Lemon Law for California

Build Dates: 01 July, 2008 – 31 October, 2008

NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 08V615000

Date Owner’s Notified: 2008-11-26
Date Received by ODI: 2008-11-24
Date Added to Database: 2008-11-25

Manufacturers Involved: GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Manufacturer’s Responsible for the Recall: GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Manufacturer Campaign Number: 08387

Component: SEAT BELTS: REAR: BUCKLE ASSEMBLY

Potential Number of Units Affected: 16667

Summary:

GM is recalling 16,667 My 2009 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Saturn Outlook vehicles for failing to conform with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 209, ’seat belt assemblies.’ these vehicles may have been built with a safety belt buckle in the second or third row that is missing a rivet.

Consequence:

In a vehicle crash, if the rivet is missing, the buckle may separate from the mounting strap, increasing the risk of injury to the passenger.

Remedy:

Dealers will inspect the safety belt buckles in the second and third rows, and replace them if necessary. The recall began on November 26, 2008.

If you have problems with the car you have bought you should not delay having it repaired. A malfunctioning car can become a reason of serious accidents. Why jeopardize your life?

Very often manufacturers and dealers give a consumer an endless runaround with a defective vehicle. Sometimes they repair items that do not actually fix the problem, telling him or her that there is nothing wrong with the vehicle and even that the problem is actually part of “how that vehicle runs.”

Unless the consumer contacts a lemon law attorney, these distractions can go on for years and stick the consumer with a defective vehicle. Lemon law attorneys are much experienced on cutting through all the distractions and getting the consumer the reimbursement and possible reward they are entitled to under the California lemon law.

The CA Lemon Law, also known as Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, states that if a purchased vehicle turns out to be defective within the warranty period then the consumer is entitled to get a refund or replacement. The Lemon Law keeps the manufacturer liable for all the defects and problems in a defective vehicle. In case the manufacturer fails to fix the problem right even after reasonable number of attempts, defective vehicle must be either replaced or the consumer’s money must be refunded.

The Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp. known for its safe and trouble-free cars and reigning as a king of sales in the global auto industry sector took an unprecedented action announcing that it will halt sales of eight models due to problems with accelerator pedal mechanisms. At issue are sticking accelerator pedals that could make the vehicles accelerate without warning. This suspension came after Toyota recalled the same models last week, involving 2.3 million vehicles.

Bob Carter, Toyota’s group vice president and general manager, called it a “necessary action” until a remedy was finalized.

Toyota’s 1,200 U.S. dealers were notified of the stop sale action by e-mail Tuesday afternoon. They were asked to immediately cease selling new models of the affected vehicles and to refrain from selling certain used versions of the same models.

The following models are included in the sales suspension:

•    2009-2010 RAV4
•    2009-2010 Corolla
•    2009-2010 Matrix
•    2005-2010 Avalon
•    Certain 2007-2010 Camry models
•    2010 Highlander
•    2007-2010 Tundra
•    2008-2010 Sequoia

Industry experts could not recall any time in recent history when a carmaker had stopped production and sales of so many models at once.

Build Dates: 22 May, 2009 - 01 June, 2009

NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 09V255000

Date Owner’s Notified: 2009-09-11
Date Received by ODI: 2009-07-08
Date Added to Database: 2009-07-08

Manufacturers Involved: BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC
Manufacturer’s Responsible for the Recall: BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE
Manufacturer Campaign Number:

Component: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC: FOUNDATION COMPONENTS: DISC

Potential Number Of Units Affected: 96

Summary:

BMW is recalling My 2009 X5 and X6 vehicles. The rear brake discs may not have been manufactured according to specifications. As a result, a reduction in braking performance at the affected rear wheel could occur.

Consequence:

In an extreme case, the affected rear brake disc could break resulting in a loss of braking at that wheel increasing stopping distances and the risk of a crash.

Remedy:

BMW will notify owners and will repair the vehicles by inspecting the rear brake discs and, if necessary, replace them free of charge. The safety recall began on September 11, 2009.

Very often manufacturers try to discourage the vehicle owners from pursuing claims for defective vehicles putting out false propaganda that a consumer doesn’t have a lemon law claim unless four repair attempts have been made for the same defect within the first 18,000 miles or 18 months. This is simply incorrect.

The correct standard is whether the manufacturer has been given a reasonable opportunity to repair the vehicle within the warranty period. The reasonable number of repair attempts depends on the seriousness of the defect. If the defect is serious and can threaten the safety of car occupants, two repair attempts within the first 18 months or 18,000 miles are usually deemed reasonable.

There is a California lemon law presumption that the consumer should give the manufacturer a reasonable opportunity to repair the vehicle and if there have been four or more repair or 30 days of downtime in the first 18,000 miles and 18 months but the vehicle still is not repaired, then the consumer has a lemon law case.

However, meeting this lemon law presumption is not a necessary element of a lemon law case. Practically, most lemon law cases go forward without the lemon law presumption. This is only a guideline and each case must be analyzed by a professional lemon law attorney to determine if the manufacturer has had a reasonable opportunity to repair within the warranty period. If this is done, the manufacturer has to replace the vehicle or give a refund.

The reputation of Toyota Motor Corp. as a maker of safe and dependable vehicles continues to be tarnished by serious safety recalls.

On January 21, 2010 Toyota announced a recall of 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. to fix mechanical problems with sticking accelerator pedals. This announcement comes just months after the recall involving 4.3 million vehicles for incorrect floor mats causing sudden acceleration.

This issue is related to the pedal system itself, which can become worn down and can become “sticky over time”, regardless of whether the vehicle contains a floor mat. In certain rare cases the gas pedal mechanism can wear down, causing the accelerator to become harder to press, slower to return or, in some cases, stuck.

