California lemon law questions, answered

California's lemon law (the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act) applies when a new vehicle has a warranty defect the manufacturer can't fix after a reasonable number of attempts. The defect has to substantially impair the car's use, value, or safety. A transmission that slams into gear, an engine that stalls at stoplights, or a backup camera that keeps going dark can qualify. A faint rattle in the dash usually won't. The problem also has to be covered by the warranty, so damage from a crash or from skipped maintenance generally falls outside the law. When a car qualifies, the manufacturer must repurchase or replace it. Our guide to how California lemon law works covers the full rules.

The statute doesn't set one magic number, but it gives you a presumption that helps. Within 18 months from delivery or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first, a car is presumed to have had enough attempts if a defect likely to cause death or serious injury was repaired 2 or more times, the same defect was repaired 4 or more times, or the car spent more than 30 days in the shop for repairs (Civil Code section 1793.22(b)). For the first two tests, you must also have notified the manufacturer directly, but only if the owner's manual or warranty clearly required it. Courts generally want at least two repair opportunities. Our page on repair attempts goes deeper.

No. The 18-month, 18,000-mile window only controls the presumption, which is a shortcut for proving the manufacturer had enough chances. It is not a deadline, and it is not the only way to qualify. The lemon law applies for the full length of the manufacturer's original warranty. If the defect showed up while the car was under warranty and the manufacturer still couldn't fix it after a reasonable number of tries, you may have a claim at 26,000 miles or more. Without the presumption, your repair orders carry more weight, so the dates, mileage, and complaint written on each one matter. The lemon checker walks through these questions.

You may be. Civil Code section 1795.8 extends the lemon law to a full-time active-duty member of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, National Guard, Space Force, or Coast Guard who bought a new vehicle anywhere in the U.S., if two things are true. The vehicle came with a warranty from a manufacturer that sells vehicles in California, and the service member was stationed in or a resident of California either when buying or when filing suit. Civilians are treated differently. In Cummins, Inc. v. Superior Court (2005), the California Supreme Court held that the Act generally doesn't reach vehicles bought outside the state, so a move to California after an out-of-state purchase usually doesn't bring the car under it.

Make sure the visit still gets written up. A repair order marked "could not duplicate" or "no problem found" still records the date, the mileage, and the fact that you brought the car in for that complaint. Whether a visit like that counts as a repair opportunity depends on the facts, but without the paperwork it can't count at all. Intermittent problems are where these notes pile up. When it's safe, have a passenger record video of the warning light or the hesitation, write down the speed and conditions, and ask the service advisor or technician to road-test the car with you. Describe the problem the same way at every visit so the repair orders clearly connect.

In most cases, yes, as long as the car is safe. If a defect makes it unsafe to drive, such as brakes that fade or an engine that cuts out in traffic, don't drive it, and ask the dealer to tow it. Otherwise, a few habits protect your claim while you keep using the car. Stay on the factory maintenance schedule and save every receipt, since a manufacturer may try to blame skipped service. Hold off on aftermarket changes like engine tunes, lift kits, or added electronics, which can give the manufacturer something else to point to. Take the car in each time the problem returns, even if it has happened before.

Repair orders are the most important evidence in a lemon law case, so read each one before you leave the service desk. The dates in and out should be accurate, because days in the shop count toward the more-than-30-days test. The mileage should be filled in. Your complaint should be written in your words ("transmission jerks between 2nd and 3rd gear at about 25 mph"), not shortened to "check vehicle." And the technician's notes should say what was tested or replaced. If something is wrong or missing, ask for a corrected copy. Keep every one, including warranty visits where nothing was fixed.

No. You don't 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 state-certified program and told you about it in writing, you have to try that program before you can rely on the 18-month/18,000-mile presumption. A certified program's decision binds the manufacturer only if you accept it. In 2025, the California Supreme Court also held in Ford Motor Warranty Cases that a manufacturer can't use the arbitration clause in the dealer's sales contract to force you into arbitration. Agreements signed directly with a manufacturer can raise different questions, so bring any you signed to your case review.

The manufacturer. The dealer acts as the manufacturer's authorized repair shop, but the legal duty to repurchase or replace a lemon belongs to the company that built the car and issued the warranty. Your claim is made against the manufacturer, usually the U.S. company named in your warranty booklet. Attorney's fees work the same way: when a consumer wins, the fee award is paid by the manufacturer. You can stay on good terms with your service advisor and keep getting warranty repairs at the same dealership while your claim moves forward.

