A new car can spend more time at the dealership than in your driveway, and the frustrating part is that the problem can persist even after repeated repair visits. California lemon law gives you a path to a refund or a replacement when a manufacturer cannot fix a warranty-covered defect after a reasonable chance to repair.

You probably care about two things first: whether your new car qualifies as a lemon and what you can recover if it does. Warranty coverage and repair paperwork usually answer both questions.

California Lemon Law Basics

California lemon law, based on the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, applies when a new car has a warranty-covered problem that the dealership cannot fix after a fair number of repair attempts. The problem has to affect how the car drives, how safe it is, or what it is worth.

California law uses a shortcut in certain situations. When repair history reaches specific benchmarks during a car’s warranty period, law treats a manufacturer as having had enough chances to fix a defect and blocks claims about “not enough opportunities.”

Vehicles Covered as New Motor Vehicles

New car coverage sounds straightforward, but California law uses a definition tied to the warranty and the type of vehicle.

Personal Use and Leases

Passenger vehicles sold or leased with the manufacturer’s new vehicle warranty can qualify, and a lease can count when you fit the definition of a buyer under the statute.

Business Use Limits

A vehicle used for business can still qualify in certain situations, and the key details come from the vehicle type and how California law defines a new motor vehicle for warranty purposes.

Used Vehicles With Remaining Warranty

A used vehicle can still qualify when the manufacturer warranty remains active, but used-car claims follow different rules and need a separate review.

Defects That Qualify

California law uses a practical standard: the defect has to substantially impair use or safety, or significantly reduce resale value.

A rattle or a small trim gap usually does not reach that standard, while a defect that affects driving or reliability can qualify, and a defect that significantly reduces resale value can also qualify.

Safety Problems

Brake trouble or loss of power can fit the safety category when the problem keeps coming back after warranty repairs.

Use and Value Problems

A non-start problem or recurring stalls can qualify when warranty repairs do not fix the defect, and repeat transmission repairs or an EV charging failure can qualify when the defect keeps the car from working the way a new car should.

Repair Attempts and the 18-Month or 18,000-Mile Presumption

California law sets a presumption window: 18 months from delivery or 18,000 miles, whichever happens first.

Within that window, the presumption can apply when the repair history meets one of the statutory triggers.

• A defect that could cause death or serious bodily injury has been subject to repair at least twice, and the defect remains.
• The non-safety defect has been subject to repair four or more times, and the defect remains.
• The vehicle has been out of service for warranty repairs for more than 30 total days.
• A 30-day total can add up over separate visits, so keep an eye on date-in and date-out on every repair invoice.

Direct Manufacturer Notice

Direct notice to the manufacturer only becomes required when the manufacturer clearly discloses that requirement in the warranty or owner’s manual, and the notice goes to the address that the materials list.

Refund and Replacement

A manufacturer can offer a replacement, and a refund remains an available remedy under the statute.

Refund calculation can get complicated, especially when a loan balance does not match the car’s value after months of problems.

What a Refund Can Cover

The facts of your case control how a refund is calculated, and the total can cover the price paid for the vehicle, sales tax and registration charges, tow charges and rental expenses tied to the defect, and payoff of the remaining loan or lease balance.

Mileage Offset

California Civil Code section 1793.2 sets the mileage offset formula by multiplying the price paid or payable for the vehicle by a fraction that uses 120,000 as the denominator and the miles driven before the first qualifying repair visit as the numerator.

A buyback can still make financial sense even with the offset, especially when the car keeps taking time away from work or family routines.

Example of a Mileage Offset and Loan Payoff

Assume a vehicle price of $40,000. First qualifying repair visit happened at 12,000 miles. California Civil Code section 1793.2 uses the mileage offset formula: $40,000 × (12,000 ÷ 120,000) = $4,000. Mileage offset reduces the repurchase amount tied to the vehicle price.

Loan balance can complicate the outcome. If the remaining loan balance is $38,000 at the time of repurchase, the payoff can use most of the repurchase funds even though a refund still applies under the law.

Civil Penalties and Attorney Fees

California lemon law can add money on top of the refund or replacement in certain cases. Courts can award a civil penalty of up to two times actual damages when a buyer proves willful noncompliance.

Lemon law attorney fees work differently. When you win, a court can order the manufacturer to pay reasonable attorney fees and costs. That payment sits outside the buyback amount, so a settlement can cover your attorney fees without reducing the refund or replacement value.

