Gilroy Lemon Law

Most Song-Beverly cases brought by Gilroy residents are filed in the Santa Clara County Superior Court — typically the Downtown Superior Court at 191 N. First Street in San Jose for unlimited civil cases over $35,000. Federal Magnuson-Moss claims may be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose. Venue choice depends on the manufacturer's residency, amount in controversy, and tactical considerations like jury composition and discovery rules. Your attorney will weigh these factors when filing.

Not really. Under California's Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (Cal. Civ. Code 1790-1795.8), your claim runs against the manufacturer that issued the written warranty, not the selling dealer. Whether you bought at the Gilroy Auto Mall or in Morgan Hill, San Jose, or anywhere else in Santa Clara County, the same repair-or-replace obligations apply to the OEM. The selling dealer is generally only a defendant if you're also pleading fraud or implied-warranty claims. Keep your purchase contract and every repair order from any dealership that worked on the vehicle.

It can be. Repeated software updates that fail to resolve battery degradation outside normal parameters, persistent thermal-management faults, DC fast-charging failures, and high-voltage system warnings are increasingly common warranty complaints on newer EVs. The Tanner Act doesn't distinguish between mechanical and software repair attempts — if the same nonconformity persists after four or more attempts within 18 months/18,000 miles, the presumption applies. Document each service visit, including over-the-air update logs, and keep your owner's-app screenshots showing degraded range and charging behavior.

Yes, persistent DPF (diesel particulate filter) regeneration failures, DEF injector faults, EGR cooler failures, and check-engine limp-mode events on heavy-duty diesel pickups are classic lemon-law defects. These are typically covered under the federal emissions warranty (8 years/80,000 miles for many components) and the manufacturer's bumper-to-bumper warranty. Under Cal. Civ. Code 1793.22, four or more repair attempts — or 30+ cumulative out-of-service days — within 18 months/18,000 miles triggers the Tanner Act presumption. Save every repair order, especially ones referencing TSBs or software flashes.

Cal. Civ. Code 1794(c) and (e) authorize a civil penalty of up to 2x actual damages where the manufacturer's failure to comply with Song-Beverly was willful. 'Willful' generally means the manufacturer knew of its obligations, knew the vehicle qualified for repurchase or replacement, and refused to honor them. Internal documents, prior knowledge of the defect (TSBs, recalls), and the manufacturer's response to your demand letter are all relevant. Combined with actual damages, this creates a treble-exposure ceiling, which is one reason California manufacturers often settle qualifying cases before trial.

Sometimes. Cal. Civ. Code 1795.5 extends Song-Beverly's repair-or-replace obligations to used vehicles sold with a written warranty by the dealer or distributor. Many independent lots sell 'as-is,' which generally defeats Song-Beverly coverage against the seller, though the original manufacturer's remaining factory warranty can still trigger coverage against the manufacturer. Implied warranty on used vehicles is limited to the duration of the written warranty, capped at three months. Bring your contract — the warranty language controls.

California's Song-Beverly breach-of-warranty action runs four years from the date of breach under Cal. Com. Code 2725, with the clock typically starting when the manufacturer fails to repair within a reasonable number of attempts. AB 1755 (effective 2025) added an outer-limit deadline: new claims must be filed within one year after express warranty expiration and no later than six years from original delivery. Don't wait — once your warranty expires you have a hard one-year window. Talk to a lemon-law attorney as soon as your dealer has failed to fix the same problem multiple times.