- Eligibility: 3 unsuccessful repair attempts, or 1 unsuccessful repair attempt of defect likely to cause death or serious bodily injury, or 30 business days out of service within shorter of two years or 24,000 miles.
- Resolution Attempt: Written notice + opportunity to repair to manufacturer. State-run arbitration mechanism available. Law specifically applies to leased vehicles.
Update: December 7,2011
All that glitters isn’t gold in Paradise if you’re stranded at home due to your lemon car. If you recently purchased a vehicle and it’s already given you your money’s worth of trouble, then Hawaii’s lemon law may be for you.
The first step in pursuing a lemon law claim is to make sure you have a lemon to begin with. Hawaii’s lemon law will cover new and leased vehicles, as well as used vehicles that are still under manufacturer warranty. Unfortunately, this law does not cover motorcycle or mopeds.
Secondly, the defect must fit within the guidelines set in place by Hawaii’s lemon law. That means that the manufacturer was notified of the defect and given opportunity to repair it within the warranty period. There must have been 3 unsuccessful repair attempts of a regular defect, or 1 unsuccessful repair of a critical defect, or it must have been out of service during 30 business days all shorter of two years or 24,000 miles, whichever occurs first.
If this sounds like you, then you probably have good grounds to file a lemon law claim. You must send a written notice to the manufacturer, where they in turn will have an additional opportunity to repair it. Should they fail at repairing it, and refuse to rectify the situation, state-run arbitration is available.
For more information, you can visit Hawaii’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Protection at http://hawaii.gov/dcca/rico.
