The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act

The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, codified at California Civil Code §§ 1790–1795.8, is the statute most California lemon-law cases live or die by. Enacted in 1970 and substantially amended in 1992, it remains one of the most consumer-friendly warranty statutes in the country.

The core promise

Section 1793.2(d)(2) is the heart of the statute. If the manufacturer or its authorized repair facility is unable to service or repair a new motor vehicle to conform to the applicable express warranties after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer must:

• Replace the vehicle with a substantially identical new vehicle, or
• Make restitution — refund the price paid, less a reasonable allowance for use.

The choice belongs to the buyer, not the manufacturer.

Who can bring a Song-Beverly claim

Standing under § 1791(a) extends to a “buyer,” which the statute defines broadly:

• Anyone who buys a consumer good — including a vehicle — at retail.
• Lessees of vehicles for personal, family, or household use.
• Subsequent purchasers, while the original manufacturer’s warranty is still in effect.

Section 1795.5 specifically extends the statute to certified used vehicles sold with a manufacturer’s warranty.

What’s a “reasonable number of attempts”?

The statute doesn’t define this rigidly, on purpose — what’s reasonable depends on the severity of the defect and the safety risk. But § 1793.22 creates the lemon-law presumption: if certain numerical thresholds are met within the first 18 months or 18,000 miles, the law presumes the manufacturer failed.

Importantly, the presumption is a floor, not a ceiling. Buyers regularly prevail on fewer repair attempts than the presumption requires, particularly when the defect is safety-related.

What you can recover

A successful claim under Song-Beverly entitles the buyer to:

1. The full purchase price, including down payment, payments made, the loan payoff, registration, and sales tax. See our buyback guide for the math.
2. Incidental and consequential damages — rental cars, towing, lost wages, etc.
3. A civil penalty of up to two times actual damages if the manufacturer’s violation was willful (§ 1794(c)).
4. Reasonable attorney fees and costs (§ 1794(d)) — this is the provision that makes contingency representation possible.

The buyback amount is reduced by the mileage offset — a use deduction based on miles driven before the first repair attempt — calculated under § 1793.2(d)(2)(C).

What Song-Beverly does not cover

• Vehicles purchased outside California (with limited exceptions).
• Used vehicles sold “as-is” without any manufacturer warranty (though the implied warranty of merchantability under § 1791.1 may still apply if sold by a dealer). See our used vehicles article for the full framework.
• Cosmetic or trivial defects that don’t substantially impair use, value, or safety.
• Damage caused by accident, neglect, or unauthorized modification.

How Song-Beverly compares to other states

Most state lemon laws cap the warranty period at one or two years and don’t shift attorney fees the way Song-Beverly does. California’s combination of (a) coverage that runs the entire manufacturer’s warranty term, (b) buyer-chosen remedies, (c) civil penalties, and (d) fee-shifting is unusually pro-consumer. That’s why California buyback settlements are routinely much larger than the same facts would yield elsewhere.

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