Honda Lemon Law

In California, owners of Honda vehicles may qualify for protection under the state’s Lemon Law. The regulation requires a manufacturer or dealer to replace or repurchase a vehicle that exhibits persistent mechanical issues. These problems may compromise the safety, future value, or use of your car.

The Honda Lemon Law applies to most new or used vehicles that come with a manufacturer’s warranty. Your Honda may qualify if it has ongoing issues despite multiple repair attempts. At Lemon Law Help, our legal team has been helping vehicle owners across California secure legal justice for over 15 years. We roll up our sleeves and do the work to help you get the best settlement possible.

Home » Manufacturers » Honda Lemon Law

Reviewed By: Roger Kirnos

Why Work With Our Honda Lemon Law Lawyers?

Our legal team believes that every consumer who buys a car should get a dependable, reliable vehicle. We’re on a mission to hold auto manufacturers accountable for distributing defective vehicles that don’t comply with California legislation. We fight all the way to the end at trial to achieve a satisfactory outcome for every lemon law case we take on.

When you hire our law firm, you can expect knowledgeable attorneys who are eager to defend your rights as a consumer. We handle everything for you and keep you informed every step of the way, so you always know where your case stands.

Our lawyers have a proven track record of favorable results in lemon law claims. In fact, we have a 99 percent success rate when representing car owners and lessees in cases against auto manufacturers.

We offer contingency fee representation, which means you won’t have to worry about out-of-pocket fees. Our attorneys only get paid if you win your claim. We exclusively focus on California cases, so whether you’re in Los Angeles, San Francisco, or another part of the state, we can help.

How the California Lemon Law Protects Honda Owners

The California Lemon Law applies to Honda automobiles used for personal or business purposes, including cars, vans, SUVs, and pickup trucks.

To qualify as a lemon, a Honda vehicle must have persistent issues that require frequent repairs. Under the law, that includes:

Vehicles that are in the shop for the same problem four or more times.
Cars that have undergone two or more unsuccessful repairs and still have significant safety issues that can result in death or serious bodily injury.
Vehicles that undergo more than 30 days of repairs—not necessarily consecutively—for problems covered under the manufacturer’s warranty.

California Lemon Law includes a legal presumption that your vehicle is a lemon if certain issues occur within the first 18 months of delivery or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first. However, you may still qualify for relief under the law even if the problems arise outside that period, as long as they occurred while the vehicle was under the manufacturer’s warranty.

Used Hondas may qualify for lemon law protection if they are still covered by the original manufacturer’s new vehicle warranty or a certified pre-owned (CPO) warranty. Vehicles sold “as is” or without a manufacturer-backed warranty typically do not qualify. Eligible Hondas must be under the manufacturer’s new vehicle warranty. In most cases, vehicles purchased outside California are not covered under the state’s Lemon Law unless the manufacturer’s warranty explicitly extends California protections to the vehicle. It’s best to consult with an attorney if you’re unsure whether your car qualifies.

A successful lemon law claim may force a manufacturer or dealer to replace or repurchase your Honda. Some cases also end in a cash settlement.

Top 8 Honda Lemon Issues

Honda produces several models, including the Honda CR-V, Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Honda Odyssey, and Honda Pilot. Honda owners and lessees should look out for the following signs of a lemon vehicle:

Random braking
Check engine light turns on
Hard shifting
Vehicle hesitation
Front end collision system malfunctions
Engine oil dilution
Steering wheel jerking or veering
Excessive oil consumption

Another noteworthy issue includes the Honda defective paint class action lawsuit, in which drivers mention paint discoloration and peeling.

If these symptoms or other vehicle problems repeatedly appear, your Honda may be a lemon. Several lemon law claims and class action cases were filed against Honda for these issues. If your Honda has shown these issues and your dealership or auto repair shop couldn’t fix them, consult a lemon law attorney to discuss legal remedies from your auto manufacturer.

Honda Lemon Law Litigation

Several class action lawsuits have been filed against Honda for issues that make these vehicles unsafe to drive. Alleged defects include dilution of engine oil, phantom braking, transmission issues, and acceleration issues.

If your Honda is included in one or more active class action lawsuits, we can help you opt out and pursue an individual lemon lawsuit. By pursuing an individual lemon law claim, you could sue for charges specific to your situation and potentially recover a far more substantial cash settlement.

Honda’s Collision Mitigation Braking System

Certain Honda vehicles equipped with the Honda Sensing technology suite are included in a class action lawsuit stating that some of its safety systems malfunction. The Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) is an automatic emergency braking system supposed to detect objects in front of a vehicle, warn drivers, and brake the vehicle, if needed.

Multiple lawsuits allege that Honda’s CMBS detects objects that aren’t there, gives false alarms, and sometimes brakes at random. Honda has equipped the following vehicle models with CMBS systems: Honda Accord, Honda CR-V, Honda Pilot, Honda Passport and Honda Insight.

