Is there a lemon law for used cars in California?

Only in limited cases. Since Rodriguez v. FCA US (2024), a used car sold with just the leftover factory warranty generally doesn't qualify for a buyback. Demonstrators and dealer-owned cars sold with a new-car warranty still do, and used buyers may have other warranty claims. See used car lemon law.

My car is past 18 months. Am I too late?

Not necessarily. The 18-month, 18,000-mile window only controls when the presumption applies. You can still bring a claim for a defect that showed up during the warranty period, as long as you file within the deadline that applies to your manufacturer.

Can I choose a refund instead of a replacement car?

Yes. Civil Code section 1793.2(d) lets the buyer choose restitution instead of replacement, and says the buyer can never be required to accept a replacement vehicle.

I bought my car in another state. Am I covered?

Usually not, unless you are on active duty in the armed forces. Civil Code section 1795.8 covers service members who bought anywhere in the U.S. while stationed in or living in California, or who are stationed or living here when they file.

Does California's lemon law cover things other than cars?

The Song-Beverly Act also covers most new consumer goods bought for personal or household use, such as appliances, but not clothing or consumables. The repair presumption and mileage formula apply only to vehicles. Our practice focuses on vehicles.

California Lemon Law (2026): How It Works & Who Qualifies

California's lemon law protects people who buy or lease a new vehicle that the manufacturer cannot fix under its warranty. If the same problem keeps coming back after a fair number of repair visits, the law can require the manufacturer to buy the vehicle back or replace it. In most cases it also has to pay your attorney's fees if you win.

The law is older than most of the cars it covers, but it changed in important ways in 2024 and 2025. Used cars mostly dropped out of it after a California Supreme Court decision, and many manufacturers now follow a newer set of procedures with stricter deadlines. This guide explains how the law works today, what it covers, and what you can do about a vehicle that keeps going back to the shop.

What California's lemon law is

"Lemon law" is the common name for the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, found in Civil Code section 1790 and the sections after it. Part of it, sometimes called the Tanner Act, deals only with cars and trucks. The core rule is simple. When a manufacturer gives you a written warranty, it has to fix problems the warranty covers. If it can't fix the same problem after a reasonable number of tries, it has to promptly replace the vehicle or refund the money you paid for it.

That duty belongs to the manufacturer, not the dealership. The dealer's service department is the place you take the car for repairs, but the company that built the car and issued the warranty is the one that owes the buyback. This matters because people often argue with the dealer for months when the dealer had no power to approve a repurchase in the first place.

You also generally cannot sign these rights away. Civil Code section 1790.1 makes a buyer's waiver of the Act void, apart from narrow exceptions the Act itself spells out, so a clause in your purchase paperwork usually cannot take this protection away.

Which vehicles are covered

The strongest protections apply to what the law calls a "new motor vehicle." In plain terms, that includes:

New cars, trucks, and SUVs bought in California mainly for personal, family, or household use.
Leased vehicles. The law treats a lessee like a buyer when the lease runs longer than four months. See our page on leased car lemon law.
Demonstrators and dealer-owned vehicles sold with the manufacturer's new-car warranty.
Some business vehicles. A vehicle under 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight can qualify if the business has no more than five vehicles registered in California.
Motorhomes, in part. The chassis, the cab, and the parts that make the motorhome move are covered like a car. The living area is covered by the Act's general rules for consumer goods.
Active-duty service members. Under Civil Code section 1795.8, a member of the armed forces who bought a vehicle anywhere in the United States can be covered if they were stationed in or lived in California when they bought it or when they file suit.

Some vehicles are left out or have a harder path:

Most used cars. In Rodriguez v. FCA US (2024), the California Supreme Court held that a used car sold with only the leftover factory warranty is not a "new motor vehicle." Used buyers may still have other warranty claims. Our used car lemon law page covers what remains.
Motorcycles. The statute's definition of a new motor vehicle expressly excludes motorcycles, so the car-specific rules below do not apply to them. A motorcycle bought for personal use may still have rights under the Act's general consumer-goods rules.
Vehicles bought outside California by people who are not active-duty military are generally not covered.

What counts as a defect

The law calls a covered defect a "nonconformity." It is a problem covered by the warranty that substantially impairs the use, value, or safety of the vehicle. A transmission that slips on the freeway qualifies easily. So does an electrical fault that kills the rear camera, a recurring stall, or a battery that won't hold a charge. A small rattle that does not affect how the car drives or what it is worth usually does not.

The defect has to be covered by the manufacturer's warranty. Most new vehicles come with a basic warranty, often 3 years or 36,000 miles, and a longer powertrain warranty for the engine and transmission. Electric and hybrid vehicles usually carry a separate battery warranty. Problems caused by an accident, abuse, or other unauthorized or unreasonable use after the sale are not covered (Civil Code section 1794.3).

