Electric Vehicles Under Illinois Lemon Law

Electric vehicles are fully covered under Illinois Lemon Law. 815 ILCS 380 defines “motor vehicle” broadly enough to include EVs.

See our EV-specific defects article for the defect categories most often litigated.

How Illinois Lemon Law applies to EVs

Same substantive analysis as for any other vehicle:

• Substantial impairment under § 380/2(f).
• Reasonable number of repair attempts under § 380/3.
• 12-month / 12,000-mile window.
• Refund or replacement.
• Parallel ICFA damages and Magnuson-Moss actions.

Common EV manufacturers in IL cases

Tesla

Common patterns: touchscreen failures, drive-unit replacements, battery range loss, phantom drain, build-quality issues.

Ford F-150 Lightning

Battery management, charging-system failures, drive-system issues.

Hyundai/Kia EVs

Ioniq 5, EV6, Niro EV — battery management, charging issues.

GM EVs

Bolt EV battery recall produced IL cases.

Rivian, Lucid, Audi e-tron, Mercedes EQS

Growing case categories.

Why EV cases are growing in Illinois

• Illinois’s EV adoption.
• Early-generation defect patterns.
• High vehicle prices → larger refund math.
• High ICFA attorney fees motivate the plaintiff’s bar.

What manufacturers typically argue

• “Battery degradation is normal.”
• “Latest software fixed it.”
• “OTAs aren’t ‘repair attempts.’”
• “Buyer’s charging habits caused the issue.”

TSBs and ICFA willfulness

When a TSB exists and the manufacturer refused refund, ICFA “knowing” violation findings produce treble damages.

What you should do

1. Document each repair attempt — service center visits AND OTA updates.
2. Track range estimates and battery capacity.
3. Save charging-session data.
4. Send § 380/3 notice.
5. Get a Illinois lemon-law attorney with EV experience.

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