If your 2021 or newer Honda vehicle has CMBS faults that your dealership has been unable to remedy, you may have a potential defect. Consult with our lemon law attorneys to better understand your legal options.

Honda’s Automatic Transmission Issues

Honda has faced multiple class action lawsuits alleging that some Honda Pilot and Honda Odyssey vehicles experience issues with the automatic transmission. Examples of these issues include violent shaking, lurching, stalling, and other problems. Jerking, lurching, deteriorated transmission fluid, torque converter clutch (TCC) shuddering, and other issues may appear in these Honda vehicles: 2011–2019 Honda Odyssey and 2014–2019 Honda Pilot.

Honda’s 9-speed transmissions allegedly experience similar defects, such as rough or delayed shifting, delayed acceleration, gear shifting problems, sudden or harsh acceleration, and loss of power. 9-speed transmissions may cause issues in the following vehicles: 2016–2022 Pilot, 2018–2019 Odyssey, 2019–2025 Passport, 2020–2026 Ridgeline, 2016–2020 Acura MDX (non-hybrid), and 2015–2020 Acura TLX.

Honda 1.5L Turbocharged Engine Problems

Engine oil dilution, wear and tear, engine stalling and other engine problems have been reported in some of Honda’s 1.5-L turbocharged gasoline direct injection engines. Honda vehicles alleged to have experienced these engine defects include the 2017–2022 Honda CR-V, 2018–2022 Honda Accord, and 2016–2022 Honda Civic.

A class action lawsuit was filed against Honda in 2021, alleging that some vehicles equipped with Earth Dreams 1.5L direct injection engines suffered from engine oil dilution. According to the lawsuit, gasoline could leak into the engine oil, leading to premature wear and tear, engine stalling and other engine defects. The lawsuit included the 2019–2021 Honda CR-V, 2019–2021 Honda Civic, and 2018–2021 Honda Accord. This lawsuit was dismissed in November 2025. The dismissal does not necessarily mean that the reported engine oil dilution issues did not occur.

These lawsuits involve many of the same Honda vehicles equipped with 1.5L turbocharged engines, but they assert different types of defects. A separate, ongoing lawsuit makes broader allegations against Honda’s 1.5L turbocharged engine family. This lawsuit involves vehicles equipped with a high-compression, four-cylinder 1.5-liter i-VTEC turbocharged engine. While these engines were designed to offer greater acceleration, some drivers report severe problems with their vehicles due to faulty engine components. The parts allegedly can’t tolerate the pressure and heat a turbocharged engine generates.

As a result, vehicles experience coolant leaks, engine misfires, and oil dilution. In one case, a consumer alleges that the problem caused the car to lose power when driving on a high-speed road. Vehicles that may be susceptible to the i-VTEC turbocharged engine problem include the 2018–2022 Accord, 2016–2022 Civic, and 2017–2022 CR-V.

If your Honda vehicle has ongoing problems with its 1.5L turbocharged engine, consult with a lemon law attorney to discuss your legal options.

Honda Idle-Stop Acceleration Issues

Honda’s idle-stop feature automatically shuts off the engine when the vehicle is stopped and the brake pedal is applied. The system is designed to restart the engine when the driver releases the brake pedal.

However, some drivers report that the idle-stop feature fails to restart the engine when the driver releases the brake pedal, leaving the vehicle temporarily inoperable and in potentially dangerous situations.

A class action lawsuit alleged that certain Honda and Acura vehicles with Idle-Stop systems could experience engine restart failures. The lawsuit resulted in a settlement covering specific vehicles equipped with an NP0 engine and nine-speed automatic transmission, including: 2015–2020 Acura TLX, 2016–2020 Acura MDX, 2016–2021 Honda Pilot, 2019–2021 Honda Passport, and 2020–2021 Honda Ridgeline.

Though the Idle-Stop settlement applies to a limited class of vehicles, Honda’s Idle-Stop technology has been broadly applied across several vehicle models. These vehicles may be equipped with different engines and transmissions than those included in the settlement.

If your Honda experiences repeated stalling, failure to restart, or loss of power related to the Idle-Stop system, and the issue cannot be repaired after multiple attempts, you may still have legal options under California Lemon Law.

We Can Help You Obtain A Honda Lemon Law Buyback

If your Honda is found to be a lemon, you may be eligible for a lemon law buyback. This means you may be eligible to receive a full refund for your Honda, minus an offset based on the “good miles” you got out of your car before it showed symptoms of a defect. Some lemon owners and lessees may also be eligible for additional damages and end up receiving up to three times their vehicle’s purchase price, depending on the facts of their case.

Don’t pursue the process alone. If you have a 2021 or newer car with recurring issues, get a free consultation with our California Honda lemon law attorneys. Complete our consultation form below or call us at 866-492-5112 to get started. We will walk you through the process and answer any questions you may have about your Honda lemon.