Upland Lemon Law

Most Song-Beverly cases brought by Upland residents are filed in the San Bernardino County Superior Court, typically in the Rancho Cucamonga District civil division at 8303 N. Haven Avenue. Venue under California law generally lies where the contract was entered, where the defect occurred, or where the manufacturer transacts business, so cases against major automakers also frequently belong in San Bernardino. Your attorney will choose the courthouse that best fits the dealership location, your residence, and where the manufacturer regularly does business in California.

It can matter as evidence, even though Song-Beverly itself does not require you to prove a climate cause. Upland regularly sees summer temperatures above 100 F, and that heat tends to surface defects in cooling systems, batteries, EV thermal management, and infotainment hardware that may not appear during a brief dealer test drive. Documenting when the problem occurs (during long freeway drives, on hot afternoons, after the car sits in the sun) helps your attorney show the manufacturer that the nonconformity is real and persistent under normal Inland Empire use, which is exactly what Cal. Civ. Code 1793.2 requires the manufacturer to repair.

No. The California Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act applies to any new or used vehicle sold or leased with a written manufacturer's warranty in California, regardless of which Inland Empire city the dealership sits in. Your repair history at any authorized dealer counts toward the Tanner Act presumption of four repair attempts (or 30 cumulative days out of service) within 18 months or 18,000 miles. The lawsuit is normally filed in San Bernardino County Superior Court because that is where you live and where many of the repair attempts occurred.

California's general statute of limitations for a Song-Beverly breach-of-warranty claim is four years, running from the date the manufacturer fails to repair the defect within a reasonable number of attempts. AB 1755 (effective 2025) added an outer deadline: claims must be filed within one year after the express warranty expires and no later than six years from original delivery. Upland buyers who notice repeat issues should contact a lemon law attorney before the warranty runs, because waiting until repairs stop being free often cuts off your best evidence.

It can be. Sustained ambient temperatures above 100 F in Upland accelerate battery degradation, and many EV owners report unexpected range loss, charging faults, and thermal management warnings during their first Inland Empire summer. Under Song-Beverly, if the manufacturer cannot repair a substantial nonconformity (such as a defective high-voltage pack, charger, or thermal control) within a reasonable number of attempts, you may be entitled to a refund or replacement. Save your dealer repair orders, charging logs, and any range/charge-rate data your car records — those records are central to proving the defect.

If the manufacturer cannot conform the vehicle to warranty, Cal. Civ. Code 1793.2(d) lets you choose between a comparable replacement vehicle or a full refund of the purchase price (including tax, license, registration, and finance charges) less a mileage offset based on miles driven before the first repair attempt. If the manufacturer's failure was willful, Cal. Civ. Code 1794(c) allows a civil penalty up to two times your actual damages. The manufacturer also pays your reasonable attorneys' fees and costs under Cal. Civ. Code 1794(d), which is why most California lemon law cases can be handled with no out-of-pocket fee.

No, not as a general rule. Song-Beverly arbitration is only mandatory if the manufacturer maintains a qualified third-party program that substantially complies with Cal. Civ. Code 1793.22 and FTC Rule 703 — and only if you want to invoke the Tanner Act presumption from arbitration. Most manufacturers either do not maintain a qualified program or do not require pre-suit arbitration for Song-Beverly claims, so you can file directly in San Bernardino County Superior Court. Your attorney will check whether your specific automaker requires BBB AUTO LINE before filing.