Disability & Long-Term Care · Surprise rank #60
New Wheelchair Keeps Breaking? NY Can Force a Refund or Comparable Replacement After 3 Failed Repairs
New York's Wheelchair Lemon Law protects consumers who buy or lease a new wheelchair that has a serious warranty defect the manufacturer cannot fix after a reasonable number of attempts.
Who
Consumers who buy, lease or receive a covered new wheelchair in New York, including demonstration units covered by the law.
What to do
Start here: Report the defect promptly, make the wheelchair available for repair and keep every repair order, bill and communication. If unresolved, use the Attorney General's wheelchair lemon-law arbitration route or consult counsel.
Eligibility: The defect must substantially impair use, value or safety, be reported within the warranty period of at least one year and remain after a reasonable repair attempt. The law presumes that threshold after three repair attempts for the same problem or 30 aggregate days out of service.
What you get
The consumer can choose a comparable new replacement or qualifying refund when a covered wheelchair remains substantially defective after the statutory repair opportunity.
Benefit: A comparable replacement wheelchair or a refund that can include the purchase price, certain finance charges and collateral repair/mobility costs, less a reasonable allowance for use.
Possible value: Potentially most of the wheelchair's purchase or lease value plus qualifying collateral costs.
Good to know
Important: Damage from abuse, neglect or unauthorized modification is excluded. A minor defect that does not substantially impair the wheelchair may not qualify.
Availability: Active legal right
Why people miss it: Wheelchair users may assume lemon laws apply only to cars and continue cycling through repairs without invoking the separate wheelchair law.
Sources reviewed: Aug 10, 2026