Get Compensation for Your Defective Vehicle
Hawaii’s Lemon Law provides a refund or replacement for new, defective vehicles that don’t meet quality standards, and a Hawaii Lemon Law Attorney can help.
Passenger vehicles, SUVs, vans, and trucks purchased or registered in Hawaii.
“Lemon Law protects owners and lessees of vehicles with persistent defects.” –– Joseph Novel, Esq.
founding attorney
Full refund, incl. taxes, fees, & remaining loan balance.
You’ll receive a new car of equal value.
Hawaii Lemon Law recognizes that a reasonable number of repair attempts has been made if the same defect has been repaired three times and still is not fixed, one repair attempt was made for a serious safety defect and it remains uncorrected, or the vehicle has been out of service for 30 cumulative business days. These standards help determine when a manufacturer has failed to repair the vehicle after reasonable efforts. Keeping all repair records is essential to any Hawaii Lemon Law claim.
Not at all. A vehicle can still qualify under Hawaii Lemon Law if the defect substantially affects its safety, reliability, or value even if it can still be driven. The law focuses on repeated issues and their impact on everyday use. Even recurring defects that affect your vehicle’s normal operation may meet the Hawaii Lemon Law criteria.
Hold on to all repair orders, service invoices, warranty paperwork, and any written communication with your dealer or manufacturer. Under HRS 481I-3(e), dealers are legally required to provide a fully itemized repair statement every time your vehicle is returned, including diagnosis, parts, labor, odometer reading, and dates of service. Always ask for a signed copy of every repair order.
Under HRS 481I-3(d)(3), your vehicle may qualify if it has been out of service for 30 or more cumulative business days for warranty repairs during the lemon law rights period, which runs for two years or 24,000 miles from original delivery, whichever comes first. Every day your vehicle is kept for repairs counts toward that total, so tracking every shop-in and return date on your repair orders is critical to building a strong Hawaii Lemon Law case.
Under Hawaii Lemon Law Statutes HRS 481I-3(b), if your vehicle qualifies you are entitled to either a full refund or a replacement vehicle. A refund covers the full purchase price plus all collateral and incidental charges, minus a reasonable use offset. If the manufacturer fails to comply with a binding arbitration decision, HRS 481I-4(f) treats that as prima facie evidence of an unfair trade practice and attorney’s fees may also be awarded to a prevailing consumer.
