DEAR SUZANNE
By Suzanne Henderson
LETTER 13 – May 2022 | Beeped Out in Bakersfield
2021 Chevrolet Traverse Honks Like a Pack of Geese
Dear Suzanne,
I have a 2021 Chevrolet Traverse at 26,000 miles and it will not stop honking. Seriously. Randomly, it’ll just start honking – backing out the driveway, idling at a stoplight, making a left hand turn, changing gears, whenever it wants to, it honks. To make matters worse, I work at night, so that means my neighbors also have to deal with non-stop honking in the middle of the night. The only way to make it stop is to pull over, turn the car off, and wait 15 minutes before turning it back on, and just hope it doesn’t start up again when I restart it.
It’s had a couple other problems like the rearview camera freezing, but the honking is slowly driving me and my neighborhood insane. I’ve taken it into the dealership several times now, but it still honks like a pack of geese during migration. This has to be some sort of electrical problem that they just can’t solve. I even had one dealership technician say it wasn’t happening, only for my car to start honking the second I turned out of the lot.
I love my Chevrolet car, I want to fix it and keep it, but this is beyond ridiculous. My car has spent more than half of its life at the dealership or parked on the side of the road. Is there anything I can do?
Beeped Out in Bakersfield
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Cash & Keep Settlement Option
Dear Beeped,
Luckily for you (and your neighbors) there is a solution. Your car is clearly defective and would qualify for California’s lemon law program. As we all know, a car horn has its uses, but that level of constant and unrelenting honking can actually constitute a safety issue for yourself and other drivers – not to mention the inconvenience of needing to pull over and restart the vehicle every time it gets stuck in a honk loop.
Since you love your car and would like to keep it, you could potentially opt for a Cash & Keep settlement. This is where the manufacturer would give you a cash amount to compensate for the problems you’ve been having and you would be able to keep the vehicle. You also wouldn’t need to declare it a lemon in the event that you wanted to resell it. However, this is only viable if the manufacturer is actually capable of repairing the vehicle. It’s possible that there is no cure for these honks and the whole vehicle may need to be deemed a defective lemon.
If that is the case, then you would still qualify for a vehicle buyback, where the manufacturer would repurchase the car from you, essentially paying you back everything you put into the vehicle such as down payments, monthly payments, taxes, and other costs, even any loans you might have taken out to purchase the vehicle.
Either way, you need to contact a skilled lemon law attorney today. With these sorts of cases, the quicker the better. And I’m sure your neighbors would appreciate it as well. Once you’ve retained an attorney, they will be able to help you decide which settlement option is going to work the best for you and your sanity. Luckily, in California, the manufacturer is responsible for all attorney fees and court costs, so it won’t cost you anything out of pocket. You’re only a few steps away from peaceful nights and safe driving.
Suzanne
Free Legal Advice About Your 2021 Chevy Traverse Claim
Dear reader, are your vehicle problems ruining your life? Confused about what legal route to take? We’re here to help! Find information about California’s lemon law protections here, fill out the form on this page, or give us a call at (323) 553-7525 to discuss your situation with someone who understands how frustrating it can be to have a lemon car, and what to do about it.
DEAR SUZANNE is a weekly column written by Suzanne Henderson and published in LemonLawyers.ORG. If you have a defective lemon vehicle and have questions about California Lemon Law or how to file a claim in California, please write to dearsuzanne@lemonlawyers.org. While not guaranteed, we will try to feature your letter in this column to provide you the answers you need, as well as enlighten other consumers who may have lemon problems similar to yours.
Disclaimer: Suzanne Henderson is not a lawyer and the points discussed here are intended for general information and reference purposes only and not to be construed as legal advice. Please consult a California lemon law attorney to get proper legal advice about your lemon law claim.
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