California Tesla Lemon Law Checker — Does Your Tesla Qualify?

California's lemon law in plain English

California's Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act requires a manufacturer to replace or buy back a new vehicle it can't fix after a reasonable number of attempts. The Tanner Act adds a presumption: within 18 months of delivery or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first, a car is presumed to be a lemon if:

• the same problem that could cause death or serious injury was repaired 2 or more times, or
• the same problem was repaired 4 or more times, or
• the car was out of service for warranty repairs more than 30 days in total.

For the repeat-repair tests, you also need to have notified the manufacturer directly in writing. Missing the presumption doesn't end your case — it just means you'll have to show the number of repair attempts was reasonable.

Used Teslas and the 2024 Rodriguez ruling

In Rodriguez v. FCA US (2024), the California Supreme Court held that a used car bought with a leftover factory warranty isn't covered by the refund-or-replace remedy unless the warranty was issued with the sale. Tesla must still honor the remaining warranty, but a buyback is much harder to get on a used Tesla bought from a private seller or another dealer.

Keep these records

• Every service invoice, with the date, mileage, your complaint and the days the car was in service.
• Screenshots of Tesla app service requests and messages.
• Dashcam or TeslaCam clips of the problem happening.
• A copy of any written notice you sent Tesla.