What Is The Lemon Law?

If you bought a car in California that keeps breaking down, you may have a lemon — and California has one of the strongest consumer-protection laws in the country to make that right. This guide explains what the California lemon law is, how it works, who qualifies, and exactly how to file a claim, with all the 2024–2026 changes you need to know.

Key Takeaways

• California’s lemon law is the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (Cal. Civ. Code §§1790–1795.8), with the Tanner Consumer Protection Act (§1793.22) defining when a vehicle is presumed to be a lemon.
• A vehicle is presumed to qualify when, within 18 months or 18,000 miles, the manufacturer has had 2 or more attempts on a safety defect, 4 or more attempts on the same non-safety defect, or the vehicle has been out of service for 30 or more cumulative days.
• Used cars are largely out after the November 2024 Rodriguez v. FCA US LLC decision. Certified pre-owned vehicles sold with a manufacturer-issued warranty at the time of sale may still qualify, and federal Magnuson-Moss claims remain available.
• AB 1755 and SB 26 (2025) created an opt-in fast track for manufacturers with a 30-day pre-suit notice, mandatory mediation within 150 days, and a shorter statute of limitations.
• A successful claim entitles you to a refund (buyback) or replacement vehicle, plus incidentals.
• You don’t pay out of pocket. Civil Code §1794(d) requires the manufacturer to cover your attorney’s fees if you win.

Think you have a lemon? Get a free case review with our San Diego lemon law team. Call (619) 230-0330 or request a free case review.

What Is Lemon Law?

Lemon law refers to consumer-protection statutes that give buyers of defective vehicles the right to a refund or replacement when the manufacturer cannot fix the defect after a reasonable number of repair attempts. Car lemon laws exist in every state, plus the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act covers any consumer product with a written warranty. California’s version is widely considered one of the most consumer-friendly in the country.

The core idea is simple: if you bought or leased a vehicle covered by a manufacturer’s warranty and it has a substantial defect the manufacturer cannot fix, you should not be stuck with it. The law gives you the right to either return the car for a full refund — known as a “buyback” — or have it replaced with a comparable vehicle. The manufacturer pays. You don’t.

California Lemon Law Explained: The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act

In California, the lemon law lives inside the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (Civil Code §§1790–1795.8). A specific provision called the Tanner Consumer Protection Act (§1793.22) defines when the law presumes a vehicle is a lemon. Together they require manufacturers to repair, replace, or refund defective vehicles covered by an express warranty.

Two features make California’s framework particularly strong:

• Implied warranty of merchantability and fitness. Every consumer good sold in California — including new vehicles — comes with built-in warranties that the product will work as expected. These implied warranties can apply even when the express warranty has run out.
• Fee-shifting under §1794(d). California requires the manufacturer to pay the consumer’s attorney’s fees if the consumer prevails. In practice, this means most lemon law attorneys take cases on contingency at no out-of-pocket cost to you.

How Does the Lemon Law Work in California?

The basic flow is straightforward. If your vehicle has a substantial defect covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, you bring it to an authorized dealer for repair. If the dealer can’t fix it after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer is required to either replace the vehicle or buy it back from you.

If the manufacturer denies your claim or stalls, you have the right to escalate. Depending on the manufacturer, that may mean going through a state-certified arbitration program, sending a pre-suit notice, or filing a lawsuit. A successful claim recovers the price you paid plus taxes, registration, and incidental costs, minus a statutory mileage offset for the time you used the vehicle before the first repair attempt.

How Does a Car Qualify for Lemon Law in California?

Your vehicle has to meet four conditions:

1. A substantial defect that impairs its use, value, or safety. Examples include faulty brakes, transmission failure, persistent stalling, electrical defects, and steering issues.
2. Coverage by the manufacturer’s express warranty when the defect first appeared.
3. A reasonable number of repair attempts without success.
4. Not caused by owner abuse, neglect, or unauthorized modifications.

