What Is a Lemon?

You’re among the fortunate if your first instinct is to define a lemon as a yellow, tart citrus fruit. That’s a good indication you’ve never had a vehicle that drove you to distraction with a recurring problem or a series of failures.

The term “lemon” referring to a “worthless thing” came into use in 1906, around the same time we began converting from horse-drawn to motor-driven transportation. One would think that shelling out tens of thousands of dollars would get you something significantly more than a worthless thing. In fact, according to J.D. Power and Associates’ 2008 Vehicle Dependability Study conducted in 2008, the industry average of vehicle problems per 100 is 20.6 with Lexus the most dependable at 12 and Land Rover at the bottom with 34.4. That means one-third of Land Rover owners experienced problems that effected the dependability of the vehicle.

Many of us, in frustration, have referred to our cars as “lemons,” but from a legal standpoint, the definition is more precise: a vehicle with a substantial problem that has not been fixed within a reasonable number of attempts (usually three attempts, depending on the state law) and/or has been out of service for a specified number of days (usually 30 days). The “substantial problem” has to negatively affect the value, safety and/or function of the vehicle. Another layer of the law redefines “reasonable number of attempts” when the defect could cause serious injury or death. In that case, the number is generally “one.”

The important thing to remember is that you’re not stuck with a true lemon. There are both federal and state laws that require the manufacturer to compensate lemon owners in the form of replacement or refund. The laws require specific steps including a letter of notification, possibly an Informal Dispute Settlement; then there’s always the last resort: a lawsuit.