Lemon Law FAQ

What Is Considered a “Lemon”?

Under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act — better known as California’s lemon law — the question is whether a vehicle has a defect the manufacturer or dealer has not repaired under warranty after a reasonable number of attempts, and whether that defect substantially impairs the use, value or safety of the vehicle.

It is worth having someone look at your repair history before you decide you do not qualify. Owners routinely underestimate what their record shows — sometimes because the dealer told them the car is not a lemon.

What Is a Reasonable Number of Repair Attempts?

There is no single number. The statute speaks of repair “attempts” in the plural, so one opportunity is generally not enough, and beyond that reasonableness is judged on the whole record — the nature of the defect, how long the vehicle was out of service, and whether the problem kept coming back.

California also has a statutory presumption that a reasonable number of attempts has been made where certain conditions are met within the first 18 months or 18,000 miles. Falling short of those markers does not end a claim, and meeting them does not guarantee one — the presumption is rebuttable.

Do I Have to Pay Attorney’s Fees and Litigation Costs?

When a consumer prevails, California’s lemon law requires the manufacturer to pay the attorney’s fees and costs. That is what makes it possible to be represented without paying anything up front.

You pay us no up-front fees and nothing out of pocket. We are paid only if we win. We will go through the retainer agreement with you in detail during your free consultation.

Do I Have to Pay Court Costs and Other Expenses?

No. This office advances the costs of litigation — court filing fees, deposition fees, expert fees and the rest. Those can run from roughly $1,000 to $10,000 over the life of a case, and we carry them so you do not have to. We pursue the manufacturer to recover costs advanced, and if the case is lost, we absorb them.

This office has litigated more than 700 California lemon law cases and lost one trial. Past results depend on the vehicle, the repair history and the manufacturer, and no attorney can promise a particular outcome.

How Long Will My Case Take?

Manufacturers have become less willing to settle quickly. In our experience only a small share of cases resolve within 30 to 60 days of being retained. Where the manufacturer will not settle and a lawsuit is filed, a case may take anywhere from a few months to around two years, depending on the court and the manufacturer.

Does California’s Lemon Law Apply to Used Vehicles?

It depends on how the vehicle was warranted when you bought it, and the answer changed recently. In Rodriguez v. FCA US, LLC (2024) 17 Cal.5th 189, the California Supreme Court held that a used vehicle purchased with an unexpired manufacturer’s new car warranty that simply carried over from the original owner does not qualify as a “new motor vehicle” for purposes of the refund-or-replace remedy, unless the warranty was issued with the sale.

Certified pre-owned vehicles, dealership demonstrators and dealer loaner vehicles may still qualify. Rodriguez turned on a warranty that carried over from a previous owner. Where a vehicle was instead sold to you with a warranty issued as part of that sale — which can be the case with certified pre-owned vehicles, dealership demonstrators and cars that had been in a dealer’s loaner fleet — the analysis is different. Civil Code § 1793.22(e)(2) expressly reaches a dealer-owned vehicle and a demonstrator sold with a manufacturer’s new car warranty.

None of that is automatic, and it is not decided by the label on the windshield. It turns on your paperwork — which warranty you received, and whether it was issued with your purchase or inherited from the previous owner. Bring the sale contract and the warranty documents and we can tell you which situation you are in.

And a carried-over warranty does not leave a buyer without options. The Court noted that owners in that position may still have claims under the California Uniform Commercial Code and the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. A dealer that sells a used vehicle with its own express warranty also takes on obligations under the Act. Which of those applies turns on your paperwork, which is exactly why it is worth having someone read it.

Does California’s Lemon Law Apply to Leased Vehicles?

Yes. A lessee generally has the same rights against the manufacturer as a buyer would, where the vehicle is covered by an express warranty.

Does the Lemon Law Only Apply to Vehicles?

No. California’s lemon law reaches consumer goods sold with a warranty. The Act defines consumer goods as new products, or parts of products, used, bought or leased primarily for personal, family or household purposes — excluding clothing and consumables.

That can include televisions, computers, phones, cameras, alarm systems, refrigerators, freezers, ranges, microwaves, washers, dryers, dishwashers, garbage disposals, trash compactors and room air conditioners, among others.

Some rules that apply to vehicles do not apply to other consumer goods, and some vehicles — motorcycles and boats among them — are treated differently again. Ask rather than assume.

What Is a Lemon Law Buyback?

Where a vehicle qualifies, the manufacturer may be required to repurchase it. A repurchase generally covers what you paid or still owe — down payment, monthly payments, finance charges, loan payoff, and collateral charges such as sales tax, license and registration fees — plus incidental damages such as rental car and towing costs.

It is reduced by a mileage offset for your use of the vehicle. That offset is calculated only on the miles driven before you first brought the vehicle in for the problem that gave rise to the claim — not on every mile you have driven since. The manufacturer bears the burden of proving that mileage figure.

What Is a “Cash and Keep” Recovery?

Sometimes a vehicle does not qualify for a buyback, or the owner would rather keep the car. In those cases a claim may resolve through a cash settlement: you keep the vehicle, and the manufacturer pays you a sum compensating you for its diminished value, along with reasonable attorney’s fees.

One thing it does not mean: the manufacturer does not pay off your car. A cash-and-keep settlement compensates you for the reduced value of what you received. It is not a refund, and it does not retire your loan or your lease. You keep the vehicle, and you keep the payments that come with it.

