Lexington Lemon Law

Kentucky lemon-law actions under KRS 367.840-846 are filed in Kentucky Circuit Court in the county of your residence or where the vehicle was purchased. For Lexington residents, that is the Fayette Circuit Court (22nd Judicial Circuit), located at the Robert F. Stephens Courthouse, 120 N Limestone in downtown Lexington. If you bought your vehicle in another county - common for buyers who shop Louisville, Cincinnati metro, or Georgetown - you may also file in that county. Most lemon-law cases proceed in the civil division. If the manufacturer runs a Magnuson-Moss-compliant arbitration program, you typically must submit there first.

Kentucky has the shortest lemon-law rights window in the country - 12 months from delivery OR 12,000 miles, whichever comes first. Inside that window you must hit one of two presumption triggers: the same nonconformity subject to repair four or more times, OR the vehicle out of service for warranty repair for 30 or more cumulative days. Then you must give the manufacturer written notice (certified mail recommended) and a final opportunity to cure. Lexington commuters using I-64, I-75, or New Circle Road can hit 12,000 miles in under a year, so document every defect immediately on a written repair order.

If your manufacturer maintains an informal dispute settlement procedure that substantially complies with the federal Magnuson-Moss regulations at 16 C.F.R. Part 703, KRS 367.840-846 requires you to submit there before invoking the statutory refund or replacement remedy. Most major manufacturers - including Toyota and Lexus, which build many of the vehicles sold across Fayette County at the Georgetown plant - run BBB AUTO LINE or a similar qualifying program. Kentucky does not operate a state-administered arbitration program. The arbitrator's decision is not binding on you, so if unfair you can still file in Fayette Circuit Court.

No. KRS 367.840-846 explicitly limits coverage to new motor vehicles. If you bought a used vehicle from a Fayette County dealer and it has serious defects, your remedies are the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (for any active manufacturer written warranty still in effect), UCC implied warranties of merchantability under KRS 355.2-314 (unless validly disclaimed in an 'as-is' sale), and the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act (KRS 367.170) for deceptive seller conduct. The KCPA authorizes civil penalties up to $2,000 per violation.

KRS 367.846 sets a two-year statute of limitations measured from the expiration of the manufacturer's express warranty - not from delivery and not from when you discovered the defect. Because most new-car warranties run three years / 36,000 miles or longer, Kentucky's effective filing window is often longer than the typical UCC four-year clock. You still must have first triggered the lemon-law presumption inside the 12-month / 12,000-mile rights window with four repair attempts or 30 days out of service on a substantial nonconformity. Miss the rights window and you lose the KRS 367.840 remedies.

The Toyota Camry, RAV4, and Lexus ES models built at the Georgetown plant about 15 minutes north of Lexington include hybrid variants whose high-voltage battery, inverter, and regenerative-braking systems are covered under both the Kentucky lemon law (KRS 367.840-846) and federal Magnuson-Moss. If your Fayette County dealer has tried repeatedly to fix the same hybrid-system nonconformity, capture each visit on a repair order. Four or more attempts on the same nonconformity inside 12 months / 12,000 miles triggers the presumption, after which you can demand refund or replacement (subject to required Magnuson-Moss arbitration).

Excessive oil consumption between manufacturer-specified change intervals is a substantial nonconformity that can support a lemon-law claim if your Fayette County dealer cannot permanently resolve it. Many manufacturers run an 'oil consumption test' that itself counts as a warranty repair attempt - get a repair order for every visit, including the test setup and test-result visits. If the same oil-consumption nonconformity reaches four documented attempts inside 12 months / 12,000 miles, the KRS 367.840 presumption fires and you can pursue refund or replacement (subject to any required Magnuson-Moss arbitration).