Ohio revises car “lemon law” in face of Japanese tsunami

The new two-year state budget makes a revision that cuts automakers some slack if a natural disaster makes it tough for them to get parts to fix a defective vehicle.

In those cases, the law now allows more time for repairs before the car company must pay a refund or permanently replace the vehicle. However, the car's owner must be provided with a loaner vehicle during the extended wait.

An official in the Ohio attorney general's office tells The Columbus Dispatch the change was requested by a consortium of automakers still struggling with parts delays four months after the Japanese quake and resulting tsunami.