The recall affects the following vehicles:

•    2009-2010 RAV4
•    2009-2010 Corolla
•    2009-2010 Matrix
•    2005-2010 Avalon
•    2007-2010 Camry
•    2010 Highlander
•    2007-2010 Tundra
•    2008-2010 Sequoia

It is worth mentioning that the Avalon, Camry and Tundra models (encompassing about 1.7 million vehicles) also were included in the previous gas pedal recall. The accelerator pedals of these vehicles could be at risk of becoming trapped under floor mats as well as becoming stuck due to mechanical problems.

The company is unaware of any accidents or injuries due to the gas pedal problems associated with Thursday’s recall, but could not rule it out for sure. All of the vehicles involved in the latest recall contain a gas pedal system that comes from a single supplier. The company declined, however, to identify the supplier or say whether it would continue doing business with the supplier.

Toyota is now taking immediate action to address this problem that was indicated as “a serious safety issue” in the statement of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Toyota has announced that they will be recalling 2.3 million vehicles due to problems the cars have been having with the accelerators.  This recall comes after the 4.2 million car recall a few short months ago, making Toyota the title holder of the largest auto recall in U.S. history. The current issue follows the recall the car company had in late 2009 due to the accelerator pedals becoming jammed underneath the floor mat, in which it recalled its Avalon, Camry and Tundra models.  Thursday’s recall, however, is due to the problems with the actual gas pedal mechanism becoming jammed, with or without the floor mat.

Toyota is now in its second round of recalls in the case of the runaway cars. The Japanese car company believes the problem is due to condensation build up on the accelerator system that is directly related to applying pressure on the gas pedal. In the event that this problem occurs, Toyota has said that drivers need to push down on the break as firmly as possible and pull over or to shift to neutral to attempt to slow down. They announced that it would be wise to contact the nearest Toyota dealer immediately after and report the incident.

It is believed that the recall announcement late Thursday by Toyota was due to the pressure that the company felt after ABC News informed the company about a series of investigative reports they were getting ready to air about several tragic incidences with runaway cars. One of which occurred in Texas the day after Christmas, where four people lost their lives when their Toyota accelerated off the road and into a pond. Stories and videos of runaway cars are documented all over the internet, which arguably has put pressure on Toyota to respond quickly in hopes of containment.

With such a potentially life threatening defect, it is crucial that anyone who is driving a Toyota on the recall list, get their vehicle services as quickly as possible. The following models were announced to be on recall:

· RAV4 2009-2010 models

· Corolla 2009-2010 models

· Matrix 2009-2010 models

· Avalon 2005-2010 models

· Camry 2007-2010 models

· Highlander 2010 model

· Tundra 2007-2010 models

Build Dates: 29 September, 2005 – 30 July, 2009

NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 09V377000

Date Owner’s Notified: 0000-00-00
Date Received by ODI: 2009-09-30
Date Added to Database: 2009-10-02

Manufacturers Involved: VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC
Manufacturer’s Responsible for the Recall: VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA,INC
Manufacturer Campaign Number: 20Q3/J3

Component: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE: STORAGE: TANK ASSEMBLY

Potential Number of Units Affected: 10200

Summary:

Volkswagen is recalling certain model year 2006 through 2010 Audi A3, TT, and TT Roadster passenger vehicles manufactured between September 29, 2005 and August 26, 2009. The closing force of an internal spring of the fuel tank ventilation valve is not adequate enough to hold the valve closed under extreme driving conditions possibly allowing fuel to leak.

Consequence:

In the presence of an ignition source, a vehicle fire could occur.

Remedy:

Volkswagen will notify owners and Audi dealers will replace the fuel tank ventilation valve with an improved valve free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin during October 2009.

California lemon law is a remedy regarding your faulty vehicle. If you are sold a lemon car you are entitled to a replacement or a refund by the dealer or person that sold you the car. However, your case can be lost because of insufficient knowledge of CA lemon law. If you think your car is a lemon you should contact a lawyer in your state for further discussion on your rights.

You should take great care when choosing a law firm practicing in the area of California lemon law. Below are some criteria on which you can choose a lemon law firm.

Experience is the most important criterion. The experienced lemon lawyer is more capable of handling your lemon law dispute than one who hasn’t dealt with cases similar to yours.

Lemon law firm staff is also important. It should have more than one lemon lawyer that can handle your case. In the event your lawyer falls ill or is for some reason unavailable there will be someone else ready and able to take over your case.

When you call the lemon law firm regarding a potential CA Lemon Law claim, you should get consultation and case valuation at no charge to you. There are also many firms that don’t take any fee until your lemon law dispute is won.

Build Dates : 10 July, 2007 – 31 July, 2007

NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 08V091000

Date Owner’s Notified: 2008-04-28
Date Received by ODI: 2008-02-27
Date Added to Database: 2008-02-28

Manufacturers Involved: HONDA (AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.)
Manufacturer’s Responsible for the Recall: AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.
Manufacturer Campaign Number: Q73

Component: STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST:HOSE, PIPING, AND CONNECTIONS

Potential Number Of Units Affected : 273000

Summary:

Honda is recalling 273,000 My 2004-2008 Acura TL vehicles. Prolonged high under-hood temperatures may cause the power steering hose to deteriorate prematurely causing the hose to crack and leak power steering fluid.

Consequence:

Power steering fluid leaking onto a hot catalytic converter will generate smoke and possibly lead to an under-hood fire.

Remedy:

Dealers will install a new heat resistant power steering hose free of charge. The recall began on April 28, 2008.