Lemon Lensby Meru AIPublic data. Clear context.

For lemon-law media buyers

Build around the right vehicle story.

Turn model years, repair patterns and manufacturer documents into a sharper campaign brief. Give the buyer a specific question to test, with the source and legal qualifiers in view.

Explore the evidence Discuss a research brief ↗
Model-year scope mattersIONIQ 5 · Reviewed recall
IONIQ 5 model years and the reviewed recallRecall 24V868 lists specified 2022 through 2024 IONIQ 5 vehicles, not 2025 IONIQ 5. Recent 2024 and 2025 California report counts are 34 and 65. Reports are not verified defects.IONIQ 5Recall 24V868 scopeRecent CA reports2022Listed years*Not shown2023Listed years*Not shown2024Listed years*342025Not listed65
*Specified vehicles within production/VIN limits. Recent CA reports: October 29, 2025–October 28, 2026. A report is not a verified defect or a qualified case. Recall 24V868
Research edition · October 29, 2026Complaints through October 28; CEC sales through September 30, 2026. Campaign performance has not been measured.

Build the brief

Choose the repair context. Refine the campaign.

The same vehicle name can cover different configurations and legal histories. Separate those groups before choosing keywords or writing a landing page.

Observed evidence

65 reports do not extend a recall.

The 2025 IONIQ 5 has 65 recent California-consumer reports, including 54 with electrical-system labels. Reviewed recall 24V868 lists 2022–2024 IONIQ 5 vehicles, with production and VIN limits.

Distinct ODI reports received October 29, 2025–October 28, 2026. Component labels can overlap.

NHTSA complaint data Recall 24V868
Campaign hypothesis

Keep the recall group precise.

Compare a scope-correct ICCU information page with general EV problem copy for otherwise comparable eligible traffic. Keep 2025 IONIQ 5 inquiries on a separate evidence path.

Qualify the inquiry

  • Exact model year, VIN and configuration
  • Warranty and actual repair opportunities
  • Recurring symptoms, days unavailable and manufacturer communications

Measure: Wrong-year inquiry share, attorney acceptance and signed matters after lag.

A recall does not establish repeated failed repair or individual lemon-law eligibility. Model year is not the sale date.

Refresh the vehicle brief

Newer model years.
A clearer research queue.

There is more to investigate than the 2022 F-150. These 2024–2026 cohorts have recent California-consumer reports. Use the last 90 days to see recency, then review the exact configuration and repair evidence.

Distinct ODI complaint IDs · received October 29, 2025–October 28, 2026. Last 90 days: July 31–October 28, 2026. All problem types.
Vehicle / model yearCA reports · 365 daysCA reports · last 90 daysEvidence to review
HONDA PROLOGUE20249015Owner notice and exact recall scope; verify repair availability and repeat failures.
TESLA MODEL Y20268928Complaint discovery cohort. A recurring mechanism and historical-outcome link have not been verified.
HYUNDAI IONIQ 52025653Separate ICCU scope from the narrow 26V068 busbar-bolt recall.
JEEP WRANGLER2024466Complaint discovery cohort. A recurring mechanism and historical-outcome link have not been verified.
HONDA PROLOGUE2025412Owner notice and exact recall scope; verify repair availability and repeat failures.
TOYOTA SIENNA HYBRID2025362Complaint discovery cohort. A recurring mechanism and historical-outcome link have not been verified.
HYUNDAI IONIQ 52024346Separate ICCU scope from the narrow 26V068 busbar-bolt recall.
TESLA MODEL Y2024255Complaint discovery cohort. A recurring mechanism and historical-outcome link have not been verified.

The first 20 cohorts were selected by raw report count, with two added for scoped document review. Reports cover all alleged problems, not just the mechanisms below. Reporting lag, time on the road and voluntary reporting differ. Counts are not defect rates, a trend test, search forecasts or a case-value ranking.

NHTSA complaints ↗

Choose the market

Where are these vehicles?

Use county-level model footprints to choose markets to investigate. CEC’s registration analysis locates vehicles by mailing address. It does not identify owners with legal claims.

Preliminary Q1–Q3 2026 sales · all vehicle model years

3,988 Honda Prologue vehicles across California counties in this measure. 2 records with an out-of-state mailing address are excluded from the total and shares.

