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Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1793.1 to 1795.8, 1793.22 to 1793.26 (West)

Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 42-10-101 to 42-10-107. See also Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 44-20-124, 44-20-131

Vehicles covered: Passenger vehicles normally used for personal, family, or household use and sold in-state, including pick-up trucks and vans; excludes vehicles that carry more than ten persons, motor homes, and vehicles with three or fewer wheels (§ 42-10-101(2)). No reference to leased vehicles.

Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 42-179 to 42-184

Vehicles covered: Passenger motor vehicles or passenger and commercial vehicles (as defined in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-1) sold or leased in-state (§ 42-179(a)(2)).

Persons covered: Purchasers or lessees; transferees during express warranty period; or any person entitled to enforce the warranty (§ 42-179(a)(1)).

Period covered: Whichever comes first: two years following date of delivery or first 24,000 miles (§ 42-179(b)).

Del. Code Ann. tit. 6, §§ 5001 to 5009

Vehicles covered: Any passenger motor vehicle sold, leased or registered in-state; excludes living facilities of motor homes (§ 5001(1)).

Persons covered: Purchasers, transferees during express warranty period, or any person entitled to enforce the warranty (§ 5001(2)).

Period covered: Whichever comes first: expiry of term of warranty or within one year from date of delivery (§ 5002).

D.C. Code §§ 50-501 to 50-510

Vehicles covered: Passenger vehicles sold or registered in D.C.; excludes buses sold for public transportation, motorcycles, motor homes, and recreational vehicles (§ 50-501(9)).

Persons covered: Purchasers or lessees, transferees during express warranty period, or any person entitled to enforce the warranty (§ 50-501(2)).

Period covered: Whichever comes first: 18,000 miles or two years (§ 50-502(a)).

Fla. Stat. §§ 681.10 to 681.118

Vehicles covered: Motor vehicles sold or leased in-state used primarily for personal, family or household purposes that transport persons or property, including demonstrators and lease-purchases with warranty; excludes off-road vehicles, mopeds, electric bicycles, trucks over 10,000 lbs., the living facilities of recreational vehicles, and motorcycles (§ 681.102(4), (14)).

Ga. Code Ann. §§ 10-1-780 to 10-1-797

Vehicles covered: New vehicles purchased, leased or registered by the original buyer in-state; excludes those portions of motor homes used for dwelling, and office or commercial space (§ 10-1-782(15)). Excludes trucks with more than 12,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight rating, motorcycles, and golf carts (§ 10-1-782(15)).

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 481I-1 to 481I-4

Idaho Code § 48-901 to 48-913

Vehicles covered: Vehicles as defined in Idaho Code § 49-123, but not including motorcycles, farm tractors, house trailers, or vehicles over 12,000 lbs. (§ 48-901(7)).

Persons covered: Purchasers or lessees, other than for resale, of vehicles used for personal, family or household purposes, or for personal business use, and other transferees or individuals entitled to enforce the warranty (§ 48-901(1)).

Period covered: Whichever comes first: two years or 24,000 miles (§ 48-902(1)).

815 Ill. Comp. Stat. §§ 380/1 to 380/8

Vehicles covered: Passenger cars; motor vehicles of less than 8000 lbs. designed to carry more than ten people, to haul freight, or to be used as living quarters; certain vehicles purchased by fire departments; and recreational vehicles other than camping trailers or travel trailers (§ 380/2(c)).

Persons covered: Individual consumers who purchase or lease new cars to transport themselves and others, and their personal property, for primarily personal, household or family purposes (§ 380/2(a)).

Ind. Code §§ 24-5-13-1 to 24-5-13-24

Vehicles covered: Vehicles that are sold, leased, transferred or replaced, and registered in-state, and are under 10,000 lbs.; excludes conversion vans, motorhomes, farm tractors and machines, road building equipment, truck and road tractors, motorcycles, motor driven vehicles, snowmobiles, and off-road vehicles (§ 24-5-13-5).

Persons covered: Buyers who enter into a contract to transfer, lease or purchase motor vehicles (§ 24-5-13-3).

Iowa Code §§ 322G.1 to 322G.15

Vehicles covered: Vehicles purchased or leased in-state and primarily designed for transportation of persons or property; excludes mopeds, motorcycles, autocycles, motor homes, or vehicles over 10,000 lbs. (§ 322G.2(13)).

Persons covered: Purchasers, lessees, or any other person entitled to enforce the warranty (§ 322G.2(3)).

