no early termination penalty can be charged. The Department of Revenue refunds the sales tax to the manufacturer on written request.

Fees

Section 681.112(1) says a court shall award a prevailing consumer their pecuniary loss, litigation costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Section 681.1095(13) adds the fees spent confirming a Board award the manufacturer ignored, plus $25 a day past the 40-day window. Under federal warranty law, 15 U.S.C. section 2310(d)(2) lets a consumer who prevails recover costs and fees, in a Florida state court as well as a federal one. On the other side, section 681.106 can make a consumer who sued in bad faith pay the manufacturer's fees.

Possible Outcomes

Five things a successful Florida claim can bring

  • Repurchase

    The purchase price with collateral and incidental charges, less your own miles times the base price divided by 120,000

  • Replacement, or the money instead

    A vehicle with an MSRP within 105% of the original, which you can turn down for the refund under section 681.104(2)(a)

  • A lease ended, no penalty

    What you paid as lessee comes back, and no early termination penalty can be charged

  • Charges and delay damages

    Sales tax, title charges, earned finance charges, towing and rental, plus $25 a day past the 40-day compliance window

  • Attorney's fees and costs

    Awarded to a prevailing consumer under section 681.112(1), and doubled or tripled awards for a bad-faith appeal

Outcomes depend on the facts of each case, so no attorney can tell you in advance what yours will be.

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Vehicles We Handle

Which vehicles does the Florida lemon law cover?

Section 681.102(14) draws lines Texas doesn't. Florida excludes motorcycles and mopeds by name and stops at 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight. Texas covers motorcycles and sets no weight ceiling for a self-propelled vehicle. Where Chapter 681 doesn't reach, the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. section 2301 and following, has no vehicle-type exclusions. Pick a category to see where it stands.

Cars, Vans and Light Trucks

Covered, as long as a truck is at or under 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight. Georgia's line is 12,000. A three-quarter-ton or one-ton pickup can cross the Florida line, so check the weight rating on the door jamb first. See our practice areas.

Pickups and Diesel Trucks

The weight rating decides it. At or under 10,000 pounds a diesel pickup is covered on the usual terms. Above it, section 681.102(14) puts the truck outside Chapter 681 entirely. Derate and DEF faults are the patterns we see most, and on an excluded truck they support a federal warranty claim. See our diesel emissions lemon law guide.

Motorcycles and Mopeds

Excluded by name. Section 681.102(14) leaves out motorcycles, mopeds and electric bicycles, so a defective new motorcycle in Florida is a Magnuson-Moss and express warranty case, and a chapter 501 case if the facts support one. In Texas the same bike would be inside the lemon law. See our motorcycle lemon law guide.

RVs and Motorhomes

Covered, except the living facilities: flooring, plumbing and fixtures, the roof air conditioner, furnace, generator, non-automotive electrical systems, the side door, exterior compartments, and every window except the windshield and front side windows. Section 681.1096 sends RV disputes to a qualified industry program with a 70-day limit, and the numbers change to 60 days out of service and 45 for the final repair. See our RV and motorhome lemon law guide.

Electric Vehicles

Covered on the same terms as any new vehicle. One date decides the forum for a Tesla: NCDS is on the certified list only for vehicles bought on or after November 1, 2022. Buy before that and you go straight to the Board. Battery, charging, drive-unit and software faults are what we see most, and a software fault that keeps coming back is still the same nonconformity. See our electric vehicle lemon law guide.

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Client Stories

What Our Clients Say

Real results from real clients who trusted
RockPoint Law with their lemon law claims.

I contacted RockPoint Law in July 2025 and by mid Jan 2026, I had received my settlement proceeds. A mid 5-figure loan was paid off and the manufacturer took possession of the vehicle. Not having that car payment and the mandatory full coverage freed up about $900/month. If you're on the fence about calling RockPoint Law, let it go. The relief you will feel when it all works out will be soooo worth it.

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HJ
Henry Jose
Google Review

Was having nothing but issues with the DEF system in my Ram 3500. I didn't have high hopes because 3500 trucks are generally excluded from lemon law. The entire process from the time I contacted RockPoint Law to the time I received my settlement was under 6 months! Their response times were well above expectations.

