Have a Defective Volkswagen?
The California Lemon Law Can Help!

If your Volkswagen has repeated problems that won’t go away, then Volkswagen may have sold you a lemon.

Knight Law Group can help. We can answer any questions you have about your potentially defective Volkswagen. If you decide to go forward with a lemon law case, we can offer free legal representation and help you get cash compensation, a vehicle replacement or a lemon law buyback under the California Lemon Law. Lemon law cases for Volkswagen vehicles are not all the same. However, many Volkswagen vehicles may have similar problems.

Top 8 Volkswagen Issues

Auto manufacturers will sometimes release faulty cars, trucks and other vehicles to the public. Volkswagen is no exception. Owners of Volkswagen vehicles should look out for the following signs:

  • ◦ Loss of Power While Driving
  • ◦ Electrical Issues
  • ◦ Steering Locks Up
  • ◦ Engine Failure
  • ◦ Vehicle Thumps
  • ◦ Transmission Failure
  • ◦ Shudders and Jerks While Driving
  • ◦ Check Engine Light Turns On

If these symptoms or any other vehicle problems repeatedly appear, your Volkswagen may be a lemon. Learn more about what the lemon law can do for you. If you want to seek legal remedies from your auto manufacturer, consult an attorney to discuss your lemon law rights.

How Does The Lemon Law Protect Volkswagen?

Your faulty vehicle may qualify as a “lemon” under the California Lemon Law if it has repeated problems that won’t disappear after a reasonable number of repair attempts.

The California Lemon Law considers vehicle problems to be defects if they negatively impact the vehicles’ use, safety or value. It does not set a number that is considered “reasonable.” If you’d like to know whether you have had a reasonable number of repair attempts, consult with our lemon law attorneys about your case.

Under the California Lemon Law, consumers are eligible for three possible remedies: cash compensation, a replacement vehicle, or a full refund for their vehicle, minus an amount called the “mileage offset.” Monetary compensation usually includes attorneys’ fees and costs.

The statute of limitations is four years from when you first discover a potential defect in your vehicle. If you think your Volkswagen is a lemon, don’t hesitate. Volkswagen, like other auto manufacturers, has a track record of misconduct against consumers. You just might be one of them.

Volkswagen’s Dieselgate

Volkswagen has a notorious track record of defrauding federal and state regulators and consumers alike, for which the automaker is still paying legal consequences.

To date, the most notorious case of Volkswagen’s company-wide fraud is the aptly named “Dieselgate” scandal that came to light in 2015. Volkswagen developed a line of diesel cars that sold well in Europe, and wanted to expand their market to the United States. However, the United States had fairly strict regulation of diesel vehicle emissions such as nitrogen oxide (NOx). Volkswagen struggled to create diesel cars that compiled with American regulations due to a specific trade-off: Volkswagen marketed their diesel cars as being more fuel efficient than gasoline-powered cars. However, restricting toxic emissions from diesel cars could result in a decrease of fuel efficiency, thus defeating the purpose of their appeal. When Volkswagen released a lineup of supposedly clean, fuel-efficient diesel cars, environmental groups aimed to learn just how Volkswagen managed to do it. Instead, such groups discovered evidence of fraud.

Volkswagen’s diesel cars were found to have software that allowed the cars to cheat federal and state emissions tests. When the diesel cars were in test environments, they passed the tests with flying colors. However, when those cars are on the road, the software shuts off emissions controls and allows the diesel cars to emit close to 40 times the legal limit of NOx and other toxic pollutants.

Volkswagen’s misconduct did not stop there. In 2015, the company issued a recall of the diesel cars. As part of the recall, the company installed new cheating software that allowed the diesel cars to fraudulently pass more sophisticated emissions tests. Not only that, Volkswagen set up a research company in order to carry out fraudulent research on the effects of diesel pollutants on human health.

Volkswagen only came clean about the cheat devices after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) threatened not to certify its 2016 lineups for sale in the United States. In court, Volkswagen had fought to exclude mentions of the fraudulent research attempts. In public, Volkswagen representatives initially tried to claim that rogue employees were responsible for the installation of cheating. However, Volkswagen later plead guilty and was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, wire fraud, violation of the Clean Air Act, obstruction of justice, and importation of goods by false statement.

The settlement to the lawsuit filed against Volkswagen cost the automaker $14.7 billion. Roughly $10 billion went to compensating American owners of Volkswagen diesel vehicles. Volkswagen offered some consumers to have their cars fixed as part of the settlement. However, some consumers who received the fix quickly noticed that the fix caused their Volkswagen Passat diesel models to not start at all.

Along with Volkswagen as a division, Volkswagen Group also controls Audi. Read the other division’s page to learn more about the parent company’s misconduct via its other brands.

Our Experience Against Volkswagen Makes The Difference

If your Volkswagen has a recurring defect that the dealership could not fix, contact us to learn more about your lemon law rights. Knight Law Group has represented thousands of clients in cases against major automakers and obtained large settlements. Our services come at no charge to you if you win.

If you think your Volkswagen is a lemon, email us or call us at 877-222-2222 for a free consultation. You have rights. Take action now!