Dublin Lemon Law

Song-Beverly Act cases are filed in the California Superior Court. Dublin residents file in the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda. Civil unlimited cases for Dublin are typically assigned to the Hayward Hall of Justice at 24405 Amador Street in Hayward, although some matters may be heard at the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse in Oakland. Venue is also proper in any California county where the manufacturer does business or where the vehicle was purchased, which for major automakers gives you choice among Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties.

Yes. Song-Beverly applies to all new motor vehicles sold or leased in California with a written manufacturer's warranty, including EVs. The Tanner Act presumption under Cal. Civ. Code 1793.22(b) applies the same four-repair-attempt or 30-day standards regardless of powertrain. Common EV defect categories - HV battery thermal management, charging port and onboard charger failures, drive unit replacements, autopilot and driver-assist faults, infotainment touchscreen failures - all qualify as nonconformities when they recur despite repair attempts. Tesla's direct service model does not change your Song-Beverly rights.

It can be. Infotainment failures that impair safety-related functions (backup camera, navigation, hands-free calling, blind-spot warning displays) or that recur despite multiple software updates and module replacements are nonconformities under Song-Beverly. Cal. Civ. Code 1793.22(b) presumes a reasonable number of repair attempts after four visits for the same defect within 18 months or 18,000 miles. Save every repair order, including over-the-air update logs and mobile-service visits. Many manufacturers initially try to characterize infotainment issues as 'normal' user errors, which is why documenting the repeat-failure pattern is important.

Yes. Cal. Civ. Code 1791(g) defines 'buyer' to include a lessee under a retail lease of consumer goods, so the full Song-Beverly framework applies to leases. For a qualifying lemon, the remedy generally includes termination of the lease, refund of monthly payments and the capitalized cost reduction, payment of official fees, and the manufacturer's payoff of the residual value to the leasing company. The use offset under Cal. Civ. Code 1793.2(d)(2)(C) still applies based on miles driven before the first repair attempt for the nonconformity.

It does not change eligibility. Many Dublin and Tri-Valley commuters hit 18,000 miles in well under a year, which means defects that appear early can land squarely inside the Tanner Act presumption window under Cal. Civ. Code 1793.22(b). Keep every repair order, including 'could not duplicate' visits and mobile service appointments, because each documented attempt counts toward the four-attempt threshold. The 30-cumulative-days-out-of-service test is also frequently hit by commuters whose vehicles wait at the dealer for backordered EV or luxury parts.

Under Cal. Civ. Code 1793.2(d), you are entitled to either a replacement vehicle or a refund of the full price including taxes, license, registration, and finance charges, minus a use offset calculated as (price x miles before first repair) / 120,000. If the manufacturer's failure to comply was willful, Cal. Civ. Code 1794(c) authorizes a civil penalty up to two times actual damages on top of the refund. The prevailing consumer also recovers attorney's fees and costs under Cal. Civ. Code 1794(d), which is why most consumer-side lemon law firms work on contingency.

There is no fixed timeline, but Alameda County Superior Court civil cases typically schedule trial 12 to 18 months after filing. Many Song-Beverly cases resolve earlier through manufacturer-side repurchase offers, mediation, or formal settlement once discovery is exchanged. AB 1755 (effective 2025) added new procedural deadlines for vehicle restitution, which has pushed some manufacturers to make earlier offers. Cases that proceed to trial obviously take longer, and any appeal extends the timeline further.