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JR
Joe Russo
Google Review

My Telluride's transmission would jerk so hard between gears that my coffee would spill. Dealer had it four times. When I called RockPoint Law, they asked the exact technical question I'd been researching for weeks. We got a buyback with reimbursement for my deductible and rental costs. They speak fluent mechanic before they speak lawyer.

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K
Kirill
Google Review

Turbo failure on my EcoBoost F-150. Dealer replaced it once, then denied the second. Steven Nassi compared my case to known manufacturing defects for that engine. Other lawyers just saw 'engine trouble.' Steven built the argument around the known defect pattern. Secured a full refund.

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JR
Joshua Ragsdale
Google Review

Our minivan's sliding door would just stop working. Not a great feature with little kids. Tried to get it fixed under warranty three times. Final straw was when it almost closed on my son's arm. Leo was our attorney and got us a great outcome. They handled everything from start to finish.

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JG
Jorge Garcia
Google Review

My family's cross-country road trip turned into a nightmare when our brand-new SUV broke down in three different states. Each dealership kept giving us the run-around. RockPoint Law tracked every failed repair, hotel receipt, and even our unused theme park tickets. They got us a full buyback plus $8,200 for the vacation that fell apart.

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AG
Adam Gore
Google Review

The active suspension in my Ram 1500 started making a loud 'clunk' on every bump. Dealer replaced one part but the noise just moved to another corner. After the third repair, I was done. Natalie Nassi said, 'A repeated failure of a major chassis component is a clear impairment to value and use.' She didn't see a noise; she saw a failed system.

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PM
Piyawan Maprakhon
Google Review

My car is basically my mobile office. When the electrical system fried two laptops and killed my productivity, I reached out to RockPoint Law. Unlike the dealer who treated me as a nuisance, RockPoint Law saw how it impacted my ability to work. They secured a full refund on the vehicle plus $6,500 for lost income and equipment.

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Sadie Kim
Google Review

The manufacturer told me I was out of luck. RockPoint Law told me otherwise — and proved it! Their lemon law experience turned my nightmare into a fair resolution. What impressed me most was their transparency — no false claims, just hard facts and harder work. Worth every penny and then some!

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KE
Kevin Eimuth
Google Review

From the moment I walked into their office shaking with frustration, the team at RockPoint Law put me at ease. They listened patiently to my whole story, then laid out a clear game plan. Six weeks later, I was holding a check that made all those repair shop trips worth it. True professionals who deliver!

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JB
Jatt James Bond
Google Review

We had two vans with the same transmission failure. RockPoint Law consolidated both claims, lined up build dates, and pushed for an extended coverage fix. Both vans were repaired, and we got downtime reimbursed.

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KS
Kishan Singh
Google Review

The hands-free liftgate on my SUV would randomly open in my garage, denting the door. I felt crazy complaining about a 'convenience feature.' Our attorney reframed it: 'An uncontrolled operation of a motorized component is a safety and property damage risk.' The team used my security camera footage as evidence. We got a solid settlement.

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PS
Peyman Soleimani
Google Review
Why RockPoint

Why Florida drivers choose RockPoint Law

Lemon law and consumer warranty work is our core practice. A Florida claim is built on repair orders, a registered letter and a filing in the right forum, so it runs the same way in Pensacola as in Key West.

Lemon Law Is Our Core Practice

This isn't a side practice. Warranty and lemon law is what we do, every day, for drivers with defective vehicles.

A Miami Office, and the Whole State

Our Florida office is on Brickell Avenue. The Board hears cases from Pensacola to Miami, run out of three Attorney General offices, so we take cases from Jacksonville to the Keys, not only from Miami-Dade.

We Get the Order Right

Is there a certified program for your make? Did the defect notice go to the right address? Do the 60 days run from the rights period or from a program's final action? We take each step in the order Chapter 681 asks for.

Clear Communication

Straight updates at every stage of your case. No long silences and no surprises.

No Upfront Legal Fees

Qualifying cases run on contingency. You don't pay a fee unless we recover for you, and section 681.112(1) has a court award a prevailing consumer's reasonable attorney's fees.

Meet the Team →
Our Story

Meet the Firm Behind Your Claim

The same attorneys who handle claims nationwide handle them here. Two minutes on who we are and how we work.

Side-by-Side

Do I need a lemon law attorney in Florida?

Handling a Florida claim alone vs with an attorney. Flip the switch to see the same four moments from both sides.

