California Lemon Law Blog

According to an article in a recent edition of the Los Angeles Times, Toyota has recalled 600,000 Toyota Sierra minivans due to concerns over rusting spare tire holders. The recall covers 1998-2010 Sierra models with two-wheel drive, sold in 21 cold-weather states and the District of Columbia.

Toyota is concerned that road salt used to combat snowy conditions in these states could cause the spare tire holder beneath the vehicle to rust and break, dropping the spare tire onto the road. The loose spare tires pose a driving hazard to other vehicles. Although Toyota says it has not heard of any accidents or injuries, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has received six complaints of spare tires falling off Sienna minivans.

Toyota is working on a way to fix the spare tire carrier problem. Meanwhile, the company is encouraging Sierra minivan owners to bring their vehicles into Toyota dealerships for inspection and repair. Free inspections of the spare tire carrier are available at all Toyota dealerships, including those in states not covered by the recall.

The California lemon law gives consumers the right to a new vehicle or a refund of the purchase price if the vehicle remains broken after a reasonable number of repair attempts. You may have a lemon on your hands if, after spending time, money, and effort on repairs, your vehicle remains broken.

If you suspect you’ve been sold a lemon, please don’t hesitate to contact experienced California lemon vehicle attorney Howard D. Silver at 866-49-LEMON for a free consultation. The Law Offices of Howard D. Silver provides skilled legal counsel to those dealing with lemon vehicles. Contact Howard D. Silver today for more information.

The California lemon law protects consumers who unknowingly purchase or lease a defective vehicle. In addition to seeking protection under California law, you can report a dangerous or defective vehicle to the federal Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The purpose of the ODI is to investigate consumer complaints about vehicle defects. If you want to report a defect to the ODI, the agency provides an online form on its website. ODI accepts four kinds of complaints related to safety issues. Specifically, tire safety, non-original equipment such as filters, wipers, and floor jacks, and child safety seats.

To file a claim with the ODI, first gather information on the make, model and year of the vehicle, the defective component and, if possible, the vehicle’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). If you’re reporting a complaint about another component, like a tire, piece of equipment, or child safety device, you’ll also need the make and model of these items. ODI then investigates the defect or danger and issues a safety recall if necessary.

If you think you’ve bought a vehicle that qualifies for ODI protection or is a lemon vehicle, contact experienced California lemon law claim attorney Howard D. Silver by calling 866-49-LEMON to learn about your rights as a consumer.

California's “lemon law,” the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, requires the owner of a suspected lemon to give the manufacturer or dealer a “reasonable number of repair attempts” to fix the vehicle before seeking compensation under the lemon law. But what is a “repair attempt”? And how many “repair attempts” is a “reasonable number”?

Under the lemon law, a “repair attempt” occurs any time the owner brings the vehicle to the manufacturer or dealer for repair. Even if the manufacturer or dealer doe sn't do any repair work, the visit still counts as an “attempt.”

Although the law defines what a “repair attempt” is, and how many attempts there must be before a consumer is entitled to his or her money back or a new vehicle, sometimes legal assistance is needed to enforce your rights pursuant to the California lemon law. If you think you've got a lemon, contact experienced California lemon law attorney Howard D. Silver at 866-49-LEMON. Call today for a free and confidential consultation.

Whether you live in the state of Washington or California, it’s very probable that your livelihood and daily activities depend on a reliable mode of transportation. Thousands upon thousands of U.S. citizens look forward to buying a new or used vehicle for this very reason. For a vast majority, it takes years to save enough money to purchase or lease a vehicle. In order to help protect car owners from the financial loss and potentially unsafe consequences of having a vehicle with hard-to-fix and constant mechanical problems, “lemon laws” have been created in the United States and are often updated on a statewide level.

A recent komonews.com article addresses a lemon law revision in the state of Washington that will help protect buyers of used vehicles from unsuspectingly purchasing a lemon. Gov. Chris Gregoire signed the new lemon law consumer protection bill as a part of National Consumer Protection Week in March. Previously in Washington, a car owner could only receive a replacement or refund for a vehicle with reoccurring problems under the lemon law if it was purchased new from a car dealer.

According to the article, as a consequence of the old lemon law, individuals were unknowingly sold used cars that had previously been returned to the manufacturer for having defects or problems. However, with the new lemon law in Washington, used car dealers must reveal information about a vehicle’s defect history so that consumers are fully aware about its specific problems. Having this information before purchasing a used car with existing issues helps consumers in deciding whether or not they want to take the chance of having a potentially low resale value as well as a vehicle that has continuous problems. This knowledge also helps protect a consumer from purchasing a used vehicle at a higher price than it is actually worth due to its past or present issues.

Continue reading " Washington State Adds Used Car Protection to Lemon Law " »

California's legislature is considering a law that would ban the use of six different chemicals in RV holding tanks. The bill, introduced by California Assemblyman Bill Monning, D-Santa Cruz, would ban the use of RV holding tank chemicals that contain bronopol, dowicil, formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, paraformaldehyde and para-dichlorobenzene. These six chemicals have been shown to cause damage to some types of septic systems and can poison groundwater supplies.

California has tried to regulate holding tank chemicals before. In 2005, the State Water Resources Control Board notified 25 Southern California parks and campgrounds that they should prohibit RVs from emptying waste into the parks' septic systems. The state also closed at least two state park dump stations after research showed that the formaldehyde in certain RV holding tank chemicals had caused damage to the state park dump stations' septic tanks.
Changes in California laws regulating RVs can reveal safety problems that may have gone unnoticed. The California Lemon Law allows consumers who have serious and irreparable problems with their motor home or RV to receive a full refund or a replacement vehicle.

If you've tried multiple times to fix a defective motor home without success, you may have a lemon. An experienced lemon law lawyer can help you document and investigate your case and get the compensation you deserve. The Law Offices of Howard D. Silver is committed to offering quality legal assistance to consumers who have mistakenly purchased a lemon motor home or RV. If you think you've got a lemon, call Howard D. Silver today at 866-49-LEMON for a free, confidential consultation.

Source: http://www.motorhomemagazine.com/output.cfm?ID=2485783