Dodge Lemon Law Lawyers in San Diego

Those are delivery, the first repair order for the defect and the end of coverage from FCA US LLC, Dodge's maker. A new or leased Dodge that FCA's dealers cannot repair may qualify for a buyback or replacement. The yardstick is a reasonable number of repair attempts, meaning enough fair chances. A buyback, called restitution, refunds what the Dodge cost, while a replacement is a substantially identical new Dodge.

FCA US LLC is an electing manufacturer, one that chose the newer court procedures in Code of Civil Procedure sections 871.20 and following. The Department of Consumer Affairs roster dates that opt-in April 25, 2025. Claims that follow them are on the elected track, which sets the last day to sue for most Dodges. Under Civil Code section 1793.22(e)(2), a Dodge counts when it is bought or used primarily for personal, family or household purposes. It also covers dealer-owned cars and demonstrators sold with FCA's new car warranty. A company Durango under 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight counts with five or fewer vehicles registered to the company in California.

FCA won Rodriguez v. FCA US, LLC (2024) 17 Cal.5th 189. There the California Supreme Court held that leftover factory coverage on a used car does not make it new, unless FCA's new car warranty was issued with that sale. It did not address certified pre-owned programs. A certified Dodge is usually outside the new-vehicle remedy, but the point is not settled.

Cline APC places each Dodge on a three-phase timeline. If one defect keeps sending yours back, call (888) 982-6915.

Which Durango and Charger Faults Bring Owners to a Dodge Lemon Law Lawyer?

NHTSA, the federal vehicle safety agency, logs owner complaints. On 2021 to 2026 Dodges, the counts cluster on Durango lighting and on Charger electrical and airbag faults. FCA's recall filings add Durango spoilers, steering racks and stability control software, plus a shifter campaign on both models.

Say you leased a 2025 Durango R/T from a Balboa Avenue dealer in May 2025. By February 2026, it had gone in four times for one harsh downshift on State Route 163. All four visits fall in phase one, 18 months or 18,000 miles from delivery, whichever comes first.

Dodge lists the Challenger as no longer in production, and NHTSA listed seven recall campaigns on 2023 to 2025 Hornets on September 30, 2026. A discontinued model keeps the coverage its booklet gave it.

Can a Lawyer Make FCA Buy Back a Dodge That Keeps Failing?

Yes, when the law's conditions are met. The duty comes from Civil Code section 1793.2(d)(2), not from any FCA program. The statute lets you elect restitution in place of a replacement, and FCA cannot force a replacement on you. Civil Code section 1795.4 gives a lessee, the person who leases, the same rights.

Say you paid $52,000 for a 2024 Durango at the Carvana Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram store on Camino Del Rio South. Its first repair visit for the defect came at 9,000 miles. The price times those miles, divided by 120,000, gives an offset of $3,900. The buyback calculator runs that arithmetic on your contract.

Restitution Over Replacement for an LD Charger or a Challenger

A replacement must be substantially identical to the car you return. The LD Charger ended with the 2023 model year, and the Challenger is out of production. FCA's bulletins give the 2024 and later Charger a different body code, LB. Dodge now sells it with a twin-turbo inline-six or an electric drive. So a true match may be hard to find, and restitution is often more practical. Electing restitution stays your call.

The Factory Rebate Stays Out of an Elected-Track Dodge Lemon Law Refund

Code of Civil Procedure section 871.27 reshapes the refund on the elected track. A factory rebate never counts in the price paid, so a $3,000 rebate is not refunded. Negative equity from an older car is an offset FCA may claim, but the rebate cannot shrink it. Service contracts, GAP coverage and optional equipment from an outside company stay unrecovered, while the selling dealer's come back. Once a buyback is agreed, FCA has 30 days from receipt of the release signed through your counsel to complete it. After that it owes $50 a day, unless the parties stipulate otherwise or the owner failed to cooperate in good faith. Send the firm FCA's written offer before you sign.

When Does Dodge Coverage End, and What Can a Lemon Law Lawyer Do in Each Phase?

FCA's Mopar site lists 3 years or 36,000 miles of basic coverage for current Dodges. Powertrain coverage runs 5 years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first in each case. Your model year's booklet controls. Electrical and lighting faults usually age out long before engine and transmission faults, and each phase gives a lawyer different tools.

The first phase runs from delivery to 18 months or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first. Phase two lasts until the express warranty, the written coverage in the booklet, ends for the failing part. There the question is whether FCA's dealers fixed the defect within a reasonable number of attempts, a count no statute sets. For a Dodge the election covers, the last phase is the year after that warranty ends that section 871.21 leaves for filing suit.

Say your 2022 Charger's radio and gauge cluster failed six times between month 20 and month 33. That history sits in phase two, so a Dodge lemon law lawyer weighs each record.

Phase One and the Dodge Lemon Law Presumption

Section 1793.22(b) of the Civil Code sets up a presumption that treats FCA as having had a reasonable number of repair attempts. Its conditions must occur within 18 months or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first. The statute's word nonconformity means a defect that substantially impairs use, value or safety. One route counts two or more repairs of the same nonconformity when it is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury if the vehicle is driven. A second route counts four or more repairs of the same nonconformity. Both call for direct notice, your own letter to FCA, at least once if FCA clearly and conspicuously disclosed that duty in its warranty or manual. A third counts more than 30 cumulative days out of service for repair of nonconformities. It needs no letter, and only conditions beyond FCA's control extend the 30 days.

