The manufacturer may require you to first go through the arbitration program before filing a lawsuit under the lemon law. Check with the manufacturer or the Minnesota Attorney General's Consumer Division if you have questions about a manufacturer's arbitration program. However, for either a purchased or leased vehicle, the manufacturer may deduct a reasonable allowance for the time that you were able to use the vehicle. Arbitration Automobile manufacturers doing business in Minnesota must offer consumers an arbitration program which considers consumers' warranty related disputes. A manufacturer's arbitration program provides consumers a fast and simple way to resolve disputes.
Arbitrators can consider arguments based on the lemon law.
But, an arbitrator is not a judge and is not required to apply the law the way a court would. If the manufacturer requires it, consumers must first go through the manufacturer's arbitration program before filing a lawsuit under the lemon law. You may not have to wait until all the lemon law criteria are met before going through arbitration, but you might have a stronger case if all the criteria are met. In fact, you may not even want to discuss the lemon law in arbitration if your car does not meet the lemon law criteria. Lemon law arguments.