CEC new ZEV sales workbook ↗CEC methods and dates ↗
What the geography supports

Compare model footprints within a market, then obtain dated keyword forecasts and test your own intake outcomes. Sales year is not vehicle model year. Sales and population are different measures and must not be added together.

These county tables identify make and model for ZEVs. The ZIP tables identify fuel type, without make or model. We do not distribute county model counts across ZIPs or treat this as a model-year defect-rate denominator. Gas F-150 geography remains unavailable at model level in the sources reviewed.

Honda Prologue · California counties

January–September 2026 new sales. Shares use the California total for this model and measure.

Counties ordered by vehicle count, not legal merit or buying priority.
CountyVehiclesCA share
Los Angeles1,35434%
Orange40710.2%
San Diego3238.1%
Santa Clara2155.4%
Riverside2105.3%
Sacramento2045.1%
San Bernardino1624.1%
Alameda1543.9%

Connect the evidence

Follow the mechanism
across model years.

A useful bridge needs more than a familiar badge or a large published recovery. Separate a documented continuation from a different defect, and keep the earlier legal resolution’s scope intact.

01 · Documented expansion for investigation

Honda idle-stop: an explicit bridge to newer years

Earlier evidence

A signed May 20, 2026 order approves the idle-stop settlement for specified 2015–2021 Honda/Acura vehicles with an NP0 engine, nine-speed automatic and AIS. Relief includes repair changes and eligible reimbursements. Honda admits no wrongdoing; this is not an individual buyback-value benchmark.

Newer vehicle evidence

NHTSA EA25004 explicitly expands to newer, substantially similar vehicles, listing Pilot, Odyssey, Passport, Ridgeline, TLX and MDX through 2025. ODI reports continued complaints after campaign countermeasures. The retained investigation table has no closure date.

Use in the brief: Investigate actual no-restart symptoms, configuration and failed repairs in newer vehicles. Odyssey and 2025 vehicles are outside this settlement class. Older class vehicles need release/opt-out review; the past-cost deadline has passed. A shared investigation does not establish the same root cause or predict success.

NHTSA EA25004 opening ↗Honda signed final approval order ↗Honda settlement terms and dates ↗
02 · Different documented mechanism

F-150: keep the newer defect separate

Earlier evidence

The 2022 F-150 firm page reports a $165,000 offer, with acceptance and payment unverified. The older 10R80 bulletin has a specific non-hybrid model-year/build scope. Its application to the reported offer vehicle was not verified.

Newer vehicle evidence

Recall 25V164 includes specified 2024–2025 F-150s with an incorrectly machined valve body. Its 269 potential units cover all listed models nationally, not 269 F-150s or California vehicles. This differs from the older CDF-sleeve problem.

Use in the brief: Use a separate configuration/VIN inquiry. The newer evidence does not transfer the older offer amount or prove that a 2025–2026 F-150 shares the older defect.

2022 F-150 offer report ↗Ford TSB 24-2254 ↗Ford recall 25V164 ↗
03 · Narrow newer recall, different mechanism

IONIQ 5: 2025–2026 needs its own evidence

Earlier evidence

ICCU recall 24V868 lists specified 2022–2024 IONIQ 5 vehicles. A complaint about a newer model does not extend that campaign.

Newer vehicle evidence

Recall 26V068 separately covers 21 specific 2025–2026 IONIQ 5 vehicles and six IONIQ 9s nationally. It concerns under-tightened high-voltage battery busbar bolts after rework. The filing reported no field incidents at that time.

Use in the brief: Check the narrow VIN/build scope and repair history. Do not attribute all 65 recent California 2025 IONIQ 5 reports to this recall or describe it as ICCU carryover.

ICCU recall 24V868 ↗Hyundai recall 26V068 ↗
04 · Verified year/build boundary

Kia piston rings: extend only as far as the document

Earlier evidence

The reviewed pilot includes a firm-reported 2021 Seltos verdict. Its VIN and precise root-cause match to the recall were not verified.

Newer vehicle evidence

Kia recall 25V099 lists specified 2021–2023 Seltos and Soul vehicles with 2.0L Nu MPI engines and constrained production dates. The document describes a piston-ring quality issue and subsequent engine-supplier changes.

