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Warranty Expiration &
California Lemon Law
Recently I had occasion to look through the "lemon laws" of some other states, and I noticed that most of them have express statutory provisions holding that the manufacturer must repair any defect that first arises during the warranty period, even if the repairs extend beyond the warranty period itself. Although California's Act does contain such a provision in Civil Code section 1793.1, which specifies what language must appear in work orders, it is inexplicably absent from Civil Code section 1795.6 which addresses when a warranty is not deemed to be expired.
California law, like most other state's laws, should speak clearly in this area. I would propose amending Civil Code section 1795.6(b)(2), to the following:
"If consumer goods do not conform to all applicable express warranties, and the consumer first reports the nonconformity to the manufacturer or its representative in this state during the term of an applicable express warranty, then the manufacturer or its representative in this state shall, within a reasonable period of time, make all repairs necessary to conform the consumer good to such express warranties, notwithstanding the fact that such repairs are made after the expiration of the applicable warranty period."
This would put to rest the concerns of California consumers who suffer from problems that first arise during the warranty period, even where the manufacturer's efforts to repair fail only after the warranty has expired.