Vehicle repair invoices spread across a kitchen table with a hand hovering over them
On your own1 / 4

Filing with the Attorney General when BBB Auto Line had to see it first

Section 681.108(1) makes a certified manufacturer program a required first stop wherever one exists and you were told how to use it. File with the Board first and the weeks it takes to send you back come out of a 60-day window.

A person on the phone at a home desk with a notepad of call notes
On your own2 / 4

Treating 15 days out of service as the finish line

Fifteen cumulative days is when notice is due under section 681.104(1)(b). The qualifying number is 30, or 60 for an RV. Both counts take days from "one or more" defects, so an owner who stops at 15 hasn't started the claim yet.

A wall calendar with deadline dates circled in red beside a set of car keys
On your own3 / 4

Sending the letter to the dealership, or by ordinary mail

Section 681.104(1)(a) wants written notice to the manufacturer's zone, district or regional office, by registered or express mail. That letter opens the two 10-day windows. A note handed to the service manager opens nothing.

One person alone at the end of a long empty hearing room table
On your own4 / 4

Taking a replacement because it was offered

Section 681.104(2)(a) gives you an unconditional right to the money instead. Which is worth more depends on the 120,000-mile offset and how much of your odometer is someone else's mileage, because on a replacement you pay that offset.

Hands working through an organized stack of repair orders with a highlighter and index tabs
With RockPoint Law1 / 4

The certified-program list checked before anything is filed

We check the Attorney General's list against your make and purchase date first, and file where the claim can actually be heard.

A certified mail envelope and return receipt card being prepared on a desk
With RockPoint Law2 / 4

Calendar days counted the way section 681.102(5) defines them

We send the 15-day notice when it's due and build the 30-day count separately, adding days across unrelated faults.

An open case planner with color-coded deadline tabs being marked
With RockPoint Law3 / 4

Notice to the manufacturer's regional office, by registered mail

We draft it, send it the way the statute requires, keep the receipt, and track both 10-day windows, because a manufacturer that misses either loses its final attempt.

A bound exhibit folder open on a conference table
With RockPoint Law4 / 4

Refund against replacement, worked out on the real offset

We take the non-consumer miles out of the odometer, run the base-price sum both ways, and check the trade-in against the NADA figure the manufacturer has to produce.

Serving All 67 Florida Counties

On the ground across Florida

Twenty-three million people and a lot of road

Florida counted 21,538,187 residents in the 2020 census and the Census Bureau put it past 23.4 million by July 2025, which makes it third in the country behind California and Texas, and it has 67 counties, about 19.5 million registered motor vehicles and more than 17 million licensed drivers on top of that. The Legislature's economists expect 145.1 million visitors in the 2025-26 fiscal year, and they figure the effect all those visitors have on the roads is about the same as 2.25 million extra residents.

None of that ties the claim to your county, though, because the Request for Arbitration goes to Tallahassee and the department screens it there and then the Board hears it out of one of three Attorney General offices, so somebody in Miami files with Tallahassee and then ends up dealing with Fort Lauderdale.

Four Interstates and a turnpike

I-75 runs 470 miles down the Gulf side and then across the Everglades as Alligator Alley, I-95 covers 381 miles of the Atlantic coast from Jacksonville to Miami, I-10 crosses 362 miles of the panhandle and I-4 runs 131 miles from Tampa over to the Daytona Beach area, and then Florida's Turnpike adds another 264 miles from the Golden Glades up to Wildwood. All told, FDOT certified 125,157 miles of public road at the end of 2025. Since there's no mileage cap on the rights period, all of that driving costs a Florida owner nothing on eligibility, and the only place it shows up is later on, in the offset.

Florida sells cars it doesn't build

No automaker runs a car or light-truck assembly plant in Florida, and the state's whole automobile-manufacturing workforce is about 250 people spread across 37 small establishments, so what Florida builds instead is boats (325 boat-building establishments and 10,157 workers), aerospace and fire apparatus. JAXPORT handled 506,237 vehicles in its 2025 fiscal year and Florida takes 9.4% of new vehicle registrations in the country through 953 franchised dealerships, but every new car sold here was assembled somewhere else, and that's why the remedy runs through the manufacturer's warranty network and why section 681.113 keeps the dealer out of the case.

The big employers here are groceries and theme parks and cruise lines and hospitals, meaning Walmart, Publix out of Lakeland, Walt Disney World, Royal Caribbean and Carnival on the Miami waterfront, Florida Power & Light at Juno Beach, and hospital systems like AdventHealth, BayCare and Baptist Health South Florida. All those people have to get to work, and the commute is when a defect shows up.