Period covered: Whichever comes first: expiry of term of express warranty, two years from date of delivery, or 24,000 miles (§ 322G.2(8)).

Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 50-645 to 50-646

Vehicles covered: New motor vehicles that are under 12,000 lbs. and sold or leased and registered in-state; vehicles not modified by second stage manufacturers (§ 50-645(a)(2)).

Persons covered: Original purchasers or lessees (§ 50-645(a)(1)).

Period covered: Whichever comes first: expiry of term of all applicable warranties or one year from date of delivery (§ 50-645(b)).

Disclosure requirement: None for manufacturer.

Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 367.840 to 367.845; 367.860 to 367.870 (West)

Vehicles covered: Vehicles primarily for use on highways, required to be registered or licensed in-state prior to use; excludes any vehicle substantially altered after its initial sale from a dealer to an individual, motor homes, motorcycles, mopeds, and farm machinery including tractors or vehicles with more than two axles (§ 367.841(3)).

Persons covered: Residents who buy, contract to buy, or lease, a new motor vehicle in-state (§ 367.841(1)).

Government agencies sometimes investigate or collect information on defective new goods. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigates defects in motor vehicles.³⁶⁹ The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development is responsible for investigating defects in manufactured homes, although in many states this duty has been delegated to a state agency.³⁷⁰ Some jurisdictions have inspectors to investigate complaints about home improvement or energy conservation work.

An expert can help pinpoint the cause of a problem and offer an experienced opinion that the defect existed at delivery.³⁷¹ This testimony not only corroborates eyewitness testimony of poor performance, but has great impact on the trier of fact. It may also make it unnecessary for the buyer to present evidence negating other causes of the malfunction.³⁷²

Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) includes its own statute of limitations.

The date of delivery may be a disputed question of fact.³⁸⁸ When the warrantor also has the obligation to install or set up the goods, as is common with sales of manufactured homes, furnaces, or insulation, the cause of action does not accrue until the date of installation or set-up.³⁸⁹ However, several courts have held that a contractual duty on the part of the seller to inspect or test the goods after delivery does not extend the statute of limitations.³⁹⁰

The one express exception to the rule that the cause of action accrues upon tender of delivery is in section 2-725(2): “A breach of warranty occurs when tender of delivery is made, except that where a warranty explicitly extends to future performance of the goods and discovery of the breach must await the time of such performance the cause of action accrues when the breach is or should have been discovered.” Some courts hold that this exception to the general rule should be construed narrowly.³⁹⁹ At least one court has held that the buyer has

Judicial interpretation of when a warranty “explicitly extends to future performance” has not been uniform.

Use of a specific time period, such as one year, will provide additional support for a finding of explicit extension to future performance.⁴¹⁴ “Lifetime” warranties or twenty-year warranties are especially likely to come within the section 2-725(2) exception,⁴¹⁵ if for no other reason than a four-year statute of limitations running from the date of tender or delivery would deprive the buyer of the benefit of the seller’s long-term promise.

If a warranty promises that the seller will repair or replace any defective part within the warranty period, some courts have held that the breach of that promise arises only when the seller fails or is unable to repair or replace, and the statute of limitations starts running from that later date and not from the date of sale.⁴¹⁷ On the other hand, some courts have held that the limitations period runs from the date of sale.⁴¹⁸ One court has solved the problem by finding the question to be a ju

When the warrantor performs repairs under a repair or replace warranty more than four years after delivery, and the repairs are ineffective, the consumer might be able to argue that new warranties arose from the repairs themselves, so that a new statute of limitations begins to run. The issue is harder when the warrantor refuses to act at all after the four-year period has passed.

A number of courts have held that the exception for future performance warranties cannot apply to implied warranties, which by their very nature are not explicit.⁴³⁹ Because implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose can relate to some future use that the buyer expresses, however, it is possible that a court would find that the statute of limitations for breach of this type of warranty does not begin to run upon delivery.⁴⁴⁰ A court has, however, rejected a buyer’s argument that lang

La. Stat. Ann. §§ 51:1941 to 51:1948

Vehicles covered: Passenger motor vehicles sold in state; also covers all-terrain vehicles and personal watercraft sold in the state on or after Aug. 15, 1999; excludes vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 lbs. or more and commercial vehicles (§ 51:1941(6)). For motor home warranties see La. Stat. Ann. §§ 32:1270.31 to 32:1270.41.