The most-sued automakers in Los Angeles County
In 2025, consumers filed 15,114 lawsuits against 24 automakers in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County — the busiest lemon-law venue in America. The court knows who gets sued. It has never ranked them. So we counted every case, brand by brand, and divided by how many cars each brand actually sells.
Per car sold, the gap between the best and worst brands is more than thirty-fold.
Filings 1/1/2025–12/31/2025, all LASC courthouses. Counted August 2, 2026. Registrations: CNCDA California Auto Outlook (CY2025), data by Experian Automotive.
The ranking
Sorted by lawsuits per 1,000 California registrations — worst first. Brand names link to what we know about each manufacturer's common defects and buyback record.
| # | Manufacturer | Suits (2025) | CA registrations | Per 1,000 sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stellantis / FCA (Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge)Suits vs. FCA US LLC; registrations = Jeep + Ram + Chrysler + Dodge | 2,639 | 70,146 | 37.6 |
| 2 | Jaguar Land RoverRegistrations are Land Rover only — CNCDA does not break out Jaguar (sales paused), so the true rate is slightly lower | 460 | 15,028 | 30.6 |
| 3 | General Motors (Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Cadillac)Suits vs. General Motors entities; registrations = Chevrolet + GMC + Buick + Cadillac | 3,356 | 177,460 | 18.9 |
| 4 | PolestarSuits vs. Polestar Automotive USA | 18 | 1,139 | 15.8 |
| 5 | Nissan (incl. Infiniti)Suits vs. Nissan North America (also distributes Infiniti) | 1,122 | 74,890 | 15.0 |
| 6 | PorscheSuits vs. Porsche Cars North America | 250 | 16,992 | 14.7 |
| 7 | Volkswagen Group (VW + Audi)Suits vs. Volkswagen Group of America + Audi of America; registrations = VW + Audi | 828 | 60,217 | 13.8 |
| 8 | Mercedes-BenzSuits vs. Mercedes-Benz USA | 946 | 73,538 | 12.9 |
| 9 | Ford (incl. Lincoln)Suits vs. Ford Motor Company; registrations = Ford + Lincoln | 1,186 | 143,111 | 8.3 |
| 10 | BMW (incl. MINI)Suits vs. BMW of North America (also distributes MINI); registrations = BMW + MINI | 479 | 69,830 | 6.9 |
| 11 | Honda (incl. Acura)Suits vs. American Honda Motor Co. (also distributes Acura); registrations = Honda + Acura | 1,450 | 211,477 | 6.9 |
| 12 | RivianSuits vs. Rivian Automotive | 68 | 11,133 | 6.1 |
| 13 | KiaSuits vs. Kia America | 510 | 90,965 | 5.6 |
| 14 | HyundaiSuits vs. Hyundai Motor America; Genesis is listed separately | 450 | 89,658 | 5.0 |
| 15 | MitsubishiSuits vs. Mitsubishi Motors North America | 14 | 3,100 | 4.5 |
| 16 | LucidSuits vs. Lucid USA + Lucid Group, deduplicated | 17 | 3,910 | 4.3 |
| 17 | VolvoSuits vs. Volvo Car USA | 54 | 12,876 | 4.2 |
| 18 | TeslaSuits vs. Tesla, Inc. + Tesla Motors, Inc., deduplicated | 556 | 179,656 | 3.1 |
| 19 | MazdaSuits vs. Mazda Motor of America | 69 | 42,179 | 1.6 |
| 20 | Toyota (incl. Lexus)Suits vs. Toyota Motor Sales USA + Toyota Motor North America (distribute Toyota and Lexus), deduplicated; registrations = Toyota + Lexus | 513 | 387,691 | 1.3 |
| 21 | GenesisSuits vs. Genesis Motor America; Genesis suits naming Hyundai Motor America are counted under Hyundai | 11 | 9,196 | 1.2 |
| 22 | SubaruSuits vs. Subaru of America | 63 | 55,281 | 1.1 |
| — | MaseratiCA registrations not separately reported by CNCDA (folded into 'Other', which totals 6,017 for all remaining brands combined) — no rate computed, but per-sale intensity is plainly among the highest on this page | 32 | n/a | n/a |
| — | VinFastCA registrations not separately reported by CNCDA (folded into 'Other') — no rate computed, but per-sale intensity is plainly among the highest on this page | 23 | n/a | n/a |
What this table means
These are not fender-bender suits. They are warranty cases.