Florida doesn't inspect cars

Mandatory periodic safety inspection ended back in 1981, and the emissions test that used to be required in six counties was repealed effective July 1, 2000, by chapter 2000-266, Laws of Florida. So Florida keeps no recurring, dated state record of your vehicle's condition, and that's why section 681.103(4) matters so much here: the itemized repair order is very nearly the whole file.

Florida's title law is tied to its lemon law. A buyback must be titled "Manufacturer's Buy Back" under section 319.14, section 681.114(1) makes the manufacturer report the VIN within 10 days, and section 681.114(2) requires disclosure and a fresh one-year, 12,000-mile warranty before resale. The Attorney General also publishes a searchable list of reported buybacks. And section 681.115 voids any waiver of your Chapter 681 rights, including a settlement term that bars you from disclosing it.

We take Florida lemon law claims from across the state, including:

  • Jacksonville
  • Miami
  • Tampa
  • Orlando
  • Port St. Lucie
  • St. Petersburg
  • Cape Coral
  • Hialeah
  • Tallahassee
  • Fort Lauderdale
  • Pembroke Pines
  • Hollywood

Jacksonville tops the list because its government merged with Duval County back in 1968, in case you were wondering, and we take cases from smaller places as well, from Gainesville and Palm Bay to Naples and Ocala and the Keys.

How to reach us

Our Florida office is at 1221 Brickell Ave, Suite 900, Miami, FL 33131, but you don't have to come to Brickell to bring a claim, because the Request for Arbitration goes to the Attorney General, which takes initial filings by email, and the Board hears cases out of its offices in Tallahassee, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale. The quickest way to start is the online intake form, and we review every request and respond as soon as we can, or you can call (305) 697-6690.

If you'd like to follow the paperwork yourself first, the Attorney General publishes the Request for Arbitration form, the Motor Vehicle Defect Notification form, a remedy calculation guideline and the buyback list. Its Lemon Law Hotline is 1-800-321-5366, or 850-414-3500 from outside Florida. See how to file a lemon law claim for the order, whether you can claim lemon law on a used car for the question we hear most, and our Texas and Georgia guides for how other states handle the same problem.

Florida city pages

Case Results

Recent RockPoint Law recoveries

These numbers are from the lemon law settlement record our firm publishes across brands, and since they're firmwide results and not Florida outcomes we figured it was better to just say so right here than leave it for the fine print. What they can tell you is what a well-documented defect claim can be worth when it's handled properly, and they can't tell you much beyond that about anybody's particular car.

$160,264 BMW X6

Recovery on a vehicle with engine, electrical and suspension defects.

$144,550 Porsche Macan

Recovery on a Macan with suspension, drivetrain, electrical and HVAC problems.

$110,289 Rivian R1T

Recovery after electrical, engine and suspension failures on an electric pickup.

Figures are drawn from our firm's published settlement record and are not specific to Florida matters. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. See more RockPoint Law settlements 

RockPoint Law, by the numbers

$50M+**
Recovered for clients
3,000+‡
Cases handled
25+
Years of combined experience
97%*
Resolution rate
  • Free Consultation
  • No attorney's fees unless we recover for you.†
Recent Google reviewsAcross all RockPoint offices: 4.8 from 19 Google reviews
  • ★★★★★a month ago
    I had a really good experience with RockPoint Law. The whole process was a lot easier than I expected and everyone I dealt with was helpful and responsive. Whenever I had a question, I was able to get an answer without feeling like I was chasing anyone down. They handled everything and kept me updated along the way. Definitely glad I reached out to them.
    Ronen S. Malekmehr
  • ★★★★★6 months ago
    Saw RockPoint Law and wasn't sure. Called anyway because I was at my wit's end. Natalie Nassi answered and she remembered me from somewhere else. Same calm voice, same no-nonsense approach. She took my case and handled everything. Manufacturer bought the car back. Name on the door changed but Natalie didn't. That's what matters to me.
    Tanja Moldenhauer
  • ★★★★★6 months ago
    Saw RockPoint Law online and wasn't sure because I hadn't heard of them. But I was desperate. My car had been in and out of the shop for months. Called them up and the person I spoke with was so easy to talk to. No legal mumbo jumbo, just straight talk. They took my case and got me a buyback. New name but they know what they're doing. Would recommend.
    Rodolfo Paulino
2 more Google reviews
  • ★★★★★6 months ago
    Honestly wasn't sure about RockPoint Law since I hadn't heard of them before. But I was desperate. My car had been in the shop five times for the same problem and nobody could figure it out. Service advisor started avoiding my calls. I found RockPoint online, called, and the person I talked to was really down to earth. They took my repair orders and handled the whole thing. A few months later, the manufacturer bought the car back. New name but they got it done. Would use them again in a heartbeat.
    Om Shiv
  • ★★★★★6 months ago
    Saw RockPoint Law pop up when I was googling lemon law help. Wasn't sure about the name but figured I'd give it a shot. My Jeep Gladiator had a death wobble at highway speeds—front end would shake violently. Dealer replaced the steering stabilizer twice, still shook. The person I talked to at RockPoint was super calm and explained everything clearly. They handled the claim and Jeep bought the truck back. Glad I didn't let the new name scare me off. They got the job done.
    Víctor Torres

