karazuba

anyone out there with any lemon law knowledege or experience they would be willing to share?

let me give you the backstory:

on my 2005 GT, the popping noise from the front suspension starts. SOO...

Trip 1 to dealer, week 6 of ownership: they investigate the problem, diagnose as bad strut bearing (after me asking them to check), have to order parts, will take a week, keeps car all day

Trip 2, week 7: replace strut bearing. car makes noise immediatley upon exiting parking lot. (they never test drove it to check to see if the work was correctly completed). drive right back in, dealer admits car still makes noise, but on side they didn't replace. schedules new appt, orders new part.

Trip 3, week 9: replace other side strut bearing. things seem to be fine.

Now is week 12 of ownership and less than 1700 miles (yes, i work <5 miles from home)....and the popping noise is back! just as it happened before, I noticed it faintly, and now it is becomes louder and more frequent.

Now, I really don't want to actually get rid of my car, I just want to know my options so that I am well informed when I politely tell my dealer that they have one more chance before I take them to court. In looking at some sites that talk about the CA lemon law, there is no specific number of visits for a problem, nor a clear description of what consitutes a lemon. However, given that this is an important mechanical and safety part (suspension is pretty darn important!), it would seem by the sites I read that i might have groud to stand on,

Again, I don't want to get rid of the car, but I want to make sure the dealer knows I know as much about my rights as I do about my car. anyone care to help a friend in need?

Thanks!

Higgie

Interesting question. Here in Indiana I was told by a friend that you had to have a clear and unresolved safety issue to even have a chance. While I don't know if this is true, it does seem logical. You noted that the struts are part of the safety of the vehicle. While this seems obvious when considered as potential of complete failure, I wonder if an anoying poping noise can clearly be linked to that level of potential failure??

Best of luck with the resolution of your problem. I have had my 05 for 1 month, but have only logged 800 miles. So far so good.

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Lubricant

I would be glad that a noise is the only problem... They will solve the problem.. Sometimes you just get parts replaced with other parts from the same batch with the same problem, and they dont even know or realize... Have a 2nd dealer check the car.. Explain to them, and say you want them to try it because you heard their service is superior.. butter em up... They all get paid the same for warranty work, and the techs will want to check out a mustang..