A repurchase generally includes what you paid or owe on the vehicle, plus taxes and registration fees and certain out-of-pocket costs like repairs, towing, and rental cars, minus a usage deduction based on the miles driven before the first repair attempt for the defect. In practice that usually means your down payment, the monthly payments you've made, and the loan payoff, including finance charges you've actually paid. The statute excludes non-manufacturer items installed by a dealer or by you. You, not the manufacturer, choose between that refund and a replacement vehicle. Our page on what a lemon law buyback includes breaks down each piece.

There isn't a meaningful average, and figures you see online tell you little about your own case. A buyback is built from your numbers: the price you paid or still owe, the finance charges you've paid, sales tax and registration, and costs like towing and rentals, minus the mileage deduction. Two owners with the same defect can end up far apart because one made a large down payment and first reported the problem at 900 miles, while the other financed everything and first reported it at 14,000. Some cases settle with a cash payment while the owner keeps the car. A court can add a civil penalty of up to two times actual damages only when it finds the manufacturer's violation willful, and that is not the typical case.

The manufacturer may subtract an amount for your use of the car before the defect first went to the shop. The formula in Civil Code section 1793.2(d)(2)(C) multiplies the price paid or payable by a fraction: the miles driven before the first repair visit for that defect, divided by 120,000. If you paid $36,750 and first brought the car in for the problem at 5,340 miles, the deduction would be 5,340 ÷ 120,000 × $36,750, or about $1,635. Miles you drive after that first repair visit don't add to it. You can run your own numbers in our buyback calculator.

Generally, yes. Your loan or lease is a separate contract with the lender or leasing company, and a lemon law claim doesn't pause it. Missed payments can bring late fees, damage your credit, and even lead to repossession, which can complicate a buyback. The payments you make while the claim is pending are part of what a repurchase is meant to pay back, so staying current usually protects you rather than costing you. This is general information, and every loan is different. Talk with your lawyer before you change anything about how you pay.

Talk to a lawyer before you do. In Niedermeier v. FCA US (2024), the California Supreme Court held that a trade-in credit or sale proceeds don't reduce the restitution owed, at least when the consumer had to trade in or sell because the manufacturer didn't comply. Timing still matters. For manufacturers that opted into the 2025 procedures, the law expressly lets you sell once the manufacturer has had your written pre-suit notice for 30 days without making an offer (Code of Civil Procedure section 871.24). A sale can also require a written disclosure to the buyer to keep civil penalties available. A lawyer can tell you which rules apply to your manufacturer before you sign anything at a dealership.

If you win, California law requires the manufacturer to pay your reasonable attorney's fees and costs (Civil Code section 1794(d)). The court bases that award on the time the lawyer reasonably spent on your case. We start with a free case review. If we take your case, you'll get a written fee agreement that explains how fees and costs are handled, including what happens if the case doesn't succeed. Read it before you sign, and ask about anything that isn't clear. Our page on lemon law attorney fees lists questions worth asking any lawyer before you hire one.

Some, and a lawyer should be straight with you about it. The fee-shifting rule protects consumers who win. Ordinary court rules on costs still apply, and in Madrigal v. Hyundai Motor America (2025), the California Supreme Court held that a consumer who turns down a formal settlement offer under Code of Civil Procedure section 998 and later settles doesn't necessarily escape the cost-shifting that can follow. So a formal offer deserves a careful look, not a reflexive no. Your written fee agreement should say who pays costs if the case doesn't succeed. Ask about it before you sign.

It depends much more on your records than on luck. Strong cases usually have repair orders that show the same complaint written up again and again, a defect plainly covered by the warranty, and a manufacturer that had a fair chance to fix it. Cases get harder when the repair history is thin, when visits are months apart with different descriptions, when the problem could be blamed on a crash or aftermarket parts, or when a deadline is close. How the manufacturer responds matters too. Some make an offer after a written demand, and others fight. No lawyer can honestly promise an outcome. The lemon law process page shows each step a claim goes through.

You can handle it yourself. You can ask the manufacturer for a buyback directly, use a state-certified arbitration program (the Department of Consumer Affairs says an attorney isn't required there), or rely on the lemon law presumption in court, including small claims court. Many people still hire a lawyer because the manufacturer has its own, the restitution math has easy-to-miss pieces, and the 2025 procedures add notice rules and deadlines that vary by manufacturer. In certified arbitration, attorney's fees may not be covered. In court, a consumer who wins can have the manufacturer pay reasonable fees and costs.

We ask for the basics: year, make, and model, whether you bought or leased it new in California, how many times it has been in for the problem, and the mileage at the first visit. If you have your repair orders and purchase or lease contract, we look at those too. Then we tell you whether the claim looks like it may qualify, which set of rules applies to your manufacturer, and any deadline concerns we see. A review doesn't make you a client or obligate you to hire us. Attorney Sam Setyan can go over everything in English, Spanish, or Armenian, and Spanish speakers can start at our página en español.