The 18-month / 18,000-mile presumption window

Under §1793.22, your vehicle is presumed to be a lemon if any of the following happens within the first 18 months from delivery or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first:

Outside that window, you may still have a valid claim — the statute creates a presumption, not a hard cutoff. More repair attempts may simply be required to prove the manufacturer had a reasonable opportunity to fix the issue.

Documentation matters more than you think

Manufacturers routinely argue the defect is minor, doesn’t affect safety, or wasn’t actually present. Your repair orders, invoices, technician notes, and written communications with the dealer build the paper trail that defeats those arguments. Even visits where the dealer wrote “no problem found” support your case — they show the defect was reported and the manufacturer failed to diagnose it.

What Vehicles Are Covered Under California Lemon Law?

The California lemon law applies to motor vehicles sold or leased in California with a manufacturer’s new vehicle warranty. That covers:

• New cars, trucks, SUVs, vans, and motorcycles
• Leased vehicles if the lease originated in California
• Many electric vehicles, including most EVs sold with a new vehicle warranty
• Business-use vehicles weighing under 10,000 pounds, if the business has no more than five total vehicles registered under its name
• Certified pre-owned vehicles sold with a manufacturer-issued warranty at the time of sale (see below)
• RVs and motorhomes under specific conditions, depending on the type of warranty and the vehicle’s use

The defect has to be covered by the warranty and not caused by abuse, neglect, accident damage, or unauthorized modifications.

Does Lemon Law Apply to Used Cars in California?

This is where the law changed significantly in late 2024. Lemon law used cars protections in California are now far narrower than they were before.

In Rodriguez v. FCA US LLC (Cal. Supreme Court, November 2024), the court ruled that the Song-Beverly Act’s “new motor vehicle” provisions do not extend to used cars, even when those cars are still covered by the original manufacturer’s warranty. That decision narrowed protections that consumers and many courts had assumed were available.

What still works after Rodriguez:

• Certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicles sold by an authorized dealer with a manufacturer-issued warranty issued at the time of sale may still qualify under Song-Beverly.
• Implied warranty of merchantability under Song-Beverly remains available for some used-vehicle defects.
• Federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act claims remain available for used vehicles with a written warranty, regardless of Rodriguez.

If you bought a used car with a defect, the answer is no longer a clean yes or no. Talk to a lemon law attorney about which path applies to your specific transaction.

What Does the Lemon Law Cover (and Not Cover)?

If your defect falls in the left column, the law gives you a path. If it’s in the right column, you likely don’t have a Song-Beverly claim — though other consumer-protection laws may still apply.

2025–2026 Updates: AB 1755 and SB 26

The biggest procedural overhaul of California lemon law in a generation took effect in 2025.

Assembly Bill 1755 (signed September 2024) and the cleanup bill Senate Bill 26 (signed April 2025) created a manufacturer opt-in framework. Manufacturers can elect to be governed by a fast-track set of procedures for new vehicles sold in 2025 and the prior five years.

If your manufacturer opted in, your case runs on this track:

• 30-day pre-suit notice to the manufacturer before you can file suit
• Mandatory mediation within 150 days of the manufacturer’s answer
• Shorter statute of limitations: one year after the express warranty expires, capped at six years from delivery
• Restricted early discovery

If your manufacturer did not opt in, your case runs on the legacy Song-Beverly procedural framework, with the traditional four-year statute of limitations and the standard litigation arc.

The substantive rights — the right to a buyback, replacement, and attorney’s fees — are the same on either track. What changes is the timeline.

The California Department of Consumer Affairs publishes the official list of opted-in manufacturers through its Arbitration Certification Program. If you don’t know whether your manufacturer opted in, an attorney can check before filing.

California Lemon Law Buyback Formula: How Refunds Are Calculated

If your vehicle is bought back, you don’t get back exactly what you paid — you get back what you paid minus a statutory mileage offset for the time you used the vehicle before the defect first appeared.

Buyback = Total amount paid (or payable) − Mileage Offset

Mileage Offset = (Miles before first repair attempt ÷ 120,000) × Purchase Price

Worked example: You bought a $30,000 vehicle and brought it in for the first time at 5,000 miles for transmission problems.

