Utah's 4-Attempt / 30-Business-Day OOS Presumption

Utah’s lemon-law presumption under Utah Code § 13-20-5 has two tracks. The 30-business-day OOS threshold is the distinctive consumer-favorable feature — joining Utah at the business-day-counting tier with peer states like CO, MA, IN, MO, OR, NC, OK.

The two tracks

A rebuttable presumption of a reasonable number of repair attempts arises under § 13-20-5(1) when, within the 1-year Rights Period under § 13-20-3:

Track 1: 4 attempts for the same nonconformity

The same nonconformity has been subject to repair four or more times by the manufacturer.

The 4-attempt threshold places Utah at the standard tier alongside:

• 4 attempts: Utah, California § 1793.22, Kentucky § 367.842, Washington § 19.118.041, Connecticut § 42-179, North Carolina § 20-351.5, Arizona § 44-1263, Colorado § 42-10-103, Wisconsin § 218.0171, Minnesota § 325F.665, Indiana § 24-5-13-15, Maryland § 14-1502, Missouri § 407.560, Nevada § 597.620, Louisiana § 51:1944.
• 3 attempts (more consumer-favorable): Tennessee § 55-24-202, Massachusetts § 7N½, Georgia § 10-1-784, Virginia § 59.1-207.13, South Carolina § 56-28-30, Oregon § 646A.402, Arkansas § 4-90-410, Mississippi § 63-17-159.

Track 2: 30 cumulative business days OOS — distinctive

The vehicle is out of service to the consumer because of repair for a cumulative total of 30 or more business days.

The 30-business-day OOS counting is structurally consumer-favorable vs. the 30-calendar-day peer tier:

• 30 business days (≈42 calendar days): Utah, Colorado, Massachusetts, Indiana, Missouri, Oregon, North Carolina, Oklahoma.
• 30 calendar days: CA, TX, FL, TN, PA, KY, CT, LA, NV, AR.
• 20 calendar days: Iowa, New Jersey.
• 15 days: Massachusetts (business), Mississippi (working).

Definition of “attempt” — § 13-20-2(2)

“Attempt” to repair, as used in Section 13-20-4 or 13-20-5, means that the vehicle is or has been presented to the manufacturer or its agent for the same non-conformity.

Critically, the definition makes clear that even unsuccessful attempts count — a “no problem found” or “unable to duplicate” disposition still counts as an attempt under § 13-20-5(1)(a). The Lemon Law counts presentations, not successful diagnoses.

Business-day counting practical example

Vehicle in shop:

• March 3 (Mon) – March 10 (Mon): 6 business days (skip March 7-8 weekend).
• March 24 (Mon) – April 4 (Fri): 10 business days.
• April 14 (Mon) – April 25 (Fri): 10 business days.
• May 5 (Mon) – May 9 (Fri): 5 business days.

Cumulative: 31 business days. Presumption met under § 13-20-5(1)(b) even though the calendar span is only ~60 days.

Note: holidays observed by Utah courts are typically not counted as business days. Track carefully and exclude federal/state holidays from the count.

Mileage-during-repair exclusion under § 13-20-5

The Utah Lemon Law’s distinctive consumer-favorable feature: the consumer is NOT liable for mileage accrued while the vehicle was being repaired. This exclusion can substantially reduce the offset for consumers with extended repair tenures.

For documentation, track:

• Date in / date out for each repair visit.
• Mileage in / mileage out for each repair visit.
• Cumulative miles-during-repair-periods (excluded from offset).
• Total cumulative business days OOS (for presumption track 2).

Strategic implications

In Utah cases, the 30-business-day OOS track is often the fastest pathway:

• A vehicle requiring multiple parts-wait periods can hit 30 business days quickly.
• Business-day counting is more consumer-favorable than calendar-day jurisdictions.
• The mileage-during-repair exclusion further reduces offset, increasing net refund.

The 4-attempt track is preferred when the defect is clearly recurring with consistent diagnostic codes across attempts.

Bottom line

Utah’s presumption under § 13-20-5 combines a standard 4-attempt threshold with a distinctively consumer-favorable 30-business-day OOS threshold and mileage-during-repair exclusion in the offset formula. Track repair-visit dates and mileage carefully to take full advantage of both tracks.

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