California lemon law.

What the lemon law actually says

California's Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act is the lemon law. The rule is short: if a manufacturer or its authorized dealers cannot fix a defect covered by the warranty after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer must buy the vehicle back or replace it. The choice between a refund and a replacement is yours, not the manufacturer's.

The law applies to new vehicles and to used vehicles that are still under the manufacturer's warranty, whether you bought or leased. It covers cars, trucks, SUVs, motorcycles, the chassis of motorhomes and RVs, and electric vehicles. A vehicle bought for business use can qualify too, within limits on the size of the business and the number of vehicles it registers.

When a vehicle is presumed a lemon

Within the first 18 months or 18,000 miles after delivery, whichever comes first, California presumes a vehicle is a lemon if any one of these is true:

• The dealer has made two or more attempts to fix a defect that is likely to cause death or serious injury, such as a brake, steering or fire problem.
• The dealer has made four or more attempts to fix the same problem.
• The vehicle has been out of service for repairs for more than 30 days in total, counting every visit.

The presumption is a floor, not a ceiling. Vehicles outside the 18-month window, with three repair attempts instead of four, or with 25 days in the shop instead of 30, succeed regularly. The real question is whether the manufacturer had a reasonable opportunity to fix the problem and failed. A repair history that tells that story is enough.

Common defects we see

• Transmission and drivetrain problems: hard shifts, shuddering, slipping, hesitation, failed clutches and differentials.
• Engine stalling, loss of power, misfires and oil consumption.
• Electrical and infotainment failures: dead screens, dropped connectivity, cameras and modules that reboot or go dark.
• Driver-assistance and sensor faults: phantom braking, lane-keeping errors, cruise control that disengages, warnings with nothing in the road.
• Electric vehicle battery range, charging and software problems, including range far below what was promised and charging that stops or will not start.
• Brake and steering defects, noise, pulling, pulsing and loss of assist.
• Water leaks, mold, and warning lights that come back after every visit.

What you get back

In a buyback, the manufacturer refunds the purchase price, sales tax, registration and license fees, finance charges you have paid, and incidental costs such as towing, rental cars and rideshare while the vehicle was in the shop. It also pays off the loan or lease. The manufacturer is allowed to subtract a mileage offset for the miles you drove before the first repair attempt for the defect, and only those miles. If you prefer, you can take a comparable replacement vehicle instead.

When the manufacturer knew the vehicle qualified and refused to repurchase it anyway, the court can add a civil penalty of up to twice your actual damages. The statute also requires the manufacturer to pay your attorney's fees and costs when you win. That is why there is no fee to you: we are paid by the company that sold you the car, on top of what you recover, not out of it.

What to keep

Lemon law cases are won on paper. Keep every repair order and invoice, including visits where the dealer said it could not reproduce the problem. Keep the purchase or lease contract, the warranty booklet, and any extended service contract. Take photos or video of the problem when it happens, especially warning lights, noises and dashboard messages. Save texts and emails with the dealer and the manufacturer's customer line, and write down the dates of each call.

Recent amendments to the lemon law changed the notice you must give the manufacturer before filing suit and the procedure that follows. A letter written the wrong way, or sent to the wrong place, can cost you time and leverage. Call before you write to the manufacturer yourself.

Why a trial firm for a car case

Manufacturers settle thousands of lemon law claims a year, and they price each one on a single question: will the plaintiff's lawyer actually try the case? A firm that always settles gets the settlement the manufacturer wants to pay. We try cases, the companies on the other side know it, and the offers reflect it. Most of our lemon law clients never see a courtroom. The ones who need to will have trial counsel beside them.

This page is general information about California law as of October 2026, not legal advice. Whether a vehicle qualifies depends on its repair history. Nothing here is a promise about what any claim is worth.