Redlands Lemon Law

Song-Beverly cases are filed in the California Superior Court. Redlands residents file in the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino. Civil unlimited cases are typically assigned to the San Bernardino Justice Center at 247 West Third Street in downtown San Bernardino. Venue is also proper in any California county where the manufacturer does business or where the vehicle was purchased, which for most major automakers gives you choice among San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, and Orange counties.

Heat alone is not the legal standard, but it produces the kind of recurring failure pattern that Song-Beverly addresses. Sustained 100-plus degree summer days stress batteries, A/C systems, cooling systems, and transmissions, which is why valley owners often see repeat warranty visits for the same nonconformity. The Tanner Act presumption under Cal. Civ. Code 1793.22(b) triggers at four or more repair attempts for the same defect within 18 months/18,000 miles, or 30 cumulative days out of service. Document every visit, including 'could not duplicate' visits, because each counts toward that threshold.

Recreational use does not disqualify a Song-Beverly claim. The statute covers vehicles used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. The CA-38 climb to Big Bear and the descent back put significant load on transmissions, brakes, and cooling systems, which often surfaces defects that would otherwise stay hidden in flat-valley driving. If you report a recurring issue and the dealer fails to repair it after a reasonable number of attempts, the defect is the manufacturer's responsibility regardless of where you drove the vehicle, provided you operated it within normal use.

Yes, when sold with a written warranty. Cal. Civ. Code 1795.5 extends Song-Beverly's repair-or-replace duty to used vehicles sold by a California distributor or retailer that issues a written warranty, including certified pre-owned and dealer-issued limited warranties. Used vehicles still under the original manufacturer's express warranty also remain covered against the manufacturer. As-is used sales without any written warranty are generally not covered under Song-Beverly, although California's implied warranty of merchantability may still apply for a limited period.

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 your 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 lemon law firms work on contingency.

Cal. Civ. Code 1793.22(b)(2) creates a presumption of a reasonable number of repair attempts when the vehicle has been out of service by reason of repair for a cumulative total of more than 30 calendar days within 18 months or 18,000 miles of delivery. Those days do not need to be consecutive. A loaner being provided does not stop the clock - the question is whether your vehicle was in the shop. Parts-on-order delays at Inland Empire dealers often push owners past the 30-day threshold quickly, especially for transmission, battery, or infotainment repairs that require waiting on backordered components.

It can. Song-Beverly covers vehicles purchased or used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, and Cal. Civ. Code 1793.22(e)(2) specifically extends coverage to a new motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight under 10,000 pounds that is bought or used primarily for business purposes by a person, including a partnership, limited liability company, corporation, association, or any other legal entity, that has no more than five motor vehicles registered in California. Many Redlands contractors and tradespeople qualify under that small-fleet exception.