Reference
Texas Lemon Law Glossary
The words that show up in a Texas Lemon Law claim, in plain English. Every term here is defined the way the Texas Occupations Code and the TxDMV use it, not the way a dealership uses it.
- Agency decision
- The written ruling a TxDMV hearings examiner issues after a Lemon Law hearing. It decides whether the vehicle qualifies and what the manufacturer must do. Either side may request a rehearing; an appeal goes to a state district court in Travis County.
- Rights period
- The window in which the defect must first appear for the Texas Lemon Law presumptions to apply: 24 months or 24,000 miles from delivery, whichever comes first. The TxDMV complaint is due within six months of the earliest of three dates: the express warranty expiring, 24 months, or 24,000 miles from delivery.
- Four-times test
- The presumption that a vehicle is a lemon when the same defect has been repaired four or more times without a fix, with all four visits inside the first 24 months or 24,000 miles.
- Serious safety test
- A shorter route for defects that threaten life or limb. Two repair attempts on a defect that impedes control of the vehicle, or risks fire or explosion, can be enough.
- 30-day test
- The presumption based on time rather than visits: the vehicle has been out of service for repair for a cumulative total of 30 or more days within 24 months or 24,000 miles. Days on a comparable loaner do not count.
- Mileage-use allowance
- The deduction a manufacturer takes from a repurchase to reflect the miles driven before the first repair attempt. Texas calculates it on a 120,000-mile scale, so it is arithmetic rather than opinion.
- Repurchase
- The manufacturer buys the vehicle back for the purchase price less the mileage-use allowance, typically including taxes, title and registration.
- Replacement
- The manufacturer supplies a comparable new vehicle instead of refunding the purchase price.
- Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act
- The federal warranty statute that runs parallel to the state Lemon Law. It is brought in court rather than at the TxDMV, and it lets a prevailing consumer recover attorney fees from the manufacturer.
- DTPA
- The Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. A separate route that can apply where a seller or manufacturer misrepresented the vehicle or the repairs. Filed in court, not at the agency.
- Derate
- When a diesel truck's engine control system deliberately cuts power, often triggered by an emissions or DEF fault. It is a defect pattern the Lemon Law can reach, not a normal operating mode.
- TxDMV
- The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. It administers the Texas Lemon Law from its Austin headquarters, handles the complaint, the mediation and the hearing.
- Reasonable number of attempts
- The statutory shorthand for whether a manufacturer has had a fair chance to fix the defect. The four-times, serious safety and 30-day tests are the ways Texas law presumes that point has been reached.
- Final repair attempt
- The written notice giving the manufacturer one last opportunity to repair before the presumption applies. Sending it correctly, and keeping proof, matters to the case.
- Out of service
- Days the vehicle sits unavailable to you because of the defect, counted for the 30-day test. It is measured across the rights period, not in one continuous block.
Not sure which of these applies to your vehicle?