Lemon Law Now – Los Angeles Lemon Law Lawyer Highlights California Used Vehicle Lemon Law Ruling
LOS ANGELES, CA - October 13, 2026 - PRESSADVANTAGE - This report, distributed by Lemon Law Now - Los Angeles Lemon Law
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LOS ANGELES, CA – October 13, 2026 – PRESSADVANTAGE –
This report, distributed by Lemon Law Now – Los Angeles Lemon Law Lawyer, examines a California Supreme Court decision that continues to determine which vehicles qualify for the refund-or-replace remedy under California’s lemon law. The decision, Rodriguez v. FCA US, LLC, was issued on October 31, 2024.
California’s lemon law is part of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act. Under Civil Code Section 1793.2, subdivision (d)(2), when a manufacturer or its representative in the state is unable to service or repair a new motor vehicle to conform to the applicable express warranties after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer must replace the vehicle or make restitution. The remedy applies to a “new motor vehicle,” a term defined in Civil Code Section 1793.22, subdivision (e)(2).
That definition includes a new vehicle bought or used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, as well as a dealer-owned vehicle and a “demonstrator” or other motor vehicle “sold with a manufacturer’s new car warranty,” according to the Court’s opinion.
In Rodriguez, the plaintiffs bought a used vehicle with more than 55,000 miles on it. After electrical problems, they sued the manufacturer and argued that the vehicle was a “new motor vehicle” because it was sold with the remaining balance of the manufacturer’s new car warranty. The trial court and the Court of Appeal ruled for the manufacturer.
In an opinion by Justice Goodwin Liu, the Supreme Court held that a motor vehicle purchased with an unexpired manufacturer’s new car warranty does not qualify as a “motor vehicle sold with a manufacturer’s new car warranty” under Section 1793.22, subdivision (e)(2), “unless the new car warranty was issued with the sale.” Published analyses report that the decision was unanimous and that it disapproved the earlier Court of Appeal decision in Jensen v. BMW of North America, which had treated used vehicles sold with the balance of a new car warranty as new motor vehicles.
The Ninth Circuit has since applied Rodriguez. In a November 2025 memorandum disposition, the court explained that, under Rodriguez, demonstrators and dealer-owned vehicles are vehicles for which a new car warranty is issued with the sale. It concluded that a plaintiff who alleged that a vehicle was dealer-owned and leased with the remaining portion of a new vehicle warranty had adequately alleged a “new motor vehicle.”
The issue the Supreme Court agreed to review, as stated in its case-acceptance notice, was whether a used vehicle that is still covered by the manufacturer’s express warranty is a “new motor vehicle” under the statute. The decision addresses that definition and the refund-or-replace remedy. It does not decide other claims that a used-vehicle purchaser may assert under other provisions of the Song-Beverly Act or other law.
The definition remains relevant to the procedures that California adopted in Assembly Bill 1755 and Senate Bill 26. The official title of Senate Bill 26, which refined those procedures, refers to civil actions for restitution for or replacement of a new motor vehicle.
Because the definition turns on whether a new car warranty was issued with the sale, the circumstances of each purchase or lease, including the vehicle’s history and the warranty documents, determine whether the refund-or-replace remedy is available.
The legal information in this release is based on the California Supreme Court’s opinion in Rodriguez v. FCA US, LLC, the text of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, and published legal analyses. It is presented for general public awareness and is not a substitute for individualized legal advice.
Lemon Law Now – Los Angeles Lemon Law Lawyer, which serves clients as Lemon Law Now, represents consumers in lemon law claims from its Los Angeles office.
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