Court upholds government order for Chevrolet dealer to replace ‘lemon’ vehicle

By VJ Bacungan, for Automart.PH

METRO MANILA, – The Court of Appeals (CA) upheld on June 7, 2022 a government order for Chevrolet Carmona to replace a defective unit it sold in 2013.

The court said in its resolution that the dealership 'failed to illustrate that the DTI committed grave abuse of discretion' and that 'the judgment of the DTI was firmly grounded on the facts and the law.'

The dealership, based in Cavite, had filed an appeal to overturn the CA’s original July 22, 2021 ruling, which upheld the order of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to replace a “lemon” vehicle.

The appellate court noted that the dealership sold Corazon Reyes a vehicle on June 2013, which was brought back on Nov. 5, 2014 under the car’s five-year warranty.

The owner said she had problems with the “check engine” light turning on and the sudden downshifting of gears. The dealership then conducted an inspection, telling Reyes that there were no defects.

However, the problems occurred again after a few days, after which the dealer told Reyes that the transmission control module was replaced. When the car’s problems still persisted, Reyes filed a complaint at the DTI office in Laguna, which ordered the replacement.

Under Republic Act 10642 or the “Philippine Lemon Law,” a brand-new car may be replaced if the dealer fails to fix it after at least four attempts in a year.

Automart.PH has reached out to Chevrolet Carmona for comment, but the dealer has not responded as of posting.