Yakima Lemon Law

Washington's Lemon Law (RCW 19.118) is administered by the Washington Attorney General's Lemon Law Administration, which operates a free state-run arbitration program. Yakima buyers send a Request for Arbitration to the Attorney General; the AG's regional office serving central and eastern Washington is at 1116 W Riverside Avenue in Spokane, with statewide hearings available in person, by phone, or by video conference. If the claim is accepted, the manufacturer is required by RCW 19.118.090 to participate in arbitration. Either party can appeal an arbitration decision to Yakima County Superior Court within 20 days. Independent statutory claims can be filed directly in Yakima County Superior Court.

Under RCW 19.118.041, your vehicle qualifies once any of these is met during the warranty period: the same serious safety defect has had two or more repair attempts; the same nonconformity has had four or more repair attempts; the vehicle has been out of service for diagnosis or repair for a cumulative 30 or more calendar days (with at least 15 days during the warranty period); or two or more separate serious safety defects each had at least one repair attempt within 12 months. At least one repair attempt must occur during the manufacturer's warranty period, and before requesting arbitration you must send the manufacturer a written repurchase or replace request and give it 40 days to respond.

No. The Washington Attorney General's Lemon Law Administration handles arbitration statewide and is designed to be accessible to central Washington consumers without requiring cross-state travel. Hearings can be held in person, by phone, or by video conference, and the consumer pays no filing fee. If you appeal an arbitration decision under RCW 19.118.090, the appeal is filed in superior court in the county where the consumer resides or where the dealership is located, which for most Yakima buyers means Yakima County Superior Court at the Yakima County Courthouse.

Yakima Valley summers regularly hit 95-100 degrees with sustained heat for weeks, exposing weak A/C compressors, condensers, radiator fans, and engine cooling systems that fail under continuous load. Dust and orchard-spray exposure also accelerates wear on cabin air filters, blower motors, and engine air-flow sensors. None of that changes the four-attempt or 30-day standard under RCW 19.118.041, but it means latent factory defects in HVAC and cooling systems often manifest sooner in the 24-month/24,000-mile coverage window than they would in milder climates, particularly on highly optioned trucks and SUVs.

Yes, on covered new diesel trucks. The Yakima Valley has a high concentration of diesel pickups for orchard, ranch, and ag-hauling work, and recurring DEF system faults, DPF regeneration failures, EGR cooler defects, and limp-mode events are common warranty issues. Each documented repair attempt during the warranty period counts toward the four-attempt threshold under RCW 19.118.041, and cumulative days the truck sits at the dealer for emissions-related repairs count toward the 30-day out-of-service threshold. Emissions-related drivability defects also commonly support parallel federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act claims with attorneys' fees recovery.

Washington's Lemon Law can apply to a used truck if it was originally sold or leased at retail in Washington and you acquired it within two years of the original retail delivery and within the first 24,000 miles, while still covered by the original manufacturer's written warranty. Many central Washington used pickup sales — especially 'as-is' or outside the original factory warranty — fall outside the Lemon Law. In those cases, the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (for any remaining written warranty or CPO coverage) and Washington's Consumer Protection Act (RCW 19.86) are the usual paths, especially for odometer fraud, undisclosed prior damage, or deceptive sales practices.

A Request for Arbitration must be received by the Washington Attorney General's Lemon Law Administration within 30 months (2.5 years) of the original retail delivery date of the vehicle. The Lemon Law has no separate statute of limitations, but the 30-month arbitration deadline is firm. Parallel Washington Consumer Protection Act (RCW 19.86) claims have a four-year statute of limitations, and federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act claims generally run four years from delivery. Because the AG program is free, most Yakima consumers begin with arbitration and reserve a Yakima County Superior Court filing for appeal of the arbitration decision or for separate CPA and Magnuson-Moss claims.