Lemon Law Blog

The clouds have opened at  1 800 LEMON LAW headquarters providing one of those days where you are paranoid that your sunroof is open or your windows are down.  But imagine parking your brand new car, and returning to find the trunk open and full of water. You know the trunk was not open previously.  What happened?  It’s a question that is baffling quite a few 2013 Hyundai Elantra drivers.

We are representing a number of distressed Hyundai Elantra drivers who are complaining of random trunk openings, in some cases leaving their belongings out in the open for people to take and/or  causing water to fill up the trunk compartment leading to mold and mildew.  The message boards are also lighting up with the Hyundai Elantra trunk opening issue.  Unfortunately, in many circumstances, the service advisors do not know what is causing the trunk to open.

If you are experiencing your Hyundai Elantra trunk opening, make sure you get back to an authorized dealer as soon as possible to have the matter addressed.  After each visit, you should be presented with a repair invoice that outlines the problem and what was done to address the problem.  This issue is covered under the Hyundai manufacturers warranty.

Once you are back in three or more times for the Hyundai Elantra trunk opening issue, fill out our Get Rid of Your Lemon form or call us at 1 800 LEMON LAW (1 800 536 6652).  We will review your situation and determine how we can help get your trunk problem closed once and for all.

We invest a significant amount of time and money into finding a car perfect for our needs and our family.  However, no matter how hard we work to prevent it, there is a chance we could end up with a defective vehicle, commonly known as a “lemon.”  A vehicle must meet a few requirements to be considered a lemon – by answering the following questions, you may be able better identify whether or not your car is a lemon and if you are entitled to the free legal help the lemon law provides.

What exactly is a “lemon”?
While lemon laws vary from state to state, the lemon law generally applies to cars, personal trucks and motorcycles, both purchased and leased, which suffer a nonconformity; a defect or condition, which substantially impairs the use, value or safety; that cannot be repaired after repeated attempts  (normally three) by an authorized manufacturer’s dealership. In each state, the lemon law outlines specific mileage and age parameters. For instance, in New Jersey, this nonconformity must first occur within the first 24 months or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first. Oftentimes, the lemon law can also come into play if your vehicle is in the shop for an extended period of time, or with a serious defect which could cause bodily harm or death that is not fixed after one repair attempt. Again, these laws vary from state to state, so it’s important to understand your specific state’s lemon laws.

• Did you purchase your car new or used?
• Has your car’s nonconformity attempted to be repaired by an authorized manufacturer’s dealership and has failed to be repaired?
• Has this nonconformity been repaired repeatedly under a manufacturers warranty?
• Has your vehicle spent a considerable amount of time in the shop?  20 days or more?
• Can this defect cause bodily harm or death and was it unable to be fixed after one repair attempt?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the following questions, you may have been sold a lemon. If you believe your vehicle to be a lemon, it’s important to contact a lawyer experienced in your state’s lemon law.

The current New Jersey Lemon Law applies to new cars, personal trucks, and motorcycles, either purchased and leased, which suffer a nonconformity which is a defect or condition that impairs the use, value or safety of the car and cannot be repaired after three attempts by an authorized manufacturer's dealership. This nonconformity must first occur within the first 24 months or 24,000 miles of ownership – whichever comes first. The New Jersey Lemon Law also applies to vehicles that are in the shop for repair twenty or more calendar days during the first 24 months or 24,000 miles.

Members of the New Jersey Senate and Assembly recently introduced two bills that would increase consumer protections under the state’s lemon law by allowing consumers to return used — rather than just new — vehicles that are materially defective for full repayment. These bills would allow consumers to walk away from vehicles with major nonconformities or material defects that substantially impair the use, value and safety of the car. This would give consumers them the freedom to request that the dealer immediately rebuy a used vehicle rather than wait for the dealer to attempt to fix the problem.

The measures stated, “If, within the periods specified in section 3 of this act, the consumer requests that the dealer immediately repurchase the used motor vehicle or dealer or his agent fails to correct a material defect of the used motor vehicle, after a reasonable opportunity to repair the used motor vehicle, the dealer shall repurchase the used motor vehicle and refund to the consumer the full purchase price, excluding all sales taxes, title and registration fees, or any similar governmental charges, and less a reasonable allowance for excessive wear and tear and less a deduction for personal use of such vehicle."

