Los Angeles Chevy Silverado Lemon Law

Chevy Silverado Lemon Law Attorney in Los Angeles

The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is one of GM’s highest-volume trucks. It is also the subject of a major 2025 federal recall covering more than 107,000 units for L87 V8 engine failure — a defect where the engine seizes without any warning sign. If your Silverado has been in and out of the dealer for engine problems, powertrain failures, or repeated unfixable defects, California law gives you the right to demand a refund or replacement.

At The Lemon Law Guys | Johnson & Buxton, Derek Johnson and Jonathan Buxton spent years defending General Motors and its dealers before they switched to representing consumers. That inside knowledge of GM’s litigation strategy is your advantage. Get a free case review today.

Does Your Chevy Silverado Qualify as a Lemon?

California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1790-1795.7) and the Tanner Consumer Protection Act (Cal. Civ. Code § 1793.22) establish the standard. A legal presumption of a lemon applies if, within the first 18 months or 18,000 miles of original delivery:

• GM or an authorized dealer has attempted to repair the same defect four or more times without a lasting fix.
• A defect that could cause death or serious bodily injury — such as sudden engine seizure at highway speed — has gone unresolved after two or more repair attempts.
• The truck has been out of service for 30 or more cumulative days due to warranty repairs.

Under AB 1755 (effective January 1, 2025), the statute of limitations runs one year after your warranty expires. Missing this deadline can end your claim. Speak with a Los Angeles Silverado lemon law attorney now to protect your rights.

Silverado L87 Engine Recall and NHTSA Complaint Data

In January 2025, NHTSA opened preliminary investigation PE25001 covering approximately 877,710 GM vehicles equipped with the 6.2-liter L87 V8 engine. By April 2025, GM had issued a formal safety recall.

Sources: NHTSA Investigation INOA-PE25001; GM Part 573 Recall Report N252494000, April 2025.

Owners who have already had the recall repair performed and are still experiencing engine problems should be aware that NHTSA subsequently expanded its investigation after receiving an additional 499 complaints from vehicles that had allegedly already received the remedy.

Common Chevy Silverado Defects in Los Angeles

• L87 V8 engine seizure: The connecting rod bearing fails, causing the engine to seize abruptly — often while passing at highway speed, with no prior warning light or symptom.
• Engine bearing failure causing connecting rod breach: In severe cases, the connecting rod penetrates the engine block, destroying the engine and requiring full replacement.
• Loss of propulsion at speed: 14,332 of GM’s own field complaints specifically describe sudden loss of drive power, an immediate crash risk on Southern California freeways.
• Repeat “no fault found” diagnoses: Some dealers initially return trucks as repaired when no defect code was stored. GM field data shows this pattern across thousands of vehicles before the root cause was identified.
• Delayed parts availability: Post-recall repair wait times have been extended in Los Angeles due to high demand for replacement engine components, pushing trucks past the 30-day out-of-service threshold.

A truck sitting at the dealer for more than 30 cumulative days for warranty repairs — even across multiple visits — qualifies under California’s lemon law regardless of whether the underlying defect is ever fixed. Calculate your out-of-service days with our free case review.

Your Rights Under California Lemon Law

Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1793.2(d), if GM cannot repair a warranty-covered defect within a reasonable number of attempts, you are entitled to either:

• A full cash refund: Original purchase price, taxes, registration, and finance charges paid, minus a mileage-based usage offset calculated from original delivery to the first defect report.
• A replacement vehicle: A new, comparable Silverado at no cost to you.

GM must also pay your attorney fees and costs under Cal. Civ. Code § 1794(d). You pay nothing out of pocket.

Why Former GM Defense Attorneys Win More Silverado Cases

GM assigns in-house counsel and outside firms to defend lemon law claims. Those attorneys know that most consumers do not understand what repair records are required or how to document out-of-service days. They use that information gap.

Derek Johnson and Jonathan Buxton used to be on GM’s side of that table. They know every argument GM uses to dispute engine defect claims, including the “no defect found” technique, the “repaired under recall” offset argument, and the mileage calculation dispute. Now they shut those arguments down on behalf of Los Angeles Silverado owners.

Speak with a Chevy Silverado lemon law attorney who knows GM’s defense from the inside.

How to Start Your Los Angeles Silverado Lemon Law Claim

1. Pull every repair order. Request copies from the dealer and keep the originals. Pay close attention to repair orders marked “unable to duplicate” — those still count toward your repair attempt total.
2. Check whether your truck falls in the L87 recall range. Model year 2021-2024 with the 6.2L engine qualifies. The recall VIN lookup is at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
3. Track out-of-service days. Every day the dealer holds your truck for a warranty repair counts, including days waiting for parts.
4. Contact The Lemon Law Guys before the deadline. Under AB 1755, the statute of limitations is shorter than most owners realize.

Frequently Asked Questions

My Silverado already had the L87 recall repair. Can I still file a lemon law claim if the problem came back?

Yes. A recall repair that fails to fix the defect counts as a repair attempt. NHTSA received 499 additional complaints from Silverado owners who experienced engine failure after the recall remedy was applied. Each failed repair attempt — including the recall service — brings you closer to the legal threshold under Cal. Civ. Code § 1793.22.

The dealer says my engine failure was caused by a lack of maintenance. Does that end my claim?

Not automatically. If GM cannot demonstrate through proper documentation that owner negligence — not a manufacturing defect — caused the failure, the lemon law claim can proceed. This is a common defense argument. An attorney experienced with GM engine defect cases can counter it effectively.

I leased my 2023 Silverado. Am I still protected under California lemon law?

Yes. The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act protects both buyers and lessees of new vehicles. The remedy calculation differs slightly for leases, but the legal threshold and process are the same.

What if GM argues the engine failure is a “manufacturing anomaly” rather than a design defect?

That argument does not remove your lemon law rights. California law requires GM to fix the defect, not to debate its cause. If GM cannot repair the truck within the statutory number of attempts, you qualify for a refund or replacement regardless of what GM calls the defect.