That is the practical difference between the two remedies. A repurchase unwinds the transaction — the manufacturer takes the vehicle back and pays what you paid or still owe, reduced by the mileage offset. A cash-and-keep leaves the transaction in place and pays you for the gap between the vehicle you were promised and the one you got. Which makes sense depends on the vehicle, the numbers, and whether you actually want to keep driving it.

I Already Traded In or Sold the Vehicle. Do I Still Have a Claim?

Possibly — but this is one of the more complicated questions in California lemon law right now, and it is genuinely worth asking rather than assuming either way.

Getting rid of the vehicle does not automatically end a claim. In Niedermeier v. FCA US LLC (2024) 15 Cal.5th 792, the California Supreme Court held that neither a trade-in credit nor sale proceeds reduce the statutory restitution remedy, at least where the consumer was forced to trade in or sell the defective vehicle because of the manufacturer’s failure to comply with the Act. Why you got rid of it can therefore matter a great deal.

At the same time, a newer set of procedures — Code of Civil Procedure sections 871.20 through 871.30 — attaches conditions tied to having and keeping possession of the vehicle, and not meeting them can affect what a consumer is able to recover. Those procedures apply only to manufacturers that affirmatively elected into them, so whether any of it touches your case depends on your specific manufacturer and vehicle. That has to be checked, not assumed.

The practical takeaway is simple. If you still have the vehicle, do not trade it in or sell it while you are considering a claim without speaking to a lawyer first. If you have already parted with it, do not assume the claim is gone — bring the paperwork and the circumstances, and let someone look.

Did California’s Lemon Law Change in 2025?

Yes, but not in the way most headlines suggested. The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act — the substantive law that decides whether your vehicle is a lemon — was not rewritten. What changed is that a second, parallel set of procedures now exists alongside it.

Assembly Bill 1755 (Stats. 2024, ch. 938) added Chapter 12 to the Code of Civil Procedure, at sections 871.20 through 871.30, effective January 1, 2025. Senate Bill 26 (Stats. 2025, ch. 1) then amended it and, importantly, made the entire chapter apply only to manufacturers that affirmatively elect into it.

Note the codification: these provisions live in the Code of Civil Procedure, not the Civil Code. Sources that cite “Civil Code section 871.20” are citing something that does not exist.

The practical result is two tracks. If your manufacturer elected in, a different set of procedural rules governs how the case is handled — disclosures, mediation timelines, settlement documentation and related mechanics. If your manufacturer did not elect in, the rules that governed before January 1, 2025 continue to apply to your claim.

Either way, the question of whether your vehicle qualifies as a lemon is decided under the same substantive law it always was.

This is also why who handles your claim matters more than it did a few years ago. California lemon law changed twice in roughly fifteen months, and which version applies to your case turns on a list that is republished annually. In the same period the California Supreme Court decided cases that changed the analysis for used vehicles and for arbitration — and decisions that are no longer good law still circulate widely in older articles and on other firms’ websites.

None of that is exotic to a firm that does this work every day and follows it as it moves. It is easy to get wrong for someone who handles a lemon law claim occasionally, and the consequence is not academic: applying the wrong framework can change how a case is handled from the outset. This office has handled California lemon law claims since 2012, and staying current with this is part of the job rather than an extra.

How Do I Know Which Rules Apply to My Manufacturer?

It has to be looked up. There is no way to tell from the vehicle, the dealership or the warranty booklet, and we would not guess at it for any manufacturer.

The Department of Consumer Affairs publishes the list of manufacturers that have elected into the chapter through its Arbitration Certification Program. That roster is republished each year, and a manufacturer’s election runs for a fixed term rather than being made case by case.

Because the list changes from year to year, and because which track applies can depend on when your vehicle was sold as well as who made it, this is something to have checked against your specific vehicle rather than assumed. It is one of the first things we look at.

Do I Have to Arbitrate Before Pursuing a Claim?

It depends on the contract you signed. A manufacturer that did not sign your dealer’s sale contract generally cannot force you into arbitration under that contract on an equitable-estoppel theory — that was the holding in the Ford Motor Warranty Cases (2025) 17 Cal.5th 1122.

But that is not the end of the question. The Court did not decide every theory a manufacturer might raise, and a manufacturer has succeeded where the contract named it specifically and covered warranty disputes. So arbitration is not automatically off the table, and it is not automatically required either — it turns on the specific paperwork you signed, which is worth having read before you assume either way.

What Are the Benefits of Hiring a Lemon Law Attorney?

Because the lemon law shifts attorney’s fees onto the manufacturer when a consumer prevails, a represented claim carries a different cost calculation for the manufacturer than an unrepresented one.

Beyond that, the practical value is knowing the record: which repair visits count, what the paperwork has to show, and what a claim like yours has actually been worth. Those are hard things to learn from the outside.

Can I Handle My Own Lemon Law Claim?

You can. Some people do. But it is worth knowing what you are taking on.

A manufacturer can extend the process for months and then offer to refund a payment or two. At that point the choice is to accept it, file suit against a party with far greater resources, or hire a lawyer and begin again — having already spent months.

There is also a trap worth naming: a dealer may offer to take the defective vehicle as a trade-in against a new purchase. That can look like a resolution while leaving money on the table that a claim might have recovered.

Call now for a free consultation: (310) 268-7802

This page is general information about California law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every vehicle and every warranty is different — if you think you may have a claim, talk to a lawyer about your specific situation.