How many repair attempts make a car a lemon

The law does not set a fixed number. The test is whether the manufacturer had a reasonable number of attempts to fix the problem. Courts and the California Department of Consumer Affairs have said that generally means at least two chances.

To make this easier to prove, Civil Code section 1793.22(b) creates a presumption. It applies when, within 18 months of delivery or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first:

A problem likely to cause death or serious injury was repaired two or more times, or
The same problem was repaired four or more times, or
The vehicle was out of service for warranty repairs for more than 30 days in total.

For the first two, you also need to have notified the manufacturer directly in writing at least once, but only if the warranty or owner's manual clearly told you to. The presumption is a helpful shortcut, not a deadline. Plenty of valid claims fall outside it, including problems that start in month 30 of a 36-month warranty. Our page on repair attempts explains how each visit is counted and how to make the paperwork work for you.

What you can get: buyback or replacement

If the manufacturer has to act, you choose between a refund and a replacement. The law says you cannot be forced to take a replacement vehicle.

A refund, which the statute calls restitution, generally includes:

The price you paid or still owe, including transportation charges and options the manufacturer installed.
Sales tax, license and registration fees, and other official fees.
Out-of-pocket costs you actually paid because of the defect, such as reasonable repair, towing, and rental car costs.

Add-ons installed by the dealer or by you, rather than the manufacturer, are not part of the price for this purpose. The manufacturer may also take a deduction for your use of the car. The formula uses the miles on the car when you first brought it in for the problem: miles divided by 120,000, multiplied by the price. If you paid $48,000 and first reported the problem at 7,500 miles, the deduction would be 7,500 ÷ 120,000 × $48,000, or $3,000. Our lemon law buyback page walks through the rest of the math, and the buyback calculator runs it for your numbers.

When a court finds that a manufacturer willfully failed to meet its duties, it can add a civil penalty of up to two times your actual damages (Civil Code section 1794(c)). That is a remedy for bad conduct proven in court. It is not a typical outcome, and nobody can promise it.

Who pays the lawyer

Civil Code section 1794(d) says that if the buyer wins, the court shall award the buyer's costs and reasonable attorney's fees, paid by the manufacturer. That rule is why lemon law lawyers usually do not bill consumers by the hour. Fee arrangements still differ from firm to firm, so read the written agreement before you sign. Our page on lemon law attorney fees lists the questions worth asking.

The 2025 changes: AB 1755 and SB 26

Two newer laws added a separate set of procedures for lemon law cases. Assembly Bill 1755 created them, and Senate Bill 26, which took effect April 2, 2025, made them optional for each manufacturer. A manufacturer that opted in gets procedures such as:

A written notice the consumer must send before suing if they want to seek civil penalties, followed by a 30-day window for the manufacturer to make an offer.
Early document exchange and mandatory mediation once a lawsuit is filed.
Shorter filing deadlines and some changes to how the refund is calculated.

Manufacturers that did not opt in stay under the traditional rules. The Department of Consumer Affairs publishes the list of manufacturers that opted in, and it can change each year. We check it for every vehicle we review. Read more on our California lemon law changes page.

How long you have to file

There is no single deadline that fits every case. Under the traditional rules, the period is generally four years, and when it starts can depend on the facts. For manufacturers that opted into the new procedures, a lawsuit generally has to be filed within one year after the warranty expires and never later than six years after the original delivery, with some exceptions that pause the clock. The safe move is to talk to a lawyer while the car is still under warranty. Our lemon law time limits page goes deeper.

Do you have to go to arbitration first?

No. You do not have to use a manufacturer's arbitration program before hiring a lawyer or filing a lawsuit. There is one wrinkle. If the manufacturer runs a program certified by the state and told you about it in writing, you have to try that program before you can rely on the presumption described above. State-certified programs are free to consumers, and the decision only binds the manufacturer if you accept it.

Dealer sales contracts often include an arbitration clause. In 2025, the California Supreme Court held that a manufacturer cannot use the dealer's arbitration clause to force a lemon law claim out of court (Ford Motor Warranty Cases).

What to do if you think your car is a lemon

Start with the paperwork, because lemon law cases are built on it.

Keep every repair order, including visits where the dealer wrote "could not duplicate" or "no problem found." Each one proves you gave the manufacturer a chance.
Describe the problem the same way each time, in writing, with the date and mileage. Ask the service advisor to write your words on the repair order.
Check your owner's manual or warranty booklet for any instruction to notify the manufacturer directly, and follow it.
Keep making your loan or lease payments while the claim is pending, to protect your credit, unless a lawyer advises you otherwise.
Talk to a lawyer before you sell, trade in, or return the vehicle. It does not automatically end your claim, but under the newer procedures it can affect what you can recover.

If the car is unsafe to drive, don't drive it. Ask the dealer to tow it, and keep the towing receipt.

Not sure where you stand? The lemon checker takes about two minutes, or you can send us your details for a free case review. An attorney reads every request.

California lemon law: how it works and who qualifies