San Francisco Lemon Law Attorneys

Yes. The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act applies to any new or used vehicle sold or leased in California with a manufacturer's warranty. San Francisco residents have the same rights as any other California consumer. Civil Code section 1793.2 requires the manufacturer to repair the defect, and if it cannot do so after a reasonable number of attempts, to replace or repurchase the vehicle. The statute applies regardless of which dealership sold the car, what brand it is, or whether the original purchase happened in the city or across the bay in Daly City, Colma, or Burlingame.

Civil cases for San Francisco residents are filed at the Civic Center Courthouse at 400 McAllister Street, where the Civil Division and Civil Clerk's Office (Room 103) handle unlimited civil filings. SF County is unique in California as a combined city and county, so there is no separate county courthouse outside the city itself. The court hears jury trials and bench trials for lemon law matters, though most cases settle before reaching that stage. Venue is generally proper where the consumer resides, where the dealer sold the vehicle, or where the manufacturer maintains its principal California office.

Civil Code section 1794(c) authorizes a civil penalty of up to two times actual damages when the manufacturer's failure to comply with Song-Beverly was 'willful.' Willfulness generally means the manufacturer knew the vehicle qualified for buyback and refused to honor the obligation, often demonstrated by internal warranty records, sales department conduct, or a documented pattern of stonewalling repurchase requests. The civil penalty is in addition to the base buyback award. Not every case warrants a civil penalty claim, but cases with strong evidence of willful conduct can substantially increase the recovery. A San Francisco attorney can evaluate whether the facts support pleading for civil penalty damages.

Yes. Electric vehicles are covered by Song-Beverly on the same terms as gas vehicles. Common EV claims among San Francisco drivers include phantom braking on US-101 and I-280, charging port and onboard charger failures, range degradation that exceeds expected battery aging, BMS software bugs that cause sudden range drops, regenerative braking faults, and screen failures that disable HVAC and gear selection. Each warranty service visit counts toward the repair-attempt threshold, even when the dealer or service center performs only a software update. Many EV defects are addressed through over-the-air fixes that the manufacturer counts as repair attempts under the statute.

Nothing out of pocket in a typical case. Civil Code section 1794(d) requires the manufacturer to pay the prevailing buyer's reasonable attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses, separately from any settlement or judgment for the consumer. California lemon law firms standardly take cases on a contingency basis, with no retainer and no hourly billing. If the case does not prevail, the consumer typically owes no fees. The fee-shifting design of Song-Beverly is intended to give consumers full access to legal representation regardless of income or vehicle value. Be cautious of any firm demanding payment upfront in a straightforward Song-Beverly matter.

The statutory presumption in Civil Code section 1793.22 applies when the same nonconformity has been to the shop four or more times. But the larger Song-Beverly framework is broader: a manufacturer must conform the vehicle to warranty after a reasonable number of attempts, and 'reasonable' depends on the type and severity of the defect. A vehicle with persistent transmission issues, intermittent electrical problems, and recurring software bugs across a dozen service visits can still qualify even if no single defect hits the four-repair count, because the totality of unresolved issues shows the manufacturer has failed to conform the vehicle. The presumption is not the only path to recovery.

Yes. Civil Code section 1791(c) defines 'buyer' to include lessees of new motor vehicles, and the Song-Beverly remedies apply to leases. If a manufacturer cannot repair a defective leased vehicle after a reasonable number of attempts, the lessee may be entitled to a buyback of the lease, which typically includes refund of the down payment, all monthly lease payments made to date, official fees, sales tax on those payments, and incidental expenses, minus the mileage offset. The leasing bank is generally paid off as part of the transaction so the lessee is released from the lease. Leases and purchases use the same legal framework with mostly identical math.

The statute of limitations for Song-Beverly claims is generally four years from when the breach was or should have been discovered, under Code of Civil Procedure section 337 (written contracts). However, the practical timeline is shorter because the defect typically must arise during the manufacturer's warranty period. Don't wait to act once you've experienced multiple unsuccessful repair attempts. Cases gather momentum from contemporaneous repair orders, and the strongest claims are filed while the vehicle is still being serviced under warranty. Talk to an attorney as soon as you suspect the dealer cannot fix the problem, even if you haven't hit the four-repair threshold yet.