About this page

Written and edited by the RockPoint Law content team. Prepared September 2026 to reflect the Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act, Chapter 681 of the Florida Statutes, Secs. 681.10 through 681.118, administered by the Office of the Attorney General. See our editorial policy.

Anyone can check a Florida attorney's license and public discipline record in The Florida Bar's own member directory. We think you should, for any firm you're considering, including this one.

Start here

Tell us what the car is doing in Florida

Three details about the vehicle, and how to reach you.

  • The year and make of your vehicle
  • What the dealer has already tried, and whether you paid for it
  • Your name, phone and email. We review every request and respond as soon as we can

No cost, no obligation. Contacting RockPoint Law does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Check my case Start My Free Case Review Or call (305) 697-6690
Our Team

Meet the Team
Behind RockPoint Law

A dedicated team that stands with you through every step of your Lemon Law claim.

Steven Nassi
Steven Nassi
Managing Partner
Founder · 25+ years of litigation experience
★ Founder & Managing Partner
Natalie Nassi
Natalie Nassi
Managing Partner
Columbia University · 20+ years in consumer advocacy
Ron Kaniuk
Ron Kaniuk
Florida Managing Partner
St. John's University School of Law · Consumer protection & lemon law
Aaron Waldo
Aaron Waldo
Attorney
U.S. Marine Corps veteran · Automotive background
Liam Jones
Liam Jones
Attorney
Licensed in New York & New Jersey
Christian Garcia
Christian Garcia
Senior Case Manager
Case management from intake through resolution
Rudy Gutierrez
Rudy Gutierrez
Intake Manager
First point of contact for new clients & case evaluations

Case results in Florida

Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. All case results

FAQ

Florida lemon law questions

The questions Florida drivers ask us most, and what you should know before you send anything.

Does Florida have a lemon law?

Yes. Chapter 681, the Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act, makes a manufacturer repurchase or replace a new vehicle whose warranty defect survives a reasonable number of repairs. The Attorney General runs it, and the consumer pays nothing to file.

Yes. It is the Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act, Chapter 681 of the Florida Statutes, and it is administered by the Attorney General rather than by a motor vehicles agency. If a warranty defect substantially impairs the use, value or safety of a new vehicle and survives a reasonable number of repair attempts, section 681.104(2) makes the manufacturer buy the vehicle back or replace it within forty days, and the choice between those two is yours. Disputes are decided by a three-member panel of the Florida New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board, whose members the Attorney General appoints. There is no filing fee for the consumer. Florida funds the whole program from a two-dollar fee the dealer collects on every sale under section 681.117.

What qualifies for the lemon law in Florida?

A defect that substantially impairs use, value or safety, plus one of two routes: three repairs of the same defect and a final attempt after written notice, or 30 cumulative days out of service. Florida has no separate safety route.

A vehicle qualifies when a nonconformity that substantially impairs its use, value or safety survives what section 681.104(3) presumes to be a reasonable number of attempts. Florida gives exactly two ways there and either is enough. The same nonconformity repaired at least three times, plus a final attempt by the manufacturer after your written notice, with the defect still present. Or the vehicle out of service for repair of one or more nonconformities for a cumulative thirty or more days, sixty for a recreational vehicle. Florida has no serious-safety shortcut, unlike Texas at two attempts and Georgia at one. Accident, abuse, neglect and unauthorized modification are affirmative defenses under section 681.104(4), as is a claim the manufacturer says was not brought in good faith.