The NJ Lemon Law is currently one of the strongest Lemon Laws in the Country, according to the Center for Auto Safety.  The Law provides for completely free legal representation to consumers who suffer with a new defective vehicle.

While NJ Lemon Law currently protects new vehicles, this new proposal could save drivers a large amount of money and frustration by also protecting them from used lemons.

In the year since we first reported on the Chevrolet Cruze coolant smell problem, we have opened numerous claims from folks who have complained about the issue repeatedly to no avail.  Below is a recent story on the problem from Pittsburgh.  In another story which aired on WSB TV in Atlanta ,  a reporter rented a Cruze and brought it to our office.  Within minutes, we were able to illustrate how the coolant was leaking into the cabin, causing a sweet-smelling a vapor to permeate throughout the vehicle.

If you are smelling a sweet smelling, antifreeze type smell in your Chevrolet Cruze, you need to bring the matter to a Chevrolet authorized dealership.  This is not a matter that should be taken lightly.  If you continue to have the issue despite repeated repair attempts, look into your rights under State Lemon Laws and Federal Warranty Laws. You could be entitled to completely free legal representation. You can find a Lemon Law Lawyer in your state by clicking here.

When searching for a Lemon Law Firm, it is essential that you find counsel with extensive litigation experience.  While a majority of our cases do settle to our client’s satisfaction through pre-litigation, there are others where either the manufacturer tries to low-ball the consumer or they do  not offer anything at all.  If we feel a consumer has been wronged and we have the ammunition to back it up, we have no problem going to battle against these billion dollar car companies–at absolutely no cost to the consumer.  And we are thrilled to announce three 1 800 LEMON LAW trial wins  that have taken place in the last 2 weeks!

Our Western Pennsylvania Lemon Law Managing Associate Christina Gill Roseman secured two victories back to back in Allegheny County.  In the first case, our client’s 2009 Chrysler truck was having significant paint issues where the paint would flake off just from being exposed to water in a garden hose.  The client requested numerous times for Chrysler to repaint the truck but they refused.  The jury agreed with Christina that this was a breach of warranty and awarded our client $15,000 in damages, plus attorney fees.  Best of all, our client gets to keep their truck and get it painted the right way.

The second case involved a 2009 Hyundai Sonata and transmission troubles that started to plague the client after the first year of ownership.  Christina argued the dealership misled our client about the repairs done to her car and even falsified several service records.  The jury agreed, awarding the client $11,300 in damages, plus attorney fees,  for violation of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices Act and Consumer Protection Law.   This client also gets to keep their car.

Across the bridge, New Jersey Lemon Law Senior Associate and Certified Trial Attorney Fred Davis argued a breach of warranty claim against Chrysler.  The client, who received a very small settlement offer prior to trial, received $7,500 in damages, plus attorney fees.  They too get to keep their car.

If you have been back to the repair shop repeatedly for the same problems under an original or extended manufacturers warranty, it is important that you fight for your rights.  Feel free to call us at 1 800 LEMON LAW or e-mail us and we will be glad to review your situation to determine if your claim has merit.

Is your 2012 or 2013 Dodge Durango surging between 40-70 miles per hour?  You are not alone.  Some consumers have complained of a surge, tugging or fishtail like condition they are experience while driving on smooth roads.  Normally, at the time of the surge, the transmission is in 4th or 5th gear with the throttle position 30% or greater.

Chrysler is currently working on a new PCM software upgrade to address the Durango surging problem, but the software will not be available until at least August according to many dealers.  They are telling drivers that the surging problem will be lessened if they use an 89 octane fuel.

We do not feel that a consumer should have to wait months to have a matter addressed. If you are experiencing the Durango surging problem, get to an authorized Dodge dealer and take your service adviser for a test drive so he can diagnose the issue.  Hopefully, they may have some immediate solutions for you.  If they do not have a solution, you need to continue to bring this to their attention and make sure you retrieve a repair invoice after every visit.  Do not settle for “we don’t have a fix yet.”  After all, it’s not like you can stop paying your car note until the matter is resolved.  To us, it seems like the company is delaying because they don’t really know how to properly fix the issue, and that means it is up to consumer to take action under State Or Federal Law.

If your dealing with a Dodge Durango surging when accelerating, fill out our Get Rid of Your Lemon form to see if /how can help you seek remedy.