Mom invokes lemon law for failing instrument panel

While some in California are fortunate enough to own vehicles just for fun, purchasing a car is a necessity for most consumers. Car buyers, especially parents, look for reliability to get them to work and safety to transport their children. For this reason, they may make the extra investment in a new car. The last thing a hard-working parent needs is to deal with lemon law violations after making numerous trips to the mechanic for repeated repairs on a new vehicle.

Unfortunately for one mother in another state, the purchase of a new vehicle brought just such frustrations. The single mom was proud to buy a Nissan Pathfinder, but the vehicle showed signs of trouble soon after the purchase. The Pathfinder's instrument panel continued to malfunction. Since the instrument panel is the center of many programs within the vehicle, a malfunction often left the driver without many important components.

For example, the woman put the vehicle into drive, but the back-up camera would not go off. As she drove, the camera showed everything that was happening behind the vehicle, creating a dangerous distraction. On the other hand, sometimes the components on the panel would disappear completely so the radio, air conditioning, rear camera and other elements did not function. The woman took the problem to the Nissan service center nearly a dozen times, but the issues have not been resolved.

A new vehicle that has many issues or requires many repairs within a certain period of time may fall under California's lemon law. This law requires the vehicle's manufacturer to repurchase or replace such a vehicle. A manufacturer may be reluctant to comply with this law, so the assistance of an experienced lemon law attorney may prove helpful.