FCA can rebut the presumption. After the window closes, section 1793.2(d)(2) still lets the full repair history carry a claim. The presumption counts repairs by FCA or its agents, so an independent shop visit adds no attempt toward it.

The Department of Consumer Affairs lists the California Dispute Settlement Program as the certified arbitration program for Dodge. Under section 1793.22(c), an owner who got timely written notice of that program must try it before relying on the presumption. The department says there is no charge to use it and decisions usually come within 40 days. FCA is bound by a decision only when you accept it. Program days also extend the filing deadline under subdivision (c).

Section 1795.6 and the Dodge Warranty Clock at the Dealer

Section 1795.6(a) of the Civil Code pauses the warranty during a warranty repair visit. Under subdivision (b)(2), a failed repair also keeps the warranty from expiring if you tell FCA or the dealer within 60 days after that repair was completed. Section 1793.2(b) separately limits each visit. The 30 days stretch only with your written agreement or for a delay beyond the control of FCA or its dealers. Say a Durango sits 35 days at Pedder Chrysler Dodge Ram Jeep of Poway, waiting on a headlamp. That runs past the 30 days unless an exception applies.

What Do Three Spoiler Filings and 331 Durango Complaints Tell a Dodge Lawyer?

A recall begins when FCA tells NHTSA that certain vehicles carry a safety-related defect or fall short of a federal standard. That report alone does not make a lemon claim. Still, each recall visit leaves a dated work order. When the recalled condition is a nonconformity that returns after the campaign work, that visit can count toward the claim.

Campaign 21V842000, filed in October 2021, covered 2021 Durangos whose rear spoiler may sit out of line with the roof. Campaign 23V115000, an expansion of it, followed in February 2023 for 2021 to 2023 models. Then 26V528000, filed August 13, 2026, says Durangos repaired under either one need the new repair. FCA's interim letters of September 10, 2026 promise a second notice once the final remedy is available.

Say a Santee owner gets that interim letter for a 2021 Durango whose basic coverage lapsed in 2024. The lemon questions turn on the rest of the history, not the recall alone. A VIN's campaigns appear in NHTSA's recall lookup once NHTSA posts them.

How Soon After My Coverage Ends Must a Dodge Lemon Law Lawyer File?

For a Dodge the election covers, section 871.21 requires suit within one year after the applicable express warranty ends, and never more than six years after delivery. Repair days pause both limits. So does a pre-suit notice, a demand required only before a suit seeking civil penalties, extra damages for a willful violation, for up to 60 days.

The statute never says which express warranty is the applicable one. A lawyer ties each defect to its booklet coverage. Section 871.30 ties the election to Dodges sold in 2025 or earlier. Section 871.21 also carries over tolling from section 1793.22 where it applies.

Say you took delivery of a 2023 Charger Scat Pack in August 2023 and drive about 10,000 miles a year. Basic coverage ends in August 2026, so a basic-only defect points to a default date near August 2027. Powertrain coverage runs to August 2028, which moves its window to August 2029. The six-year limit arrives that same month. A Dodge lemon law lawyer adds repair and notice days from your records.

Dodge Lemon Law Claims the Elected Track Leaves Out

Section 871.20(b) keeps two kinds of claims out of the new chapter. One is a service contract claim under section 1794. The other seeks something besides restitution or replacement. Both are dated under the general limitation rules. A Dodge sold new in 2026 or later differs too, since section 871.29(d) requires FCA to name at the sale which procedure governs it. Off the elected track, Commercial Code section 2725 gives four years, generally counted from tender of delivery. A warranty may explicitly extend to future performance, with discovery of the breach awaiting that performance. The four years then start once the breach is or should have been discovered.

After FCA Receives the Pre-Suit Notice, It Has 30 Days to Offer

Section 871.24 became operative July 1, 2025. On a Dodge sold in 2025 or earlier, the notice is a precondition only for a suit that seeks civil penalties. For a willful failure, Civil Code section 1794(c) lets those penalties reach twice actual damages. FCA must receive the notice at least 30 days before filing. Send it in writing, by email to the address FCA publishes for this purpose or by certified or registered mail with a return receipt to the address in its manual or booklet. You must hold the Dodge when the notice goes out and for 30 days after FCA receives it, or the full 60 days if FCA makes an offer.

If FCA responds with an offer inside 30 days of receipt and finishes the remedy inside 60 days of receipt, civil penalties drop out. Missing either date leaves them available. If a lawyer represents you, the offer must include reasonable attorney fees and costs. If FCA makes no offer within 30 days, you may sell the Dodge and keep seeking remedies, but civil penalties then require written notice to the buyer before the sale. Suing without the notice gives up civil penalties. Section 1794(d) awards costs and reasonable attorney fees to a buyer who prevails.

Which Phase Is Your Dodge In, and Should a Dodge Lemon Law Lawyer Check It?

Bring the purchase or lease contract with its delivery date, every work order, letters to or from FCA and any recall notices. Call (888) 982-6915 to book a free consultation, where Cline APC places the Dodge in its phase and dates the last filing day.

Say your Charger contract has the delivery date circled, and a Dodge lemon law lawyer marks the phase each work order fell in.

You can meet the firm at its La Jolla office or Poway office. The firm also handles Chrysler and Jeep claims. Nobody can promise FCA's response, and each decision stays yours.

Once your folder is ready, send the firm a note online with the stack attached.