How Many Repair Attempts Does a Vehicle Need to Have Before it is Considered a Lemon in California?
This is a very common question, and this is why it is important to have a competent attorney by your side when you are battling a car manufacturer or dealership. The Song Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, also known as the California lemon law, requires a “reasonable number of attempts.” But what is a “reasonable number of attempts?” In Silvio v. Ford Motors Co. (2003) 109 Cal.App.4th 1205, the court gives us the answer. There, the court held that a reasonable number of attempts means “at least two repair attempts.”
Can you tell me what happened in the Silvio case?
The Silvio case is rather straightforward. There, the consumer claimed their vehicle accelerated on its own and took it to a Ford authorized repair shop to get it fixed. The shop claimed there was nothing wrong with the vehicle and that the sudden acceleration was probably due to the thick after-market floor mats the consumer put in the vehicle, a Ford Explorer. The consumer subsequently experienced another sudden acceleration episode, the consumers’ son contacted the dealership, told the dealership of the incident, and told the dealership his parents wanted Ford to buy back their vehicle and did not want it fixed, but Ford refused. Id.
On what basis did the Silvio court decide the case?
The Silvio court used “rules of statutory interpretation” in deciding the case and basically said that the court did not need to look beyond the meaning the words in the statute “bear in ordinary use” because they were not “ambiguous.” And since “attempts” is plural . . . “The statute does not require the manufacturer to make restitution or replace the vehicle if it has had only one opportunity to repair the vehicle.” Id.
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