California’s lemon law does cover appliances. The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act treats refrigerators, freezers, ranges, microwave ovens, washers, dryers, dishwashers, garbage disposals, trash compactors, and room air conditioners as “home appliances,” and if a warranted unit has a defect the manufacturer can’t fix after a fair number of attempts, you can demand a replacement or a full refund.1California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code CIV 1791
Which Appliances and Sales Qualify
The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, codified starting at California Civil Code section 1790, applies to any new consumer product bought or leased primarily for personal, family, or household use, so long as it came with some form of warranty.2California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1790 Clothing and consumables are excluded. Most durable goods, including the major household appliances listed above, are in.1California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code CIV 1791
Two conditions matter. The appliance must have been purchased or leased in California, and it must be under an active warranty when the defect appears. If your manufacturer’s warranty expired six months before the appliance failed, the Act’s core replacement-or-refund remedy doesn’t apply, though a separate implied warranty claim may still be possible depending on timing.
Beyond whatever written warranty the manufacturer offers, California automatically attaches an implied warranty of merchantability to every retail sale of consumer goods. That means the appliance has to actually work for its ordinary purpose, even when the written warranty is narrow.
Used and Refurbished Units
Used appliances are covered, but on shorter terms. When a retailer or distributor sells a used appliance with an express warranty, that seller takes on the manufacturer-style obligations under the Act, and the original manufacturer is off the hook.3California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1795.5 The implied warranty on a used appliance sold with an express warranty runs for the length of that express warranty, but never less than 30 days and never more than three months from sale.4California Legislative Information. California Civil Code CIV 1795.5 Test a used appliance thoroughly right after you buy it. A unit sold fully “as-is” with all warranties properly disclaimed generally falls outside the Act.
What Counts as a Lemon Appliance
An appliance qualifies for relief when it has a defect that substantially impairs its use, value, or safety, and the manufacturer hasn’t been able to fix it after a reasonable number of attempts.5California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1793.2 “Substantially impairs” is the threshold that decides most cases. A scratch on a dishwasher door won’t clear it. A dishwasher that floods your kitchen every third cycle almost certainly will.
For cars, California sets a bright-line presumption—four repair attempts on the same problem, or 30 cumulative days out of service. No equivalent bright line exists for appliances. Courts weigh the whole picture: how serious the defect is, how many repair attempts the manufacturer has already burned, and how essential the appliance is to daily life. A refrigerator that can’t keep food at safe temperatures may qualify on fewer failed repairs than a secondary appliance you rarely use.
One requirement is non-negotiable: you have to give the manufacturer or its authorized service network a genuine chance to fix the problem. Bypassing the manufacturer and going straight to an independent shop can undercut your claim, because the Act assumes the manufacturer had a fair opportunity to cure the defect under the warranty terms.
Replacement or Refund—Your Choice
Once the manufacturer has failed to fix the defect after a reasonable number of attempts, you choose between a replacement or a refund. The manufacturer doesn’t get to decide.5California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1793.2
Choose a replacement, and the manufacturer must provide a new unit that is identical or substantially equivalent. Choose a refund, and you receive the purchase price minus what the law calls a reasonable allowance for the use you got out of the appliance before the defect appeared.6Justia. CACI No. 3200 – Failure to Repurchase or Replace Consumer Good After Reasonable Number of Repair Opportunities A refrigerator that ran trouble-free for two years before its compressor started failing will carry a larger use offset than one that broke inside the first month.
On top of the base recovery, you can claim incidental damages—costs you incurred because of the defect. Spoiled groceries from a dead refrigerator. Laundromat trips while your washer sat broken. Sales tax paid on the original purchase is also reimbursable.
Double Damages for Willful Violations
If the manufacturer willfully refused to honor its obligations, a court can add a civil penalty of up to twice your actual damages.7California Legislative Information. California Civil Code CIV 1794 “Willful” doesn’t require malice. It generally means the manufacturer knew what it owed you and chose not to comply—stonewalling a valid claim, refusing to authorize a replacement despite a clear repair history, or dragging things out indefinitely. The penalty doesn’t apply in class actions or to claims based solely on the implied warranty, but for an individual consumer with strong records, it’s a serious lever.
Attorney Fees
If you win a Song-Beverly case, the court must award your reasonable costs and attorney fees, based on the lawyer’s actual time rather than a percentage of your recovery.7California Legislative Information. California Civil Code CIV 1794 That’s why some attorneys will take appliance warranty cases on contingency—they get paid from the manufacturer’s pocket when they win.
Federal law reinforces this. Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a consumer who prevails in a warranty lawsuit may recover attorney fees and litigation expenses unless the court specifically finds an award inappropriate.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 2310 – Remedies in Consumer Disputes You can bring both state and federal claims in the same case.
Service Contracts Are Not Warranties
Extended service plans and protection plans are not manufacturer warranties, and California treats them differently. A service contract is a separate agreement, often sold by the retailer, that must clearly spell out its terms, conditions, and exclusions.9California Legislative Information. California Civil Code CIV 1794.4 If your appliance fails after the manufacturer’s warranty ends but while a service contract is still active, your claim runs against the service contract provider, and the remedies follow the contract’s terms rather than the Song-Beverly replacement-or-refund framework. If the provider fails to perform, you can still sue for damages under Song-Beverly.
Building the Claim
Documentation carries the case. From the moment an appliance starts misbehaving, keep every receipt, warranty document, and repair order. Each service visit should produce paperwork showing the date, the problem you reported, and what the technician did. If a shop gives you a verbal update, follow up by email so there’s a written record.
Once the manufacturer has failed to fix the defect, put your demand in writing. Send a letter to the manufacturer, and optionally the retailer, by certified mail with return receipt requested. Describe the defect, list the repair attempts with dates, and state clearly whether you want a replacement or a refund. Keep it factual. A timeline persuades; frustration doesn’t.
Check for a Required Arbitration Step
Some warranties require an informal dispute resolution process before you can sue. Federal regulations allow this only when the manufacturer discloses the requirement clearly on the face of the warranty.10eCFR. Title 16, Chapter I, Subchapter G, Part 703 – Informal Dispute Settlement Procedures If your warranty includes an arbitration or mediation clause, you’ll usually need to go through it before a court will hear the case. The arbitration outcome isn’t binding on you—you can still sue if you’re unhappy—but skipping the step can create procedural problems.
Small Claims Court
For most appliance disputes, small claims court is the practical route. California individuals can sue for up to $12,500 there without a lawyer.11Judicial Branch of California. Small Claims in California Most household appliance claims fit comfortably, even with incidental damages tacked on. The trade-offs: you can’t recover attorney fees (because you won’t have one), and you waive anything above the cap. A $2,000 washer works well in small claims. A high-end built-in refrigerator with significant consequential losses may push you into a higher court.
How Long You Have to Sue
The statute of limitations for a warranty breach in California is four years.12Judicial Branch of California. Deadlines to Sue Someone For a written warranty, the clock generally starts when the breach occurs—meaning when the manufacturer fails to repair the defect, not when the appliance first acted up. Courts sometimes apply a discovery rule that delays the start date, but that exception is narrower than people assume and hard to prove.
Treat the clock as running from the date of the last failed repair attempt, and don’t let a strong claim age. Delay also weakens the substantial-impairment argument: if the defect was serious enough to justify a refund, waiting years to act invites the question of why you tolerated it.