General Motors leads the list, with around 78 vehicles sold per lemon law case in California alone. This means that if you happen to be the buyer 79 you’ll likely be sold a lemon (A defective/irreparable vehicle).
The other way around, it’d take for Toyota to sell 2029 vehicles first to find yourself buying a defective one.
| General Motors |
78
General Motors78 units |
|---|---|
| Jaguar Land Rover North America |
83
Jaguar Land Rover North America83 units 
|
| Fiat Chrysler Automobiles |
107
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles107 units |
| Nissan North America |
115
Nissan North America115 units |
| Ford Motor Company |
148
Ford Motor Company148 units |
| Maserati North America* |
237
Maserati North America*237 units |
| Kia Motors America |
242
Kia Motors America242 units |
| Volkswagen Group of America |
304
Volkswagen Group of America304 units |
| Porsche Cars North America* |
321
Porsche Cars North America*321 units |
| Mercedes-Benz |
324
Mercedes-Benz324 units |
| Hyundai Motor America |
361
Hyundai Motor America361 units |
| BMW of North America |
369
BMW of North America369 units |
| American Honda Motor Company |
476
American Honda Motor Company476 units |
| Volvo Cars of America |
575
Volvo Cars of America575 units |
| Subaru of America |
880
Subaru of America880 units |
| Mitsubishi Motors North America |
982
Mitsubishi Motors North America982 units |
| Tesla* |
1553
Tesla*1553 units |
| Mazda Motor of America |
1571
Mazda Motor of America1571 units |
| Toyota Motor Sales |
2029
Toyota Motor Sales2029 units |
|
The percentage represents the number of lemon law cases field by the number of cars sold within 2018-2021. Of the 100% of cars sold by GM in this period, 1.28% were lemons. And only 0.05% and 0.06% out of the 100% of vehicles sold by Toyota, Tesla & Mazda (consecutively) were defective.
0.05% units
0.11% units
0.21% units
0.06% units
0.33% units
0.10% units
0.28% units
0.17% units
0.41% units
0.06% units
0.31% units
0.31% units
1.20% units
0.42% units
0.27% units
0.67% units
0.87% units
0.94% units
1.28% units
Toyota Motor Sales
Subaru of America
American Honda Motor Company
Tesla*
Volkswagen Group of America
Mitsubishi Motors North America
Hyundai Motor America
Volvo Cars of America
Kia Motors America
Mazda Motor of America
Mercedes-Benz
Porsche Cars North America*
Jaguar Land Rover North America
Maserati North America*
BMW of North America
Ford Motor Company
Nissan North America
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles*
General Motors
| General Motors | 1.28% |
|---|---|
| Jaguar Land Rover North America | 1.20% |
| Nissan North America | 0.87% |
| Ford Motor Company | 0.67% |
| Maserati North America* | 0.42% |
| Kia Motors America | 0.41% |
| Volkswagen Group of America | 0.33% |
| Porsche Cars North America* | 0.31% |
| Mercedes-Benz | 0.31% |
| Hyundai Motor America | 0.28% |
| BMW of North America | 0.27% |
| American Honda Motor Company | 0.21% |
| Volvo Cars of America | 0.17% |
| Subaru of America | 0.11% |
| Mitsubishi Motors North America | 0.10% |
| Tesla* | 0.06% |
| Mazda Motor of America | 0.06% |
| Toyota Motor Sales | 0.05% |
|
| Rank | Parent Company |
Cars sold per lemon case |
Total vehicle registrations, 2018-2021 |
Total lemon cases filed |
% of lemon cases filed per car sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Motors | 78 | 771,809 | 9,892 | 1.28% |
| 2 | Jaguar Land Rover North America | 83 | 85,087 | 1,021 | 1.20% |
| 3 | Fiat Chrysler Automobiles* | 107 | 618,355 | 5,798 | 0.94% |
| 4 | Nissan North America | 115 | 493,957 | 4,308 | 0.87% |
| 5 | Ford Motor Company | 148 | 686,045 | 4,621 | 0.67% |
| 6 | Maserati North America* | 237 | 6,860 | 29 | 0.42% |
| 7 | Kia Motors America | 242 | 276,403 | 1,144 | 0.41% |
| 8 | Volkswagen Group of America | 304 | 331,614 | 1,091 | 0.33% |
| 9 | Porsche Cars North America* | 321 | 58,814 | 183 | 0.31% |
| 10 | Mercedes-Benz | 324 | 300,175 | 927 | 0.31% |
| 11 | Hyundai Motor America | 361 | 274,144 | 760 | 0.28% |
| 12 | BMW of North America | 369 | 295,953 | 803 | 0.27% |
| 13 | American Honda Motor Company | 476 | 963,390 | 2,026 | 0.21% |
| 14 | Volvo Cars of America | 575 | 51,758 | 90 | 0.17% |
| 15 | Subaru of America | 880 | 290,557 | 330 | 0.11% |
| 16 | Mitsubishi Motors North America | 982 | 30,435 | 31 | 0.10% |
| 17 | Tesla* | 1553 | 337,077 | 217 | 0.06% |
| 18 | Mazda Motor of America | 1571 | 175,930 | 112 | 0.06% |
| 19 | Toyota Motor Sales | 2029 | 1,527,887 | 753 | 0.05% |
Data correspond to the 2018-2021 period and it’s based on the records of Lemon Law litigation cases filed in California state courts and new vehicle registrations, including the biggest cities/counties such as Los Angeles, Anaheim, Orange, and San Diego. Even though this is the closest we can get to deciphering which vehicles represent the worst a bad financial decision, it’s important to notice that not all the lemons sold actually go to court.
“Each year, the number of Lemon Law cases filed in California courts represents a small fraction of the state’s total car sales. From 2018 through 2021, for example, Californians registered nearly 7.6 million new passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks, but they filed only 34,397 lemon cases in state courts. That is less than half a percent (0.45%) of new vehicles registered during the same period” – CALPIRG Education Fund and CARS Foundation