There isn't one deadline for everyone, and yours can be shorter than you expect. For manufacturers that did not opt into the 2025 procedures, the traditional limit is four years under Commercial Code section 2725, and that period often runs from when the defect was or should have been discovered rather than from the purchase date. For manufacturers that opted in, a lawsuit must be filed within one year after the applicable express warranty expires and never later than six years after original delivery (Code of Civil Procedure section 871.21), with some pauses for arbitration and repair time. Our time limit guide explains both rules.

It varies with the manufacturer, how complete your records are, and whether the case resolves early or goes to court. Some claims end after a written demand. Others go through arbitration or a lawsuit and take much longer. For manufacturers that opted into the 2025 procedures, the law sets a few milestones. After your written pre-suit notice, the manufacturer has 30 days to offer a repurchase or replacement, and 60 days from the notice to complete it, if it wants to avoid civil penalties. If a lawsuit is filed, the parties must hold mediation within 150 days after the manufacturer files its answer. None of these dates promise a result, and court schedules vary by county.

Two laws, AB 1755 and SB 26, created a new set of procedures, but they apply only to manufacturers that chose to opt in. With those manufacturers, you must send a written pre-suit notice at least 30 days before suing if you want civil penalties, lawsuits follow early disclosure and mediation rules, the filing deadline is shorter, and the buyback math has some new offsets, such as for negative equity rolled in from a prior car. Manufacturers that didn't opt in still follow the older rules. If you bought new recently, the manufacturer was supposed to tell you at the sale which procedure governs your vehicle. Our 2025 changes page explains the opt-in list.

Not automatically. What matters most is whether the defect showed up, and was taken in for repair, while the warranty was still running. If your repair orders show the problem began during the warranty, a claim can still exist after the warranty ends. The clock is the bigger worry. For manufacturers that opted into the 2025 procedures, the filing deadline is one year after the applicable express warranty expires, so the expiration date itself can start a countdown. Find your warranty booklet, pull your repair orders, and request a free case review so a lawyer can check both dates.

Mostly no, since 2024. In Rodriguez v. FCA US (October 31, 2024), the California Supreme Court held that a used car bought with only the balance of the original factory warranty generally isn't a "new motor vehicle," so the refund-or-replace remedy doesn't apply. Demonstrators and dealer-owned cars sold with a manufacturer's new-car warranty still qualify. No published appellate decision has settled whether certified pre-owned cars do. You may still have warranty claims under state and federal law, such as a dealer's own written warranty, the manufacturer's warranty for repairs, or the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Our used car lemon law page covers those options.

Yes. California's lemon law treats the lessee of a new vehicle as a buyer, so a leased car has the same rights against the manufacturer as a purchased one. The lease has to run longer than four months, and the car has to be leased mainly for personal, family, or household use (or meet the small-business rules). The usual qualifying tests apply, including the 18-month/18,000-mile presumption. For manufacturers that opted into the 2025 procedures, there are lease-specific rules for calculating the refund. Our leased car page explains how a lease buyback is figured and how the lease gets closed out.

It can. A vehicle bought or leased mainly for business use is covered if its gross vehicle weight is under 10,000 pounds and the owner has no more than five motor vehicles registered in California. The owner can be a person, a partnership, an LLC, or a corporation. A contractor with three work pickups under 10,000 pounds could fit. A company running a fleet of eight vans would not. Vehicles bought for personal, family, or household use don't have to meet these limits. If your truck is near the weight line, check the label on the driver's door jamb and mention it during your case review.

Not by the vehicle part of the law. Civil Code section 1793.22 expressly leaves motorcycles out of the definition of a "new motor vehicle," so the 18-month/18,000-mile presumption and the vehicle buyback formula don't apply. That doesn't always leave a rider without options. A motorcycle bought mainly for personal use may still count as consumer goods under the Song-Beverly Act's general rule, which requires a manufacturer that can't fix a product under warranty after a reasonable number of attempts to replace it or reimburse the buyer, less an amount for use. The federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act may also apply. Whether either fits depends on the bike, the warranty, and the repair history.

Partly, and it depends on which part has the problem. For a motorhome, the chassis, the chassis cab, and the portion devoted to propulsion count as a new motor vehicle, so engine, transmission, and other drivetrain defects follow the regular lemon law rules. The living area falls under the Act's general rules for consumer goods. Since January 1, 2025, under AB 1849, the buyer of a travel trailer or of a motorhome's living area can choose reimbursement instead of a replacement when warranty problems aren't fixed after a reasonable number of attempts, and can't be forced to take a replacement.