California Lemon Law: RVs, Motorhomes, and Motorcycles

Q: Does California lemon law cover RVs and motorhomes?

Partly. The chassis, engine, and drivetrain of a motorhome are covered under California's new motor vehicle lemon law provisions, but the portion designed or used primarily for human habitation is expressly excluded from that definition.

Q: Are motorcycles covered by California lemon law?

No. Motorcycles are excluded from the new motor vehicle definition in Civil Code section 1793.22(e)(2), so the vehicle-specific presumption test does not apply to them. Ordinary breach of warranty claims may still be available.

Last reviewed September 10, 2026.

Motorhomes: covered, but only partly

A motorhome is included in the definition of “new motor vehicle” under Civil Code §1793.22(e)(2) — but with an important carve-out. The law explicitly excludes the portion of a motorhome designed, used, or maintained primarily for human habitation — meaning the living-quarters build-out.

In practice, this generally means:

Covered: the chassis, engine, drivetrain, and other components that make the vehicle itself run — the same categories of defects that would matter on a car or truck.
Not covered under the “new motor vehicle” lemon law provisions: appliances, plumbing, cabinetry, slide-outs, and other habitation-related systems — problems here are more likely to fall under ordinary breach-of-warranty or Song-Beverly’s general consumer-goods provisions (§1793.2) rather than the vehicle-specific Tanner Act presumption.

This split matters because many motorhome complaints — a leaking roof, a malfunctioning generator, appliance failures — fall on the “habitation” side of the line. A drivetrain, transmission, or chassis defect on the same vehicle would be treated more like an ordinary vehicle lemon law claim.

Motorcycles: excluded

Motorcycles are excluded from the “new motor vehicle” definition and its lemon law remedies entirely. If you have a defective motorcycle, you’re generally limited to ordinary breach-of-warranty claims under the general provisions of the Song-Beverly Act or the Uniform Commercial Code, rather than the vehicle-specific presumption test described in requirements.

Off-highway vehicles

A motor vehicle that isn’t registered under the Vehicle Code because it’s used exclusively off-highway also falls outside the “new motor vehicle” lemon law provisions.

If your situation is mixed

If you have an RV with both a habitation problem and a drivetrain problem, don’t assume the whole vehicle is excluded — the drivetrain issue may independently qualify even if the habitation issue doesn’t. This is exactly the kind of fact pattern worth having reviewed directly rather than self-assessed — use the case evaluation form.

Frequently asked questions

Does California lemon law cover RVs and motorhomes? Partly. The chassis, engine, and drivetrain are covered under the “new motor vehicle” provisions, but the portion designed or used primarily for human habitation — the living quarters build-out — is expressly excluded from that definition.

Are motorcycles covered by California lemon law? No. Motorcycles are excluded from the “new motor vehicle” definition in Civil Code §1793.22(e)(2), so the vehicle-specific presumption test doesn’t apply. Ordinary breach-of-warranty claims may still be available.

What if my RV problem is in the living area, not the engine? Habitation-side problems — appliances, plumbing, cabinetry, slide-outs — generally fall outside the “new motor vehicle” lemon law provisions, but may still be covered by Song-Beverly’s general consumer-goods warranty provisions under §1793.2.

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Sources

Civil Code §1793.22(e)(2) — leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.

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