• Mileage Offset = (5,000 ÷ 120,000) × $30,000 = $1,250
• Buyback before incidentals = $30,000 − $1,250 = $28,750

The refund also includes:

• Down payment and all monthly payments made
• Loan payoff (the manufacturer pays off the loan directly)
• Sales tax and registration fees
• Incidental and collateral costs — towing, rental car, repair fees you paid out of pocket

For consumers who’d rather not deal with the same manufacturer twice, the buyback option is usually preferred. A replacement vehicle is also available — a substantially identical vehicle from the same manufacturer.

Want a real number on your case? Talk to a San Diego lemon law attorney — free. Call (619) 230-0330 or request a free case review.

How to File a Lemon Law Claim in California (Step-by-Step)

Here is the process from “I think I have a lemon” to compensation.

1. Document everything. Keep every repair order, invoice, and receipt. Note the date, mileage, reported issue, technician notes, and dealer’s diagnosis. Save written communication with the dealer and manufacturer. This paper trail is the single most important thing you control.
2. Allow reasonable repair attempts. Give the manufacturer or its dealer a meaningful chance to fix the problem — generally two attempts on a safety defect, four on the same non-safety defect, or 30 or more days out of service inside the 18-month / 18,000-mile window.
3. Send written notice. If the manufacturer hasn’t fixed the problem, notify them in writing of the defect and demand repair, replacement, or refund. If your manufacturer opted into AB 1755, this becomes a formal 30-day pre-suit notice with specific content requirements.
4. File a Demand for Arbitration or proceed to litigation. Many manufacturers participate in state-certified arbitration programs (BBB Auto Line is a common one), and you can also file a lawsuit. Under AB 1755, opted-in manufacturers must go to mandatory mediation within 150 days of the answer.
5. Hire a lemon law attorney. California’s fee-shifting statute (§1794(d)) means the manufacturer pays your legal fees if you win. There is no out-of-pocket cost to hire experienced counsel. Most lemon law attorneys take cases on contingency.

Why Lemon Law Claims Get Denied — and How an Attorney Helps

Manufacturers deny valid claims for predictable reasons. Missing repair documentation. The manufacturer’s own engineers labeling the issue “normal.” Disputes about whether the defect is “substantial.” Or the manufacturer arguing the consumer caused the problem.

These tactics work because most consumers don’t know the legal standard — they’re applying the manufacturer’s marketing language instead of California’s statutory test. An experienced lemon law attorney:

• Translates your repair history into the statutory framework — substantial defect, presumption window, reasonable repair attempts.
• Gathers technician notes, ECU data, warranty documents, and expert assessments to defeat the “no defect” argument.
• Handles all communication with the manufacturer so you don’t accidentally undermine your own claim.
• Negotiates for a buyback, replacement, or cash settlement and litigates if the manufacturer won’t move.

The presence of counsel alone changes the math — manufacturers settle faster when they know they’ll be paying both sides’ fees if they lose.

California Lemon Law Statute of Limitations

How long you have to file depends on whether your manufacturer opted into AB 1755:

The 18-month / 18,000-mile presumption window is separate from the SOL. Missing the presumption window does not necessarily kill your claim — it just shifts the burden of proof. Missing the SOL does kill your claim. Don’t wait.

Lemon Law vs. Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is the federal counterpart to state lemon laws. It applies to any consumer product with a written warranty, vehicles included, in any state.

Magnuson-Moss is often the path forward for used-vehicle claims that can no longer proceed under Song-Beverly’s “new motor vehicle” provisions after Rodriguez.

California Lemon Law FAQs

Talk to a San Diego Lemon Law Attorney

Banker’s Hill Law Firm has been representing San Diego consumers since 1991. If you bought or leased a defective vehicle in California, you may be entitled to a full refund or replacement — and the manufacturer pays the legal fees. There is no cost to find out whether you have a case.

Call (619) 230-0330 or request a free case review.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.