Lemon Law Overview
Lemon Law Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the California lemon law terms clients ask about most — so you know exactly what you're dealing with.
- Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
- California's Lemon Law. It requires a manufacturer that can't repair a substantial warranty defect after a reasonable number of attempts to repurchase or replace the vehicle, and to pay the consumer's attorney fees.
- Lemon
- A vehicle with a substantial defect, covered by the manufacturer's warranty, that hasn't been fixed after a reasonable number of repair attempts (or that has been out of service for an extended time).
- Buyback (Repurchase)
- A remedy in which the manufacturer refunds what you paid into the vehicle — down payment, monthly payments, and loan payoff, plus incidental costs — minus a mileage offset, and takes the vehicle back.
- Replacement
- An alternative remedy to a buyback in which the manufacturer provides a substantially identical new vehicle instead of a refund. Under California law, the buyer generally chooses between a replacement and a buyback.
- Cash-and-Keep Settlement
- A settlement in which you keep the vehicle and the manufacturer pays you a sum for its diminished value and the trouble, rather than repurchasing it.
- Mileage Offset
- The main deduction from a buyback, based on how much you drove before the qualifying defect was first taken in for repair — the first repair attempt for the specific problem that makes the vehicle a lemon, not just any service visit. It is calculated as the purchase price multiplied by the miles driven before that first repair attempt for the defect, divided by 120,000. Miles you were forced to put on the car after that first attempt do not count against you.
- Substantial Defect
- A defect that substantially impairs the use, value, or safety of the vehicle — such as engine, transmission, electrical, braking, steering, or fire-risk problems. Minor cosmetic issues usually don't qualify.
- Reasonable Number of Repair Attempts
- The threshold for a lemon claim — there is no single magic number, and what counts as reasonable depends on the nature and severity of the defect. California provides a presumption that the threshold is met if, within 18 months or 18,000 miles, there were 2 or more attempts for a serious safety defect, 4 or more for the same substantial defect, or 30+ cumulative days out of service. But the presumption is only one way to prove a case — in practice, many (often most) successful claims fall outside those limits, where the repairs were simply unreasonable for the problem involved.
- Lemon Law Presumption
- A legal presumption that makes a claim easier to prove when the repair-attempt thresholds are met within 18 months or 18,000 miles. It is not a filing deadline — many valid claims fall outside the presumption.
- Civil Penalty
- An additional award of up to two times your actual damages when a manufacturer willfully fails to comply with its Lemon Law obligations. It is not automatic and depends on the manufacturer's conduct.
- Restitution
- The money returned to you in a buyback — essentially being made whole for what you paid toward the defective vehicle, before the mileage offset is applied.
- Incidental and Consequential Damages
- Related out-of-pocket costs a buyback can include, such as sales tax, registration and license fees, finance charges, towing, and rental car expenses caused by the defect.
- Express Warranty
- The written warranty the manufacturer provides with a new (or certified pre-owned) vehicle. Lemon Law protection generally applies to defects covered by this warranty.
- Implied Warranty of Merchantability
- An unwritten guarantee under California law that a vehicle is fit for ordinary use. It can provide additional protection alongside the express warranty.
- Certified Pre-Owned (CPO)
- A used vehicle sold with a manufacturer-backed warranty. Because it carries that warranty, a CPO vehicle can qualify for Lemon Law protection.
- Attorney Fee-Shifting
- The provision that requires the manufacturer to pay your reasonable attorney fees and costs on a successful Lemon Law claim — which is why reputable lemon law attorneys charge you nothing out of pocket.
- AB 1755
- A 2024 California law that created an optional streamlined lemon law process. For manufacturers that opt in, a shorter filing deadline applies — as soon as one year from the expiration of the vehicle's express warranty, and no later than six years from the original sale date. For manufacturers that don't opt in, the traditional four-year statute of limitations governs.
- Statute of Limitations
- The deadline to file a claim. For a lemon law claim against a manufacturer that has NOT opted into AB 1755, it is generally four years from when the defect was discovered. For manufacturers that HAVE opted into AB 1755, the deadline can be as soon as one year from the expiration of the vehicle's express warranty, and no later than six years from the vehicle's original sale (delivery) date — so acting promptly matters.
- Recall
- A manufacturer's acknowledgment of a defect and offer to repair it for free, often prompted by federal regulators. A recall doesn't automatically make a vehicle a lemon, but an unfixable recalled defect can support a claim.
- NHTSA
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — the federal agency that oversees vehicle safety and recalls in the United States.
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