The Lemon Law in Kansas

Kansas's lemon law covers new motor vehicles sold or leased in Kansas and registered for 12,000 pounds or less (not parts customized by second-stage manufacturers or converters). Defects reported during the warranty or within one year of delivery, whichever is earlier, must be repaired. If the manufacturer has actual notice, a reasonable number of attempts is presumed if, within that period, the same defect substantially impairing use and value was repaired four or more times and still exists, the vehicle was out of service 30 or more calendar days in total, or there were 10 or more attempts to repair any such defects. If the vehicle cannot be fixed, the manufacturer must replace it with a comparable vehicle under warranty or take it back and refund the full purchase or lease price including collateral charges, minus a reasonable allowance for use.

1) Notice: the consumer must report the defect to the manufacturer, its agent or authorized dealer during the warranty term or within one year after original delivery, whichever is earlier. The presumption that the manufacturer had a reasonable number of repair attempts applies only if the manufacturer received actual notice of the defect; the statute does not say that notice must be in writing. 2) Final repair attempt: no separate final-repair step is described. 3) Arbitration: Kansas has no state-run lemon law arbitration program. If the manufacturer has an informal dispute program that fully complies with federal rules (16 C.F.R. Part 703), the refund/replacement remedy does not apply to a consumer who has not first used that program. 4) Deadline: the lemon law section does not state a separate deadline to file a claim or lawsuit. The Attorney General has authority to enforce the law.

Kansas law does not let a supplier in a consumer transaction exclude, modify or limit the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, or limit the legal remedies for breaking them. A supplier may limit those implied warranties as to a particular defect only if it shows the consumer knew of the defect and it became part of the basis of the bargain, and even then not for personal injury or property damage. A disclaimer that violates this rule is void, and a consumer who wins a warranty case may also be awarded attorney fees and a civil penalty against the supplier. Offering a limited express warranty is not itself a violation. Government surplus property, including surplus motor vehicles, may be sold with a warranty disclaimer if conspicuous written notice is given (for vehicles, a notice on a side window that complies with the federal Buyers Guide rule).