How many repair attempts does Florida require?

Three repairs of the same defect, then one more. After the third, you write to the manufacturer by registered or express mail and it gets 10 days to respond and 10 more to repair.

Three of the same defect, and then one more. Section 681.104(3)(a) asks that the same nonconformity has been subject to repair at least three times, plus a final attempt by the manufacturer if that attempt was undertaken the way section 681.104(1)(a) describes, with the defect continuing to exist. So after the third failed repair you write to the manufacturer by registered or express mail and it gets a last chance: ten days to respond and name a reasonably accessible facility, then ten days from delivery to fix it. Forty-five for a recreational vehicle. If it misses either deadline, or fails to offer a reasonably accessible facility, the statute says the final-attempt requirement no longer applies at all, and your three repairs stand on their own.

What is the Florida lemon law time frame?

The rights period is 24 months from delivery with no mileage limit. You then have 60 days after it ends, or 30 days after a certified program's final action if that's later, to reach the Board.

The Lemon Law Rights Period is twenty-four months from the date the vehicle was delivered to you, and section 681.102(9) puts no mileage limit on it at all. Texas closes its window at 24,000 miles. Florida does not close it on miles. The defect has to be first reported inside those twenty-four months, and section 681.103(1) then makes the manufacturer finish the repairs even if the work runs past the window. Acting is a separate clock. Section 681.109(4) gives you sixty days after the rights period ends, or thirty days after a certified program's final action, whichever is later. A court claim runs one year from the same events under section 681.112(2). And section 681.109(1) adds a separate sixty-day deadline for filing with a state-certified manufacturer program, where one applies to your vehicle.

Do I have to write to the manufacturer before I file in Florida?

Yes, and there are two letters. One after the third repair of the same defect, and one once the vehicle has been out of service for 15 cumulative days, both to the manufacturer.

Yes, and there are two letters doing two jobs. After three repairs of the same defect, section 681.104(1)(a) requires written notification by registered or express mail to the manufacturer, not the dealer, at the regional office its warranty or owner's manual must name. That opens its final attempt to cure. Separately, once the vehicle has been out of service a cumulative fifteen days, section 681.104(1)(b) requires written notice of that too. The Attorney General publishes a Motor Vehicle Defect Notification form for both and accepts certified mail. One trap it flags in its own emphasis: sending a copy of that form to the Lemon Law Arbitration Division is not the same as filing a claim. It is one of the steps that makes you eligible to file one.

Where is a Florida lemon law case actually heard?

Before a three-member panel of the Florida New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board, in a regional location. The Board has 40 days to hear the dispute and 60 to decide it.

Before the Florida New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board, which sits within the Department of Legal Affairs. Panels of three members decide by majority vote under section 681.1095(2), and at least one member in each region must have expertise in motor vehicle mechanics. Manufacturers must submit where the department finds the dispute eligible. Hearings are informal but testimony is under oath, you may cross-examine and be represented by counsel, and the Board may inspect or test drive the vehicle. The Board hears cases in locations across the state, administered from the Attorney General's offices in Tallahassee, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, and section 681.1095(6) gives it forty days to hear the dispute and sixty to render a decision. Proceedings are open to the public.

Does Florida charge anything to bring a lemon law claim?

No. There is no fee to use a certified program or the Board. A $2 fee collected on every new sale or lease funds the system, and a court awards a prevailing consumer's attorney's fees.

Nothing to file. Florida charges the consumer no fee at any stage of arbitration. The Attorney General's Consumer Guide to the Florida Lemon Law says there is no fee to use a manufacturer's certified procedure and no fee to have the Board hear your case. Section 681.117 funds the program instead from a two-dollar fee the dealer or lessor collects at the consummation of every sale or lease, remitted to the Motor Vehicle Warranty Trust Fund. That differs from Texas, which charges a thirty-five dollar filing fee and then makes the non-prevailing party reimburse it. Attorney's fees are separate and they run in your favor: section 681.112(1) says a court shall award a prevailing consumer reasonable attorney's fees, and section 681.1095(13) adds the fees spent confirming an award the manufacturer ignored. One caution sits on the other side, at section 681.106: a court that finds a claim was brought in bad faith can make the consumer pay the manufacturer's costs and fees.

