Here’s a general review of lemon laws in the US. It seems to me that posting this occasionally is useful. It doesn’t cover state rules in detail, and you can look those up on your state government website or using a web search for your state’s laws.
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It seems to me that driver’s expectations have risen over the past few years, sometimes to unreasonable levels. One lemon law hearing recently had the complainant stating “I expect perfection with a new car.” The fact that the driver’s seat showed this wear after only 22,000 miles was enough for the driver to file a lemon law complaint after the dealer described this as normal wear and tear not covered by warranty:
Another driver filed a lemon law claim for a buyback because the navigation system routinely went blank or reset and the dealer was unable to repair it after 4 visits. No other issues with the vehicle.
Another driver filed a claim for a buyback because of an unreasonable defect with the safety systems of the vehicle. Once every few weeks the backup camera would go black. How did this affect the safe use of the vehicle? The driver needed to use the backup camera to tell if he had pulled into the garage far enough to roll down the door.
Sometimes the lemon laws get used, sometimes they get abused.
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#1 is completely unreasonable. #2 and #3 are reasonable IMO. There are circumstances where a malfunctioning back up camera is a safety concern. If it happened when backing up then not seeing someone behind the vehicle is a safety problem. As for a nav system, it costs upwards of $1000. Shouldn’t the manufacturer be responsible for fixing it in a reasonable amount of time?
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+1
I agree, you bought a vehicle with certain options and or standard equipment, a Nav system is no more required than a working HVAC system, I mean cars didn’t always have A/C and good heat, but I/you paid for said vehicle and I expect it to work as advertised while under warranty, and if the dealer can’t make it right, then they should swap it for one that works correctly…
Yes drivers expectations have gone up, but dang, so have the prices we are paying for those vehicles… You paid for every part on that vehicle, you should be able to use every part of that vehicle, why would you not expect it to work correctly???
If you buy a brand new house, do you not expect the bathrooms and kitchen to work 100% properly???
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In a 2012 Ford Fusion you can see almost nothing out the back. It’s built to have the backup camera.
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