Starting on May 18, 2025, the Pennsylvania Automobile Lemon Law will include motorcycles for the first time as, “new motor vehicles.”
Specifically, the law to go in effect particularly advises that the term, “new motor vehicle” includes motorcycles but does not include motor homes, off-road vehicles or dual sport motorcycles driven off road.
The definition section of the new law for “dual sport motorcycles” states that a “motorcycle that is designed to be ridden on and off road that may or may not be registered with the department.” Although this definition appears straight forward, under Section 4 titled, Repair Obligations, the law adds a new section, (a)(1) for motorcycles, “[the repair obligation] may occur within a period of one year following the actual delivery of the motorcycle to the purchaser or during the term of the warranty, whichever may occur first[.]”
Moreover, pursuant to the new Section 5 titled, Manufacturer’s Duty for Refund or Replacement, the new law states, “For purposes of this section, the phrase ‘modification or alteration’ shall include, in relation to a motorcycle, a modification or alteration made after the date of actual delivery of the motorcycle to the purchaser.”
The most important and cumbersome additions to the law, besides including motorcycles, occurs at Section 6, Presumption of a Reasonable Number of Repair Attempts, which now includes Section (a)(3), “For a motorcycle, manufacturer‑sourced parts have been used in the attempts to repair the nonconformity.” And Section 6(a)(4), “The minimum number of calendar days provided under Subsection (a)(2) shall not apply to the period during which a motorcycle is being stored in a manufacturer’s authorized service and repair facility, either as a courtesy to the purchaser or for compensation, even if repairs to correct a nonconformity are made during the storage period. This paragraph shall apply if the purchaser waives the minimum calendar day period in writing or enters into a contract for storage of the motorcycle. A waiver under this paragraph shall contain the signature of the purchaser and a representative of the manufacturer’s authorized service and repair facility.” Section 6(c) Applicability, further states that “subsections (a) and (b) shall only apply to a motorcycle if all attempts to correct a nonconformity are made by the same manufacturer’s authorized service and repair facility or if the purchaser provides a complete set of repair records, related to the nonconformity, to a manufacturer’s authorized service and repair facility that has not previously attempted to repair the nonconformity. The manufacturer’s authorized service and repair facility that performed the repairs shall provide an affidavit that the nonconformity has been subject to repair three times.”
This new requirement at Section 6(c), regarding the initial authorized dealerships to prepare an affidavit if a customer/plaintiff provides all repair orders or service records made by that same authorized dealership service department to a subsequent authorized dealership, should a customer/plaintiff take an allegedly defective motorcycle to another authorized dealership likely be an extra burden on the first authorized servicing dealership. Therefore, authorized servicing dealerships will need to be educated to complete this task. Meaning, the first authorized servicing dealership would be required to provide such an affidavit assuming the customer/plaintiff obtained and provided this first authorized servicing dealership’s repair orders or service records to the subsequent authorized dealership. And the initial servicing dealership would need to prepare and provide to the customer/plaintiff[1] this affidavit.
The bill to amend the Pennsylvania Automobile Lemon Law to include motorcycles—which was introduced by State Senator Michele Brooks (R-50)—was considered in the Pennsylvania State Senate on October 1, 2024, passing the same day. The Pennsylvania General Assembly followed suit, considering and passing State Senator Brooks’ legislation (Senate Bill 155) on October 23, 2024, by a unanimous vote (202-0). After the State Senate unanimously concurred (48-0) in the General Assembly’s amendments, both chambers signed the bill on November 13, 2024. Governor Shapiro approved, signing the Bill into law on November 18, 2024, to take effect in six (6) months on May 18, 2025.
With the amended law and its affidavit requirements, authorized dealerships will need to be educated about this extra task. The attorneys at Pietragallo will assist dealerships prepare the affidavits to reflect that if actual repairs were not necessary, the affidavits will attest that the at‑issue motorcycle was not subject to an actual repair three (3) times. There are other nuisance factors to consider with this new law underlined above, which Pietragallo’s attorneys are available to discuss with OEMs and dealerships.
[1] Or the customer/plaintiff’s law firm and potentially the second authorized servicing dealership. Providing to whom the affidavit appears to be an open question at this point.
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