Do I have to use BBB Auto Line or NCDS before the Florida board?

For much of the market, yes. If your manufacturer runs a program the Attorney General has certified, section 681.108(1) makes you use it before the state Board.

For most of the market, yes, and this decides more Florida claims than the repair count does. Section 681.108(1) makes prior resort to a manufacturer program the Attorney General has certified a precondition, wherever the manufacturer runs one and told you how and where to file. BBB Auto Line covers Ford, GM, Hyundai and Genesis, Kia, Mazda, Nissan and Infiniti, Volkswagen, Audi and Bentley. NCDS covers Toyota and Lexus, and Honda, Acura and Tesla vehicles bought on or after November 1, 2022. CAP Motors covers Porsche. Two cautions from the Attorney General: "state-certified" does not mean state-run, and submitting to a program that is not on the certified list may cost you time and your Lemon Law rights.

Does the Florida lemon law cover a used car?

Generally no. Chapter 681 covers new vehicles, demonstrators and qualifying leases, but its rights can pass to a buyer who gets the car inside the 24 months.

Generally no, and Florida has no separate used-vehicle lemon law of the kind Massachusetts runs. Chapter 681 reaches new and demonstrator vehicles, and leased vehicles on a lease of a year or more where you are responsible for repairs. There is one real exception: section 681.102(4) extends "consumer" to someone the vehicle is transferred to during the Lemon Law Rights Period for the same personal or household use, so a car bought from its first owner inside twenty-four months of original delivery can still carry its rights, and section 681.115 confirms they pass to a subsequent transferee. Otherwise a used vehicle runs on the written warranty and the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which has no mileage cap at all.

Does it cover motorcycles, RVs or heavy pickups?

Motorcycles no, RVs partly, and pickups only up to 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight. Excluded vehicles can still support a federal Magnuson-Moss claim.

Motorcycles no, RVs partly, heavy pickups only under 10,000 pounds. Section 681.102(14) excludes motorcycles, mopeds, electric bicycles, off-road vehicles, track-only vehicles and trucks over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight. Texas covers motorcycles and sets no self-propelled weight ceiling, so the same bike can be inside one statute and outside the other. Recreational vehicles are covered except their living facilities, which the statute lists in detail, and section 681.1096 sends RV disputes to a department-qualified industry mediation and arbitration program instead of the Board, with the manufacturer paying the fees and a seventy-day limit. Notice on an RV goes to every manufacturer that might warrant the fault, because chassis and components are often separately warranted. Excluded vehicles can still support a federal Magnuson-Moss claim, which carries no vehicle-type exclusion and no weight ceiling at all.

How is a Florida buyback calculated?

The purchase price plus collateral and incidental charges, less an offset: the base price times the miles you drove, divided by 120,000.

Section 681.104(2) refunds the full purchase price plus all reasonably incurred collateral and incidental charges, less a reasonable offset for use. That offset is arithmetic: section 681.102(19) takes the base selling price on your invoice, excluding taxes, government fees and dealer fees, multiplies it by the mileage attributable to you up to the settlement or the hearing, whichever comes first, and divides by 120,000. Sixty thousand for a recreational vehicle. Two things save you money. Mileage at delivery comes out, and so does non-consumer mileage, which the Attorney General says includes test drives by the dealer, the manufacturer, a program inspector and the Board itself. On a replacement, you pay that offset rather than having it deducted.

What happens if the manufacturer ignores the arbitration decision?

Florida puts a price on it: up to $1,000 a day through the circuit court, $25 a day in delay damages, and a doubled or tripled award for a bad-faith appeal.

Florida prices that explicitly. Section 681.1095(9) gives the manufacturer forty days from receiving a decision in your favor to deliver the refund or replacement, and compliance only counts on the day you actually receive it. Do neither that nor appeal, and section 681.1095(10) lets the department ask the circuit court to impose a fine of up to a thousand dollars a day until it reaches twice the purchase price, unless the manufacturer proves by clear and convincing evidence that the delay was beyond its control. The same subsection says the court shall affirm the award on your application. Section 681.1095(13) then adds twenty-five dollars a day, your confirmation fees, and a doubled or trebled award for a bad-faith appeal.

Don't take on the manufacturer alone.

Tell us the vehicle and what the dealer has already tried. No fee unless we recover for you.†

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