When thousands of owners a year sue the same manufacturer in one county, they are almost all making the same allegation under California's Song-Beverly Act: the car had a substantial defect, the dealer couldn't fix it in a reasonable number of attempts, and the manufacturer refused to buy it back until a lawsuit forced the issue.
The rates above are the closest thing that exists to a public reliability-and-accountability score — not what a brand's marketing says, but how often its own customers reached the courthouse steps.
A high rate doesn't make any individual car a lemon, and a low rate doesn't mean yours isn't. It means the brands at the top of this table resolve claims like yours every single week.
Methodology
- Lawsuits: the Superior Court of Los Angeles County's public civil case index, searched by company name for each manufacturer's U.S. sales entity (26 entities), filings 1/1/2025–12/31/2025, all courthouses.
- Filter: a case counts only when the manufacturer entity appears on the defendant side of the case title — captive-finance suits, dealer-only suits, employment matters, and stray party matches are excluded. Case numbers are deduplicated, including across multiple entities of the same maker.
- Registrations: CNCDA California Auto Outlook, Q4 2025 edition (full CY2025), data compiled by Experian Automotive.
- The rate is an index. Numerator is LA County filings; denominator is statewide registrations, and suits concern vehicles from multiple model years. Every brand faces the same lens, so the comparison holds — but the rate is not the probability that a 2025 buyer sues.
For reporters & researchers
This dataset is free to use, quote, and republish under CC BY 4.0 with attribution and a link. We'll also pull the underlying case lists — by brand, courthouse, or filing month — on request, usually same day. Registration figures republished courtesy of CNCDA / Experian Automotive.
Suggested citation
Mousavi Law Firm, “The Most-Sued Automakers in Los Angeles County, 2025,” August 2, 2026. https://mousavi.law/most-sued-automakers
Request the underlying case listsCommon questions
What do these lawsuits actually allege?
The overwhelming majority are California Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (“lemon law”) and breach-of-warranty actions — consumers alleging the manufacturer sold a defective vehicle and failed to repair it within a reasonable number of attempts. The counts include every civil case naming the manufacturer's U.S. sales entity as a defendant, so a small share are other consumer claims, but LA Superior Court's own case-type records show warranty suits dominate.
Why rank per car sold instead of by raw lawsuit count?
Raw counts reward small brands and punish big ones. General Motors drew the most suits in total, but Stellantis — the parent of Jeep, Ram, Chrysler and Dodge — was sued far more often relative to how many cars it actually sells in California. The per-1,000-registrations rate is the fairest way to compare a brand that sells 300,000 cars a year with one that sells 15,000.
Is this every lemon lawsuit in California?
No — it is every qualifying suit filed in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, the busiest lemon-law venue in the state, across all of its courthouses. Statewide totals are higher. Because all automakers face the same LA-County lens, the comparison between brands holds.
Does a high rate mean I'll win a case against that brand?
No. Every case turns on its own repair history, purchase documents, and timeline. What the rate does tell you is how often other owners of that brand reached the point of suing — and that manufacturers on the top of this list are very familiar with resolving these claims. If your car has been in the shop repeatedly, a free case review will tell you where you actually stand.
Can I cite or republish this data?
Yes. The dataset is free to use under CC BY 4.0 with attribution to Mousavi Law Firm and a link to this page. Reporters: we're happy to pull the underlying case lists by brand, courthouse, or filing month on request, usually same day.
Counts are drawn from the court's public case index as of the date shown and may change as cases are filed, consolidated, or reclassified. This page is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Is Your Brand Near the Top of This List?
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