Washington State Motor Home Lemon Law
Washington State has Lemon Laws designed to protect consumers that purchase motor homes called the Motor Home Lemon Law.
Motor Home Lemon Law
These pages contain information that applies only to motor homes purchased or leased new after June 30, 1998. If your motor home was purchased on or before that date, please refer to Washington State's General Lemon Law section for cars, trucks and motorcycles for information and the Lemon Law standards that apply to your motor home.
Motor Homes NOT covered are:- Portions of a motor home used as dwelling, office, or commercial space. (Only the self-propelled vehicle and chassis portions of a motor home are covered);
- Vehicles purchased or leased by a business as part of a fleet of 10 or more.
What is a Lemon?
Your motor home may qualify as a "lemon" if it has one or more substantial defects that have been subject to a "reasonable number of attempts" to diagnose or repair the problem(s) under the manufacturer's warranty. Substantial defects are those which are life threatening, create a risk of fire or explosion or which substantially impairs the vehicle's reliability, resale value or safe use. The law does not cover problems caused by owner abuse or negligence, or any unauthorized modifications or alterations made to the vehicle.A "reasonable number of attempts" has occurred when:
- A "serious safety defect" has been subject to diagnosis or repair one or more times during the period of coverage of the applicable motor home manufacturer's written warranty, plus a final attempt to repair, and the defect continues to exist; OR
- A "nonconformity" has been subject to diagnosis or repair three or more times, at least one of the times during the period of the applicable manufacturer's written warranty, plus a final attempt to repair the vehicle, and the nonconformity continues to exist; OR
- The motor home has been out of service by reason of diagnosis or repair of one or more nonconformities for a cumulative total of 60 calendar days aggregating days out-of-service for all the motor home's contributing manufacturers, and the motor home's contributing manufacturers have had at least one opportunity to coordinate and complete inspection and repairs after receiving final repair notices from the consumer.
* A "serious safety defect" is a life-threatening malfunction that impairs the driver's ability to control or operate the vehicle, or creates a risk of fire or explosion.
* A "nonconformity" is a defect that "substantially impairs" the use, value or safety of the motor vehicle so as to make the vehicle unreliable, unsafe or diminished in resale value for comparable vehicles.
At the arbitration hearing, the arbitrator will ask you which of the above criteria applies to your vehicle. You can claim one or more of the criteria listed above as long as you can prove to the arbitrator that they apply to the defect(s) in your vehicle.
You Have a "Lemon" ? What Should You Do?
Contact the Lemon Law Administration for more information and detailed instructions. Ask for the Lemon Law Motor Home Booklet and the Request for Arbitration Form. Read through the information listed below about the Arbitration Process.
CALL
Statewide
Toll-free 1-(800) 541-8898
Local King County
(206) 587-4240
Local Spokane County
(509) 456-3124
WRITE
Lemon Law Administration
Attorney General's Office
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104
FAX
(206) 464-6451
lemon@atg.wa.gov
Additional Lemon Law Resources
Washington State's General Lemon LawLemon Law Tips
Keep a Vehicle Repair Log
Federal Lemon Law - Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act
