Honda Lemon Law Attorneys in California
In California, owners of Honda vehicles may qualify for protection under the state’s Lemon Law. Under that law, the manufacturer has to replace or repurchase a vehicle with a warranty defect it cannot fix after a reasonable number of repair attempts. The defect must substantially impair the safety, value, or use of your car.
What many people call the Honda Lemon Law is California’s Lemon Law, and it applies to new Hondas and to some nearly new Hondas sold with a new car warranty, such as dealer-owned cars and demonstrators. 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.
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.
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. If you go forward with a Honda lemon law case, we represent you at no cost while you seek cash compensation, a replacement or a buyback.
We exclusively focus on California cases, for Honda owners in Los Angeles, San Francisco and every other part of the state.
How the California Lemon Law Protects Honda Owners
The California Lemon Law applies to Honda automobiles that people buy or drive chiefly for their own personal, family or household use, including cars, vans, SUVs, and pickup trucks. It also covers business vehicles under 10,000 pounds when the company has five or fewer vehicles on California registration.
To qualify as a lemon, a Honda vehicle must have persistent issues that require frequent repairs. Under the law, Honda is presumed to have had a reasonable number of repair attempts if any one of the following happens before 18 months pass from the day you took delivery, or before the odometer shows 18,000 miles, whichever is sooner:
- Honda or its dealers handled one problem on four or more repair visits, and, if Honda’s warranty or owner’s manual asked you to, you contacted Honda itself about it at least once.
- Honda or its dealers handled one problem on two or more repair visits, the problem would likely kill or seriously injure someone if the car is driven, and, if Honda’s warranty or owner’s manual asked you to, you contacted Honda itself about it at least once.
- Your Honda has sat in the shop for over 30 calendar days when you add up every visit, not necessarily in a row, while Honda or its dealers repaired warranty defects that impair its use, value or safety.
California Lemon Law treats this as a legal presumption, not as the only way to qualify. 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.
Honda takes part in a state-certified arbitration program. If Honda gave you timely written notice of that program, the presumption only applies once you have gone through that program.
Used Hondas follow different rules. Since an October 2024 California Supreme Court ruling, a used Honda that only has time left on the original new vehicle warranty does not count as a new vehicle under the Lemon Law unless that warranty was issued with the sale. Vehicles sold “as is” with no written warranty typically do not qualify.
The defect must be covered by a warranty that came with your Honda. It’s best to consult with an attorney if you’re unsure whether your car qualifies.
Lemon Law Help works only in California. We help California residents who bought or leased a defective model year 2020 or newer vehicle from a licensed California dealer. We cannot help people outside California, unless they are active-duty military.
A successful lemon law claim may require Honda to repurchase or replace your vehicle, and you can choose a refund instead of a replacement. Some cases also end in a cash settlement.
Common Honda Lemon Issues
If the same problem is back after a trip to the Honda dealer, look for it in the list below. 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
- Engine not restarting after an idle stop
Honda also faces a defective paint class action lawsuit, which alleges that certain white paint colors, including Platinum White Pearl, can peel, bubble and flake on some Honda Odyssey, Pilot, Fit and HR-V and Acura MDX vehicles, and the proposed class is defined by purchase date rather than model year. As of the court’s March 2026 order, no class had been certified.
If these symptoms or other warranty 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 the owners say make these vehicles unsafe to drive. Alleged defects include dilution of engine oil, phantom braking, transmission issues, and acceleration issues.
If your Honda is part of a class action, the deadline to opt out may already have passed, so ask an attorney how the case affects your own claim. An individual lemon law claim looks at your own vehicle and its repair history.
Honda’s Collision Mitigation Braking System
Some 2020 Honda Accord vehicles with the Honda Sensing technology suite are part of a certified class action alleging that the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) misreads objects and brakes hard when there is no risk of a collision, which Honda denies. The CMBS is an automatic emergency braking system supposed to detect objects in front of a vehicle, warn drivers, and brake the vehicle, if needed.
A jury ruled for Honda on the California class’s warranty claim in March 2026, and in October 2026 the parties told the court they had settled.
Federal safety regulators are also investigating complaints that the automatic emergency braking activates on its own in some 2020–2022 Honda Accord and CR-V vehicles, and in some 2020–2022 Insight and 2020–2023 Passport vehicles. NHTSA says many owners report that dealers could not reproduce the problem or told them it was normal operation. Honda has equipped the following vehicle models with CMBS systems: Honda Accord, Honda CR-V, Honda Pilot, Honda Passport and Honda Insight.
If your 2020 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
Owners of some 2020 and newer Honda Pilot and Honda Odyssey models have reported automatic transmission judder and jerking to federal safety regulators. Honda has told dealers that certain 2020 Pilot Touring and Elite models may have intermittent harsh or jerky upshifts, fixed with a transmission software update. Honda has also told dealers that some 2020 Pilot models with the six-speed automatic can show a transmission temperature warning caused by deteriorated transmission fluid, fixed with a software update and three fluid flushes.
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. A class action filed in September 2023 alleged a transmission programming defect in this transmission, and it was dismissed in January 2026.
That lawsuit’s proposed class named 2020–2022 Pilot models and Passport and Ridgeline models from 2020 to the filing date. The 9-speed is also in some 2020 Acura MDX and Acura TLX models.
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 2020–2022 Honda CR-V, Honda Accord and Honda Civic.
A class action lawsuit was filed against Honda in March 2022, 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 2020–2021 Honda CR-V, Honda Civic and 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 lawsuit, filed in December 2024 and consolidated with a second case in 2026, 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, the lawsuit alleges, vehicles experience coolant leaks, engine misfires, and oil dilution. It also says the problem can make the car lose power while driving. Vehicles that may be susceptible to the i-VTEC turbocharged engine problem include the 2020–2022 Accord, Civic and 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. That leaves 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 the 2020 Acura TLX, 2020 Acura MDX, and 2020–2021 Honda Pilot, Honda Passport and Honda Ridgeline. The court gave the settlement final approval in May 2026, and the deadline to claim past repair costs has passed.
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.
Federal safety regulators are still investigating restart failures on some 2020–2025 Honda Pilot, Odyssey, Passport and Ridgeline vehicles and Acura TLX and MDX models, and say many complaints come from owners whose vehicles already had Honda’s fix. Honda has also extended warranty coverage for the starter, the starter relays and a related valve adjustment to 10 years from the original purchase date, with no mileage limit, on certain 2020–2022 Pilot and Passport and 2020–2023 Ridgeline models with idle stop.
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 for a refund of what you paid or still owe, including taxes and fees, minus a possible deduction based on your mileage at the first repair visit for the problem. If Honda’s violation was willful, a court may add to the judgment a civil penalty of up to double your actual damages.
Don’t pursue the process alone. When your 2020 or newer car keeps coming back with the same issues, contact 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.
