Tennessee Lemon Law Statute (§ 55-24-101)

Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-24-101 et seq. — the Tennessee Motor Vehicle Warranty Act — is the core Tennessee Lemon Law. The statute provides refund or replacement for vehicles that don’t conform to express manufacturer warranties despite a reasonable number of repair attempts, plus permissive attorney fees under § 55-24-108.

Core eligibility

Under § 55-24-101, the statute covers:

• New motor vehicles purchased or leased in Tennessee.
• Purpose: personal, family, or household use (not commercial-only).
• GVWR: under 10,000 lbs.
• Vehicle types: passenger cars, light trucks, motorcycles.
• Excluded: motor homes (except chassis), commercial-only vehicles, vehicles above 10,000 lbs.

The 1-year Rights Period

§ 55-24-105 establishes the eligibility window:

• 1 year from original delivery, OR
• End of express written warranty, whichever first.

Tennessee’s 1-year window — without explicit mileage cap in the statute — is among the shortest combined Rights Periods in the country. Compare:

• 1-year: Tennessee, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Colorado, Massachusetts
• 18-month: Virginia
• 2-year: most other states

The short window demands fast action — document defects immediately and reach the 3-attempt / 30-day threshold within the 1-year window.

Repair-attempt thresholds

Under § 55-24-105, the “reasonable number of attempts” presumption applies when:

• Three or more repair attempts for the same nonconformity within the Rights Period, OR
• 30 or more cumulative calendar days out of service.

The 3-attempt threshold is more consumer-favorable than the standard 4-attempt thresholds in CT/CA/WA/NC/AZ/CO/WI/MN — Tennessee joins Georgia § 10-1-783(b) and Massachusetts at the 3-attempt tier.

See our repair-attempt presumption article.

Permissive § 55-24-108 attorney fees

§ 55-24-108 provides that a prevailing consumer “may be allowed by the court” to recover reasonable attorney fees as part of the recovery. The award is permissive / discretionary — not automatic — so framing it as guaranteed overstates the statute. (More reliable mandatory fee recovery in a Tennessee lemon case comes from the parallel TCPA and Magnuson-Moss claims.)

Remedies

§ 55-24-103 requires manufacturer to either:

• Refund: full purchase price + sales tax + registration + finance charges + incidental + minus reasonable use offset, OR
• Replacement: comparable new vehicle.

Consumer chooses between refund and replacement.

See our remedies guide.

Manufacturer IDS required first

Under § 55-24-106, if the manufacturer has a certified IDS procedure (16 C.F.R. Part 703 compliant), the consumer must first complete that procedure before court action. Most major manufacturers’ IDS in Tennessee is BBB Auto Line.

Tennessee does NOT have a state-administered Lemon Law arbitration board.

See our BBB Auto Line article.

Bottom line

Tennessee’s § 55-24-101 provides a tight 1-year Rights Period combined with a consumer-favorable 3-attempt threshold and permissive § 55-24-108 fees. The short window means act quickly — document defects and reach threshold ASAP. Combined with TCPA treble damages and Magnuson-Moss, the framework provides meaningful consumer protection.

Related

Article

Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act in Tennessee

How the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. § 2301) overlays Tennessee's § 55-24-101 Lemon Law and provides federal-court access through D. Tenn. divisions.

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Tennessee's Repair-Attempt Presumption (3 Attempts / 30 Days OOS)

How Tenn. Code § 55-24-105 establishes 'reasonable number of attempts' — 3-attempt or 30-day OOS thresholds within the 1-year Rights Period.

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Tennessee Lemon Law Statute of Limitations

Tennessee's timing rules — the 1-year Rights Period, the dangerous 1-year TCPA SOL, and the 4-year Magnuson-Moss / UCC backstop.

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Tennessee Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)

Tenn. Code § 47-18-101 et seq. — TCPA discretionary treble damages under § 47-18-109(a)(3), mandatory § 47-18-109(e)(1) attorney fees, and the dangerous 1-year SOL.

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