Alaska Lemon Law

Alaska's lemon law is Alaska Stat. §§ 45.45.300 to 45.45.360, the Alaska Motor Vehicle Warranty (Lemon Law) provisions, AS 45.45.300 - 45.45.360. It gives owners a remedy when the manufacturer can't fix a warranty defect after a fair chance. This page sums up the main rules as written in the statute, with links to the official text. Use it to check your dates and your repair visits, then talk to a lawyer about your own records.

Alaska lemon law at a glance

Does your vehicle qualify in Alaska?

The law covers new self-propelled land vehicles with four or more wheels, normally used for personal, family, or household purposes and required to be registered under AS 28.10. Excludes tractors, farm vehicles and vehicles designed primarily for off-road use. The protection period is the term of the express warranty or one year from delivery to the original owner, whichever period ends first. Inside that window, the statute presumes the manufacturer has had a fair chance to fix the problem when one of these is true:

• Repeated repairs: The same nonconformity subject to repair 3 or more times within that period and it continues to exist.
• Days out of service: Out of service for repair a total of 30 or more business days within the warranty term or one-year period, whichever ends first.

As with most lemon laws, the defect generally has to be covered by the manufacturer's warranty and serious enough to substantially impair the vehicle's use, value or safety; check the statute's exact wording. Count only visits for the same problem, and check each repair order for your complaint, the dates in and out, and the mileage. See what counts as a repair attempt.

Notice, dispute programs and deadlines

The owner must send written notice by certified mail to the manufacturer and its dealer or repairing agent no later than 60 days after the warranty or one-year period ends, demanding refund or replacement. The manufacturer may make a final repair attempt within 30 days of receiving the notice.

If the manufacturer has an attorney-general-approved informal dispute procedure complying with 16 C.F.R. Part 703, or offers binding-on-manufacturer arbitration or mediation approved by the attorney general, the owner must use it before claiming refund or replacement.

Deadlines can run out before you expect, and contacting a lawyer does not stop them. Read more about lemon law deadlines and notice to the manufacturer.

What you can recover

At the owner's option, a new comparable replacement vehicle or a refund of the full purchase price, less a reasonable allowance for use. The allowance may not exceed straight-line depreciation over seven years plus depreciation from owner neglect or abuse or non-defect body damage. Reasonable shipping costs to the repair facility are also reimbursed. Not stated in the lemon law itself. A manufacturer that fails to refund or replace is presumed to have committed an unfair trade practice under AS 45.50.471, and AS 45.50.537 awards a prevailing private plaintiff full reasonable attorney fees in actions under that act. Many claims are also resolved by a negotiated settlement. See buyback and replacement.

Federal warranty law also applies

The federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 2301–2312) applies in every state. It covers written and implied warranties on consumer products, including vehicles, and it can help when a vehicle falls outside Alaska's lemon law, for example some used vehicles sold with a warranty or a service contract.

Talk to us about your Alaska vehicle

SkyRidge Law P.C. reviews lemon law questions from owners in every state. Lawyers may practice only where they are licensed or otherwise authorized, so before you sign anything we tell you which lawyer would handle your case and where that lawyer is licensed. Send us your repair history and we will look at your dates with you.