Lemon Law for California

Build Dates : August 01, 2005 - January 31, 2006
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 06V007000

Date Owner’s Notified: 20060124  
Date Received by ODI: 20060113  
Date Added to Databse: 20060113

Manufacturer’s Involved: GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Manufacturer’s Responsible for the Recall: GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Manufacturer Campaign Number: 06502

Component: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Potential Number Of Units Affected : 1327

Summary:
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with all wheel drive and a 3.6l V6 engine, the torque monitoring functions of the Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) are not enabled. These functions can limit engine speed and torque if unusual Engine Control Module (ECM) hardware or software failures occur.

Consequence:
Without these functions enabled, a persistent ECM failure could result in a throttle opening greater than commanded by the driver and a crash could occur.

Remedy:
Dealers will reprogram the ecm on these vehicles free of charge. The recall began on january 24, 2006. 

• The representations by the dealer at the time of sale.

• The repair history * Repair orders not given to the customer.

• Accurate statement of the customer’s concern on each invoice.

• Whether a good faith attempt was made to diagnose the vehicle problem.

• Whether the model has a history of problems.

• Whether the customer was told the problem would “go away on its own”.

• Whether the dealer noted on any invoice that a problem “could not be duplicated”.

• Whether the invoices reference an accident prior to the sale and if so, whether the damage was disclosed.

• Whether the dealer made any false statements about a customer’s legal rights and most importantly: Whether the consumer got what he paid for!

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[ To Learn more our services and areas of practice, please visit our website at www.LemonLawIntel.com ]

Consumers should never have to pay an attorney for handling a good faith warranty claim. The manufacturer has a legal obligation to do so if such a claim is successful. If the attorney you are speaking with won’t agree to accept the case without charge, then perhaps the person lacks confidence in the claim or is unfamiliar with how to win and collect a fee. Either way, you are not served by selecting an attorney who requires you to pay.

In making your choice, ask how many cases the attorney has successfully handled. How many have settled? How many have gone to trial? What have been the results? When was the last time a successful verdict was obtained? Ask for the name of former clients as a reference. Ask what steps will be taken to win your case.
If any answers sound vague and unsure, you should reconsider your choice in counsel.

The Lemon Law contains another strong enforcement mechanism to deter manufacturers and retail sellers from violating consumers’ rights: Defendants who willfully fail to comply with their obligations to repurchase or replace lemon products are subject to a civil penalty of up to two times the buyer’s actual damages.

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[ To Learn more our services and areas of practice, please visit our website at www.LemonLawIntel.com ]

Buying a car is not like buying a radio; you cannot return it to the store for a refund if you do not like it, or if it has a manufacturing defect. In fact, for many years, if you purchased an automobile that came from the factory with defects, you were just stuck. You could try to get the dealer to repair the problem, but if the problem continued and the dealer could not repair it, you were out of luck.

In 1982, the luck of owners of so-called “lemons” changed for the better, as California and Connecticut passed the nation’s first “lemon laws.”

These laws, spawned by consumers who had waged tireless battles against major auto companies, allowed owners of defective automobiles to seek compensation or replacement with the help of their respective states. These laws swept like wildfire throughout the country, and now all 50 states have some form of the lemon law.

The specifics of the lemon laws will vary from state to state, but in general, they define a “lemon” as a vehicle that:

Has a “nonconformity” that affects the safety, use, or value of the vehicle, and The nonconformity has not been successfully repaired after a “reasonable” number of attempts, and/or The vehicle has been out of service for a total of a certain number of days for repair of the nonconformity.

The length of the warranty period also varies; coverage typically runs anywhere from one year or 12,000 miles to two years or 24,000 miles. As previously stated, the specifics vary from state to state, particularly the number of repair attempts that constitute “reasonable” and the number of days that the vehicle must be out of service in order to qualify. In some states, repairs that affect the brakes or other safety equipment need only one repair attempt to qualify as “reasonable.”

Restitution is fairly consistent from state to state; it usually requires the manufacturer to either replace the vehicle with one of comparable value, or refund the purchase price, along with taxes, registration and delivery fees. Some states leave the option of replacement or refund to the manufacturer, but most give the option to the consumer.

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[ To Learn more our services and areas of practice, please visit our website at www.LemonLawIntel.com ]

Various states across US have different lemon laws. Lemon law California differs from those in other states. It is important to know the fine intricacies of Lemon law California. Lemon law California is also known as Motor Vehicle Warranty Rights Act. The California lemon law states that any vehicle purchase is a major consumer purchase. If such a vehicle turns out to be defective or if is found to cause serious injuries or even hardships to the consumer due to its defects, then a consumer is entitled to be made aware of his rights. Under the consumer rights if the defects or hardships are proved in the Federal court of law and if the vehicle is under warranty period, then a consumer can call for a lemon law suit.

Lemon law California and Federal warranty law protect consumers from being stuck with ‘Lemon’ automobiles, computer lemons and other defective consumer products. According to Lemon Law in California, if any car or computer is turns out to be a Lemon, then a consumer may be entitled to your money back, a replacement or a cash settlement.

According the Lemon law California, the owner of a motor vehicle or the owner’s designated agent may make a complaint concerning a defect in a motor vehicle that is covered by a manufacturer’s, converter’s, or distributor’s warranty agreement applicable to the vehicle. Any complaint regarding a lemon vehicle must be made in writing to the applicable dealer, manufacturer, converter, or distributor. The written complaint about a Lemon must specify each defect in the vehicle that is covered by the warranty. The owner may also invoke the board’s jurisdiction by sending a copy of the complaint to the board. Any case regarding the lemon vehicle, if not resolved by owner and dealer or manufacture privately is entitled for a hearing.

Before filing a suit for any damaged vehicle for lemon law California certain points must be ensured for proper proceedings in a federal court of law. All copies of documentation concerning the car and all the repair records should be kept in proper order. A track of details such as when was the vehicle serviced, where the vehicle was purchased from, from whom the vehicle was purchased etc. Technical service bulletins concerning the car should be called for. The VIN or Vehicle Identification Number for a lemon vehicle should be noted specifically. This VIN number is a series of 17 numbers and letters that are unique to each vehicle. It is located on a metal plate at the lower corner of the front windshield on the driver’s side. There are various attorneys who specialize in lemon law California such attorneys should be specifically consulted for filing any lemon law suit.

A vehicle report history should also be kept in order for any reference before filing the suit for lemon law California. A vehicle report history can be easily obtained from the internet. Various agencies provide free vehicle history report in California. A vehicle history report can be generated by providing the VIN to any of the websites pertaining to vehicles in California. The vehicle history report easily reveals any problems that might not be visible to untrained eye. This could be major damage from collision, fire, hail or water damage, odometer rollback or tampering, lemon or junk status, and much more.

Lemon law California states all the provisions to prevent a consumer from being stuck with a lemon. The best way to get rid of lemon car is to act and file a suit as soon as possible.

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[ To Learn more our services and areas of practice, please visit our website at www.LemonLawIntel.com ]