Did your warranty denial follow a rear differential failure, transmission/electrical faults, or other drivetrain issue? You have lemon law rights — and you may be entitled to a repurchase or replacement, civil penalties, and full recovery of your attorney’s fees.
Manufacturers often use a broad outside influence claim — misuse, neglect, or improper maintenance — to justify their refusal to pay. These tactics are designed to shift blame onto you, even when there’s clear evidence of a defect. But the law doesn’t let them off that easily.
California state and federal laws are designed to protect consumers who purchase defective vehicles. To qualify as a lemon, your car must be under warranty and the dealer or manufacturer had a reasonable opportunity to repair, or your car was out of service for 30+ days.
Consumers have four years from discovery to file a claim, but the clock starts ticking with the last repair attempt. If you have a lemon vehicle, and your claim has been unfairly denied, it’s time to hold the manufacturer accountable.
Challenge the denial
To fight back, you need to focus on proving factory defect vs misuse. Manufacturers often blame the consumer without concrete evidence. You have the right to challenge that, build a case based on facts, and file an appeal.
Start by requesting a formal written explanation for your denial. This document is your roadmap for challenging their decision. Look for:
- The exact reason for the denial
- Which warranty provision is cited
- What evidence they used to support the denial
- Who made the decision (name and job title)
Next, gather all documentation that helps establish your claim:
- A third-party independent inspection from a certified technician not affiliated with the dealership
- The car’s data logs which may capture fault codes or problems leading up to the failure
- Photos of the defects showing failure patterns
- Copies of your tow records, especially if the car was repeatedly inoperable
- A copy of your warranty documents
This evidence helps shift the burden of proof. The manufacturer must show that your actions, not a defect, caused the problem. If they can’t provide strong evidence to support the outside influence claim, their denial may not hold up.
If you’ve already submitted a warranty appeal with an expert review and were rejected, you still have options. Most states provide additional appeal steps, such as arbitration, or allow you to escalate directly by filing a lemon law claim in court.
Remedies you can pursue
Once you’ve built your case and established that the defect was not your fault, you’re in a position to demand meaningful relief. Under California’s lemon laws, you may be entitled to several forms of compensation:
- Refund/repurchase of the vehicle, including reimbursement of your down payment, monthly payments, and taxes
- A replacement vehicle of similar value and model
- Recovery of incidental & consequential damages, such as storage, towing, and diagnostic fees
In cases where the manufacturer’s actions were particularly egregious — such as dragging out repair timelines or willfully violating the law — you may be able to pursue additional penalty exposure, including civil penalties and a full recovery of attorney’s fees. These additional damages are a way for the court to hold manufacturers accountable for bad-faith behavior.
Remember, a warranty denial isn’t the final word — it’s just the beginning. But act now. The sooner you take legal action, the stronger your case. Contact a qualified lemon law attorney like Brennan Law to find out what your claim is worth and the next steps to take.