A brief description of the California Lemon Law

As a leader in consumer protection, California was one of the firsts states to enforce lemon laws. The California Lemon Law requires that a manufacturer who is unable to repair a vehicle to conform to the express warranty after a reasonable number of repair attempts, must replace or repurchase the vehicle. In many cases, the manufacturer will try to show that the criteria has not been met, and therefore, the buyer or lessee is not entitled to a replacement vehicle or refund. Continue reading

Toyota will be contacting the owners of certain 2015 Toyota Yaris vehicles about a problem affecting the front end suspension system. These vehicles were manufactured with a strut mounting bearing component that could be damaged when subject to high loads. If this occurs, the driver may experience abnormal noises when driving on uneven roads or when turning the steering. If the vehicle continues to be operated, the upper side of the strut rod could separate, causing a loss of vehicle stability. Continue reading

The owners of certain 2016 RAM 1500s will be contacted by Chrysler regarding a problem affecting the powertrain system. According to the defect report filed with the NHTSA, the vehicles were assembled with halfshafts with low case depth thickness . These halfshafts could fracture without warning and lead to loss of motive power in front wheel drive vehicles, road debris, as well as damage to nearby components. Continue reading

The owners of certain 2016 Jeep Cherokees will be contacted by Chrysler regarding a problem affecting the powertrain system. According to the defect report filed with the NHTSA, the vehicles were assembled with halfshafts incorrectly manufactured with low surface and high core hardness. These halfshafts could fracture without warning and lead to loss of motive power in front wheel drive vehicles, road debris, as well as damage to nearby components. Continue reading

The owners of certain 20132014 Nissan Pathfinder vehicles will be receiving notices about an electrical problem affecting the braking system. According to the defect report filed with the NHTSA, the stop lamp switch may have been installed incorrectly and could make intermittent contact causing the relay to stick in the ON position. The problem may cause the stop lamps to remain illuminated and the brake-shift interlock to become inoperative. This could increase the risk of a crash, or risk of a roll away if the vehicle is inadvertently shifted out of the Park position. Continue reading

Maserati will be contacting the owners of certain 2014-2016 Ghibli and Quattroporte vehicles about a problem affecting the suspension system. According to the defect report filed with the NHTSA, these vehicles were manufactured with an incorrectly torqued rear tie rod to hub carrier assembly attaching bold. If the bolt loosens, the driver will start to hear a noise from the rear of the vehicle. Over time the attaching bolt could fail and the tie rod could separate completely from the hub carrier assembly. Continue reading

Chrysler will be asking the owners of certain 2012-2016 Fiat 500 and 2013-2016 Fiat 500E vehicles to return to their dealerships to repair two separate problems that could result in loss of motive power.

2012-2016 Fiat 500: These vehicles are equipped with a C514 manual transmission which could experience a cracked or damaged clutch diaphragm spring. If the spring fails the driver will not be able to shift gears or the vehicle may lose motive power. Continue reading

The owners of certain 2011-2016 Jeep Wrangler right hand drive vehicles will be returning to their dealerships to repair a problem affecting the safety of the airbag system. According to the defect report, vehicles subject to dusty environments could ingest dust into the airbag clock spring assembly. The circuit could become compromised and result in non-deployment of the airbags and an illuminating airbag warning lamp. Continue reading