Laws relating to defective motor vehicles are dealt with in Title VIII, Chapter 322G (Defective Motor Vehicles (Lemon Law)) Section 322G.1 et seq of Iowa Code. According to Section 322G.2 (14), nonconformity of a vehicle to all applicable warranties is deemed to be a defective vehicle. Pursuant to Section 322G.2 (8), the time period for manufacturer repair is the term of the manufacturer’s written warranty, which means two years after the date of the original delivery of a motor vehicle to a consumer, or the first twenty-four thousand miles of operation attributable to a consumer, whichever expires first.
Under Section 322G.4, a consumer is entitled to get a legal remedy against the manufacturer for defective motor vehicle. It is the duty of the manufacturer to either replace the motor vehicle with a replacement motor vehicle acceptable to the consumer or refund full purchase or lease price after deducting a reasonable offset for consumer’s use. In case of refund, the consumer should make a payment, to the manufacturer, of reasonable offset for use by the consumer. Both the replacement and refund includes payment of all collateral and reasonably incurred incidental charges.
Iowa Code § 322G.2
14. “Nonconformity” means a defect, malfunction, or condition in a motor vehicle such that the vehicle fails to conform to the warranty, but does not include a defect, malfunction, or condition that results from an accident, abuse, neglect, modification, or alteration of the motor vehicle by persons other than the manufacturer or its authorized service agent.
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Iowa Code § 322G.2
8. “Lemon law rights period” means the term of the manufacturer’s written warranty, the period ending two years after the date of the original delivery of a motor vehicle to a consumer, or the first twenty-four thousand miles of operation attributable to a consumer, whichever expires first.
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Iowa Code § 322G.4
2. If the manufacturer, or its authorized service agent, has not conformed the motor vehicle to the warranty by repairing or correcting one or more nonconformities that substantially impair the motor vehicle after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer shall, within forty days of receipt of payment by the manufacturer of a reasonable offset for use by the consumer, replace the motor vehicle with a replacement motor vehicle acceptable to the consumer, or repurchase the motor vehicle from the consumer or lessor and refund to the consumer or lessor the full purchase or lease price, less a reasonable offset for use. The replacement or refund shall include payment of all collateral and reasonably incurred incidental charges. The consumer has an unconditional right to choose a refund rather than a replacement. If the consumer elects to receive a refund, and the refund exceeds the amount of the payment for a reasonable offset for use, the requirement that the consumer pay the reasonable offset for use in advance does not apply, and the manufacturer shall deduct that amount from the refund due to the consumer. If the consumer elects a replacement motor vehicle, the manufacturer shall provide the consumer a substitute motor vehicle to use until such time as the replacement vehicle is delivered to the consumer. At the time of the refund or replacement, the consumer, lienholder, or lessor shall furnish to the manufacturer clear title to and possession of the original motor vehicle.
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