McLaren Lemon Law in California: Artura, 720S, 750S & GT

A McLaren is one of the most focused machines money can buy, which makes reliability trouble especially galling. California's lemon law, the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, covers McLaren vehicles just like any other car sold with a manufacturer's warranty. If a covered defect substantially impairs your McLaren's use, value, or safety and McLaren cannot repair it within a reasonable number of attempts, you may be entitled to a buyback, a replacement, or a cash settlement — with McLaren paying your attorney fees.

Fuel leaks and fire risk

McLaren's most significant recalls involve fuel-system fire risk. On a range of models, an NVH foam pad beneath the fuel tank can retain moisture and corrode the tank, allowing a fuel leak that becomes a fire hazard near hot engine components. The affected cars have spanned the lineup — including the 720S, the GT, the 570GT, the Artura hybrid, and even the roughly million-dollar Senna. Separately, the nuts on high-pressure fuel pipes on certain models can loosen and allow a fuel leak, again raising fire risk.

A fuel leak on a mid-engine supercar is close to the definition of a substantial safety defect. A recall is not automatically a lemon, but if the repair does not resolve the problem, the same fault returns, or the car spends significant time out of service, that is exactly the pattern a lemon claim is built on — and no recall is required to bring a claim in the first place.

Other McLaren defects that can qualify

Beyond the fuel-system recalls, McLaren owners report electrical faults, the brand's known issues with infotainment and control electronics, hydraulic-suspension complaints, and — on the Artura in particular — early hybrid-system and software problems that sent cars back to service. When any substantial defect keeps returning after a reasonable number of repair attempts, or leaves the car unusable for an extended period, it can support a claim.

Which McLarens are covered

• Artura — fuel-tank corrosion recall, early hybrid-system and software faults
• 720S and 750S — fuel-system recalls, electronics and hydraulic complaints
• GT — fuel-tank corrosion recall, electrical and infotainment issues
• Earlier 570 / Senna and related models — fuel-system fire-risk recalls

What a buyback is worth

A buyback refunds what you paid — down payment, payments made, and official fees like tax and registration — minus a single mileage offset for the use you had before the defect first sent the car in. A willful failure to comply allows a civil penalty of up to two times your actual damages. On a McLaren the figures are large, McLaren pays your attorney fees when you win, and there is no out-of-pocket cost to pursue a claim.

As with any exotic, the 18-month / 18,000-mile figure is a presumption period, not a deadline — low-mileage supercars sit inside the mileage side of it for years, and even past it the manufacturer's duty to repurchase a car it cannot fix does not expire. Keep every repair order and get a free case review.