Diesel Pickups Are Popular, and So Are Their Problems
Florida drivers love diesel pickup trucks. They tow boats, haul equipment, and handle long highway miles with ease. But diesel engines and the systems around them are complex. When something goes wrong, repairs can take a long time and may not hold. Many consumers are surprised to learn that Florida law may protect them when a new diesel truck keeps breaking down.
What Law Applies?
Florida's Lemon Law, Chapter 681 of the Florida Statutes, covers new and demonstrator vehicles that were sold or leased in Florida. Used diesel trucks are not covered under this law. If you bought a brand-new diesel pickup at a Florida dealership, or you leased one, you may have important rights under this statute.
The law does not cover vehicles simply because they break down. The defect has to be a nonconformity, meaning it must substantially impair the use, value, or safety of the vehicle. A minor annoyance that does not affect how the truck drives or how safe it is may not qualify. But serious diesel problems often meet this standard.
Common Diesel Pickup Defects That May Qualify
Diesel trucks have systems that gasoline vehicles do not. Several of these are known sources of repeated, hard-to-fix problems. Here are some defects that consumers report frequently on diesel pickups:
- Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) clogging or failure. The DPF traps soot from exhaust. When it clogs repeatedly or fails, the truck may go into reduced power mode or shut down entirely.
- Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) system errors. Modern diesel trucks use DEF to reduce emissions. Sensor failures or contamination can trigger warning lights and limit how fast the truck can go.
- Fuel injector failures. Dirty or failing injectors can cause rough idling, misfires, power loss, and excessive smoke.
- EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) valve problems. A stuck or failing EGR valve can reduce performance and cause the engine warning light to stay on.
- Turbocharger failures. Diesel trucks rely heavily on their turbos. A failing turbo often means the truck cannot tow or carry loads safely.
- Transmission shudder or slipping. Many diesel trucks pair their engines with heavy-duty automatic transmissions that can develop shifting problems.
- AdBlue or emissions system faults that limit speed. Some trucks will not exceed a low speed limit until the emissions system is repaired, making the vehicle unsafe or unusable on public roads.
Any of these, if they substantially impair the use, value, or safety of your truck, could form the basis of a lemon law claim.
How the Repair Attempt Rule Works
The statute sets out specific thresholds before a consumer can pursue a lemon law remedy. The most common route involves the number of repair attempts for the same problem.
After the manufacturer or its authorized dealer has had three attempts to repair the same nonconformity, the consumer can send written notice to the manufacturer. This notice is called a Motor Vehicle Defect Notification. Once the manufacturer receives it, the law gives them one final opportunity to fix the problem.
If that final attempt fails, the consumer may be eligible to pursue a remedy through the lemon law process.
It is worth keeping every service record from day one. Each repair visit, even if the dealer says the truck is fixed, should be documented in writing. Those records become important later.
The Days-Out-of-Service Route
There is a second way to qualify that does not depend on the number of repair attempts. If a new diesel truck has been in the shop for 30 or more cumulative days during the lemon law rights period for repairs covered by warranty, the consumer may also have a claim. The days do not have to be in a row.
After reaching that threshold, written notice goes to the manufacturer, who then gets an opportunity to inspect and repair the vehicle. For more detail on how this calculation works, see our post on days out of service under Florida's Lemon Law.
The Lemon Law Rights Period
Timing matters. The lemon law rights period is 24 months from the date the vehicle was originally delivered to the consumer. All repair attempts and the qualifying threshold (three attempts or 30 days) must occur within this window. If a defect first appears near the end of the 24-month period, there can still be options, but acting quickly is important. You can learn more about late-appearing defects in our post on defects that appear late in the rights period.