2025 Procedure Changes for Opt-In Manufacturers

AB 1755 and SB 26 created a separate procedure track for manufacturers that elect to use it for covered cases. California Department of Consumer Affairs publishes a public list of manufacturers that opted into the new process.

Notice Before a Civil Penalty Request

For the opt-in track, a written demand for repurchase or replacement has to go out at least 30 days before suing, and the manufacturer timelines for an offer and completion run from receipt of that demand.

SB 26 also revised the operative date for the pre-suit notice rule to July 1, 2025, and the purchase date near the rollout period can affect which steps apply.

Mediation Timing

The opt-in track uses mandatory mediation on set deadlines, and the schedule runs from the manufacturer’s answer. Mediation has to be scheduled within 90 days and held within 150 days under sources discussing the AB 1755 process.

Time Limits Under the Opt-In Track

AB 1755 also adds a deadline tied to the warranty end date, and the filing deadline can run one year after the express warranty ends with an outside six-year cap from delivery date.

Negative Equity and Trade-Ins

Negative equity can reduce a buyback in certain opt-in cases when the negative equity was rolled into the deal, which can change expectations about payoff and net refund.

Traditional Procedure Track

Manufacturers that did not elect the opt-in procedures stay under the existing Song-Beverly and Tanner rules, and the presumption and remedy concepts still drive case value.

Dispute Resolution Options

A warranty dispute does not always need a lawsuit right away, and California offers a certified arbitration path for participating manufacturers.

State-Certified Arbitration

Arbitration Certification Program oversees certified programs, and the agency describes arbitration as a cost-free option with decisions typically rendered within 40 days after a certified program accepts the case.

An lemon law arbitration result can also affect when you can use the presumption based on whether a qualified third-party process exists and whether you tried that process first.

Lawsuit

A lawsuit can still be the right next step when arbitration is not available or when you reject the arbitration result and the manufacturer still refuses to resolve the case.

Repair Records Needed for a Lemon Law Claim

Repeated repair trips to the dealership can increase your total repair count, and repair orders can show whether each trip qualifies and how many days the car stayed out of service.

Repair Orders and Final Invoices

A drop-off note is not the record you want. Ask for the final invoice at pickup, and look for date-in and date-out, along with the mileage entry, since those details support the out-of-service total.

Checklist for Each Service Visit

• Ask the service advisor for the final repair invoice at pickup, not a handwritten drop-off form.
• Read the “customer states” section before you leave and make sure it matches the symptom you reported.
• Save receipts for towing or rentals tied to the warranty defect.
• Keep a simple log of dates in and dates out so you can tally total downtime.

When Updates Do Not Fix the Problem

New cars can run into repeat defects tied to electronics, sensors, and software. Dealerships sometimes close a visit with phrases like “no fault found,” “could not duplicate,” or “operates as designed” after an update or reset, even when the problem returns. Repair orders should capture the symptom in the “customer states” section and show what warranty work happened, since those details help count repair attempts and prove days out of service.

Takeaway for Owners

• Ask the service advisor to write the symptom in the “customer states” section using your words, not “checked OK.”
• Ask for the final repair invoice at pickup that shows date-in, date-out, and mileage.
• Go back for the same defect when it returns so each documented visit can count toward repair-attempt totals.

FAQs

Leases and Co-Signers

A lease can qualify, and California law treats certain lessees as buyers for lemon law remedies when the warranty covers the vehicle.

Repairs After 18 Months or 18,000 Miles

The presumption lives inside the 18/18 window, but a case can still exist outside that window when the defect substantially impairs use or safety, or significantly reduces resale value, and repair attempts remain unsuccessful.

Counting Out-of-Service Days

Total downtime can add up across separate visits, and the statute uses a cumulative total of more than 30 calendar days in the presumption.

Mileage Offset Basics

The mileage offset ties to miles driven before the first repair visit for the defect that triggered the buyback, and the statute uses the 120,000-mile denominator in the calculation.

Opt-In Manufacturer Status

Conn Law, PC can check the opt-in list published by the Department of Consumer Affairs and tell you whether the AB 1755 procedure track applies.

Read Additional Lemon Law FAQs

Talk With Conn Law, PC

A lemon law case depends on your warranty and your repair history, and a short review can clarify whether the presumption applies and which remedy fits your situation, and it can also flag record gaps that can weaken a case. Contact Conn Law, PC to talk through the repair timeline and next steps.