Your new fridge has needed the same repair three times since you brought it home to Indianapolis, and you're wondering if there's a lemon law for appliances in Indiana. There isn't, because the state's lemon law only covers cars and light trucks. It does not cover a fridge, a washer or any other home appliance.
Three visits means three days of waiting at home for a tech. That gets old fast.
You still have rights, though. The written warranty that came with your appliance is backed by federal law, and that law has teeth.
Start with the line that fits you:
- A new appliance broke for the first time: call the brand for a warranty repair, and read what your warranty covers.
- It keeps breaking, and the warranty says "full": after a fair number of tries, the brand must let you pick a refund or a free replacement.
- It keeps breaking, and the warranty says "limited": the warranty's own terms decide most of what you get. If the brand breaks those terms, you can take it to court.
- A local shop fixed it once: that alone doesn't end your warranty. We explain why in will a local repair shop void my appliance warranty. Under a full warranty, only repair tries by the brand, or the tech it sends, count toward a refund or a new one. So while the warranty runs, let the brand do the repairs.
- Your model is on a recall list: if the notice says to stop using it, stop now. Then follow the recall's fix. Check the CPSC recall list.
- It's out of warranty: if the brand already tried to fix it while the warranty ran, keep your work orders and ask the brand anyway. If not, a repair price helps you choose between fixing it and buying new.
What qualifies for lemon law in Indiana?
A car or light truck that you bought or leased from an Indiana dealer. The problem has to be reported within 18 months or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first, and the Indiana Attorney General's lemon law guide calls the law by its full name, the Motor Vehicle Protection Act. The law itself, Indiana Code 24-5-13-5, defines a "motor vehicle" as a road vehicle under 10,000 pounds, and leaves out motor homes, motorcycles and farm tractors.
The law's own name tells you what it covers. Motor vehicles. A fridge, range, washer or dryer isn't on the list.
Read the exact wording
Indiana’s “Lemon Law” (The Motor Vehicle Protection Act) provides protection to Hoosiers who purchase vehicles that don’t meet certain basic standards.
DID YOU BUY OR LEASE FOR PERSONAL USE: A car or light truck? Within 18 months of the date the car initially left the dealership? With less than 18,000 miles? From an Indiana dealer?
Does lemon law apply to equipment?
Not for home appliances. Indiana's lemon law covers cars and light trucks, and its chapter is called Motor Vehicle Protection. A second Indiana law, Indiana Code 24-5-20, covers new gear that helps a person with a disability move, hear, see or talk, like a wheelchair, scooter or hearing aid. Under Indiana Code 24-5-20-9, the maker gets two repair tries in the first year. If the same problem is still there, or the gear spends 30 business days in the shop that year with no loaner like it, the maker must take it back. Indiana Code 24-5-20-11 says it then gives you a refund, minus a fair amount for your use, or a new one. A fridge, washer or dryer isn't on either list.
That's a letdown. But for an appliance, you lean on two other things instead: the written warranty, and the federal law that sets rules for it.
What does a "full" warranty give you?
More than a limited one does. A "full" warranty has to meet federal minimum rules, and a "limited" one doesn't.
Check the label first
Federal law says a written warranty on anything that costs more than $10 must be labeled "full" or "limited." That rule is 15 USC 2303. Look for that word on yours.
What a full warranty promises
Under a full warranty, the brand must fix the problem in a reasonable time, at no charge. And when it can't fix it, 15 USC 2304(a)(4) hands the choice to you.
The brand gets a fair number of tries. If the problem is still there after that, you choose between your money back and a free new one, and for a broken part, that means a refund or a free new part. The brand must put the new part in for free, too.
Read the exact wording
if the product (or a component part thereof) contains a defect or malfunction after a reasonable number of attempts by the warrantor to remedy defects or malfunctions in such product, such warrantor must permit the consumer to elect either a refund for, or replacement without charge of, such product or part (as the case may be).
From 15 USC 2304(a)(4)
There's one limit. The brand doesn't owe you any of this if it can show the problem came from damage while you had it, or from unreasonable use, such as skipping needed upkeep. Damage the flaw itself caused doesn't count against you. That's in 15 USC 2304(c).
What a limited warranty means
A "limited" warranty doesn't have to meet those rules. Its own terms tell you what the brand will pay for.
Read them closely. They aren't quite the whole deal, though. Under 15 USC 2308, a brand that gives a written warranty can't take away the law's basic promise that the product works. It can only cut how long that promise lasts, and not below the length of the written warranty. The cut has to be fair, and it has to be in clear words that stand out on the warranty.
What can you do if a new appliance keeps breaking?
Use the warranty, and keep a paper trail. Here are the steps, in order:
- Find your written warranty. Check whether it says "full" or "limited," and note how long it lasts.
- Report every problem to the brand. Write down the date, what went wrong and who came out. Keep every work order.
- Check for a recall. Search the CPSC recall list for your model number. Most recall notices list the model numbers they cover, and you can also call the CPSC hotline at 800-638-2772.
- Complain if the brand won't help. The Indiana Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division takes complaints about businesses and tries to settle them.
- Know that you can sue. Under 15 USC 2310(d), you can sue a brand that breaks its written warranty. If you win, the court may make the brand pay your lawyer's costs.
Before you sue
15 USC 2310(e) says you must give the brand a fair chance to fix the problem first. Your paper trail is how you show that you did. If your warranty says to use the brand's dispute program first, and the program meets the FTC's rules, you generally have to try it before you sue under this law.
A repair log to keep
Start a note on your phone the day the appliance first fails. Add a line for each visit:
- Date: when it failed, and when the tech came.
- What it did: in your own words, such as "freezer warm, fridge fine."
- Who came: the company, and the tech's name if you have it.
- What they did: the part they changed, from the work order.
- Work order number: so the brand can find the visit.
Snap a photo of the model and serial number label, too. You'll need the model number for the recall check.
If the appliance came with a new home
The builder's warranty usually isn't the one to use. We explain why in does my new home's builder warranty cover the appliances.
Once your warranty runs out, check your work orders. If the brand tried to fix this problem while the warranty ran, ask the brand for help first, and show it those orders. If your model is on the CPSC recall list, follow the recall's fix. If neither fits, a repair price helps you decide whether to fix it or replace it. Here's how a repair call through this site works.