DEAR SUZANNE
By Suzanne Henderson
LETTER 32 – August 2022 | Disappointed in Daly City
I’ve Always Thought of Honda as Reliable
Dear Suzanne,
I’ve recently moved to California and had the misfortune of buying a brand new 2022 Honda Accord hybrid. I thought it was a great deal – fresh off the showroom floor, good for the environment, I’ve always liked Hondas – but after a few fruitless visits to the dealership, I’m just beyond fed up.
Right after I got the car, I noticed that there was a lot of shaking while I was driving and it would jerk whenever I came to a stop. After just a few days driving around town (only 100 miles on the odometer) I figured I should bring it back to the Honda dealership to be checked. Well, the techs told me that it was completely normal for a new car, that it was just breaking itself in and would resolve in no time.
After a couple weeks, it felt like it was getting worse instead of better, so I took it back in again. And again, I was told it was nothing to worry about.
I had it back at the shop again today. I’ve only got 500 miles on the car; I’ve barely had it any amount of time. This time, it was shaking so hard that I thought the doors would fall right off, and I was sure that it would just stall out anytime I switched gears. To me, this seems like a pretty clear transmission problem, which I was so surprised about with a car this new. But according to the dealership, this is all normal and not a problem at all.
I’ve always thought of Honda as making good, reliable vehicles, but here I am, not even close to 1000 miles on the odometer with three repair appointments under my belt and no sign of a resolution in sight. I’ve heard the term lemon before and I feel like nothing would fit that description better than my new car. I know other states have lemon laws, but I’m not sure about here, what should I do to get this taken care of?
Disappointed in Daly City
Watch: Your Ultimate Resource: Understanding the Honda Lemon Law Buyback Process
Dear Disappointed,
Oh, wow, I think this is the first time I’ve heard of someone needing to have three repairs within their first 600 miles. You’d certainly be right to suspect that your new Accord is defective. It’s unfortunate that your recent move to California has been overshadowed by that, but luckily California has a lemon law. In fact, some would say it’s one of the most comprehensive and consumer friendly lemon laws in the nation.
While it’s certainly not fun to have to experience this sort of recurrent problem so early on in your car’s lifecycle, it’s actually to your advantage when filing a lemon law claim. That’s because in California, we have two time frames for filing a lemon law claim – the lemon law presumption period and the manufacturer’s warranty period.
For a vehicle to be presumed to be a lemon, it just needs to meet any one of three criteria during its first 18 months or 18,000 miles after purchase, whichever comes first. Those criteria are:
- The dealership attempted to repair the vehicle at least twice due to a serious safety problem that can cause death or serious injury;
- The dealership has tried to repair it at least four times for the same safety problem; or
- The vehicle has been out of service at the dealership for more than 30 days for all defects under warranty.
If any one of those applies to your vehicle, then the presumption is that it’s a defective lemon and you are entitled to lemon law compensation.
In addition to this, a vehicle can also be declared a lemon throughout its manufacturer warranty period, so long as it meets the requisite number of repairs attempts. For a single issue this is at least two in-warranty repairs at an authorized dealer; for multiple issues, it would be at least three repairs. From the sounds of things, your new Accord would qualify under either timeframe.
Now, since California is such a consumer friendly state, as I mentioned, the lemon law process is fairly straightforward. However, I would definitely recommend consulting with a knowledgeable lemon law attorney as they would be able to give you the best advice while navigating through the process. And, on the plus side, most lemon law attorneys take their cases on contingency, meaning that when they’re successful, the manufacturer is responsible for paying for your attorney’s fees.
A skilled attorney will be able to begin negotiating with the manufacturer for the best recompense for you. In terms of options, there are three settlements available to vehicle owners in California. Your attorney will be able to help you decide which one is best for you and a likely outcome in your case. These are: a buyback, a cash and keep, and a vehicle replacement.
In my experience, the buyback is the best option to try to push for. Here, the manufacturer would repurchase the vehicle from you, essentially reimbursing you for the purchase price and other associated costs, including the down payment, monthly payments, and other fees. The manufacturer does have the right to charge you for the amount of miles that the car was in good working condition as part of the Mileage Offset. This is based on the number of miles at your first repair visit, which being only around 100 miles, is basically a negligible amount. More information about the Honda Lemon Law buyback settlement option here.
Now, where your car is so new, you may decide you’d like to keep it. With the cash and keep, the manufacturer would give you cash compensation for the issue’s you’ve been having and you would retain ownership of the vehicle. Depending on how likely the problems are to be resolved or to end up getting worse, this may or may not be a good option for you. Lastly is the replacement vehicle. This is where the manufacturer would replace your Accord with another of similar value and mileage.
I would definitely recommend you reach out to a knowledgeable California lemon law attorney sooner rather than later. They will be able to help you through this process and will understand intricacies of the law that you may not, especially as a new resident of California. To get started, you will need to share copies of your purchase agreement and all repair orders with your attorney so they help you decide the best course of action.
Suzanne
Free Legal Advice About Your 2022 Honda Accord Lemon Law 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 CA Lemon Lawyer to get proper legal advice about your lemon law claim.
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- 2022 Honda Accord ©オーバードライブ83 (CC BY-SA 4.0 License)