Use in the brief: A scoped 2023 research cohort may be justified. This document does not support applying the same issue to 2025–2026 Kia vehicles or transferring a past verdict amount.

2021 Seltos firm-reported verdict ↗Kia recall 25V099 ↗
What would validate a prediction of future case success?

Build a dated cohort of accepted, rejected, lost and resolved matters, with exact vehicle configuration, warranty and transaction facts, repair attempts, days out of service and the problem that remained after repair. Record class releases and manufacturer procedure branches. Keep gross awards separate from collected firm contribution.

Link those matters to the evidence available at intake, then evaluate on later matters held out by time. Compare with a simple baseline and report calibration, uncertainty and missing cases. Our selected published outcomes and public complaint counts cannot yet estimate success probability, expected recovery or acquisition value.

Consumer city coverage and the DMV date discrepancy

We resolve locality names for 7,697 of 8,368 recent California reports (92%). The remaining 671 stay unresolved. This verifies a reported locality name, not an address or incident location. The complaint file has dealer ZIPs, without consumer ZIPs.

The DMV catalog labels one resource January 1, 2026, but all 678,982 rows in the downloaded file say December 31, 2024. We excluded it from the current-market view. No consumer city was converted to a county, and no dealer ZIP was substituted for consumer geography.

NHTSA complaints ↗DMV fuel-count catalog ↗
Download current vehicles & geography (JSON) ↓

The evidence register

Know what each number can support.

Keep the record grain, date window and missing information beside every claim. These are source-backed research observations.

Lemon Lens · Fixed October 28, 2026 research cut
ObservationWhat was countedBoundary
Recent California context8,368 reportsDistinct California-consumer ODI IDs received October 29, 2025–October 28, 2026.
NHTSA complaint data 		Reports are not unique defective vehicles, search demand or qualified claims.
Model-year research cohorts40 retained groupsModel years 2021–2026 with at least ten recent CA reports; top 40 by raw count.
NHTSA complaint data 		Discovery order only. No sales denominator or acquisition-value ranking.
Usable reported mileage1,143 of 8,368Self-reported mileage above zero and at most 1,000,000 under the existing cleaning rules.
NHTSA complaint data 		86.3% lack usable mileage. Mileage does not establish warranty coverage.
F-150 published outcomeOffer status retainedThe reviewed firm page describes a $165,000 settlement offer.
F-150 offer report 		No acceptance or payment was verified. It is not a paid-settlement benchmark.
Why a large verdict does not identify the best vehicle to advertise

Selected firm results can include restitution, civil penalties, interest, fees or punitive damages under different legal theories. Our expanded pilot is not representative of accepted, rejected and losing matters. Purchase basis and repair history matter, but no vehicle-level expected acquisition value has been validated.

F-150 offer report California CIV 1794

Put the research to work

One clear question.
One testable change.

Choose an evidence-backed topic your counsel accepts. Keep the campaign comparison narrow enough to explain the result.

  1. Define the evidence context

    Pin the source, date window, record grain and exact entity. Preserve contradictory facts and missing information.

  2. Change one part of the campaign

    Compare a specific information page or qualification flow with a concurrent control. Keep geography, intake coverage and the outcome definition comparable.

  3. Follow the matter through intake

    Deduplicate inquiries, record attorney acceptance and allow time for signing. Reallocate only when mature economics, uncertainty and capacity support the decision.

The buying decision

Work back from
a signed matter.

Use your firm’s economics to calculate an acquisition ceiling. A public settlement amount cannot supply these inputs.

Inputs stay in this page’s memory. They are not sent to us or an ad platform.

Add all five inputs to calculate a ceiling.

Calculation and assumptions

Target CPL = signed-per-lead × expected contribution × (1 − retained share) − intake cost per lead. Target CPC = lead-per-click × target CPL. Negative ceilings display as zero. When signed-per-lead is zero, cost per signed matter is undefined.

Contribution incorporates expected noncollection, case costs and timing. Fixed overhead, uncertain conversion rates and additional acquisition costs need separate review. This calculator does not estimate legal merit, recovery or incremental return.

Sources and scope

Open the evidence.

This research combines the retained October 28 NHTSA snapshot, CEC county model footprints, scoped manufacturer documents and selected legal outcomes. Complaint windows, sales periods and on-road population dates remain separate. A matched model-year defect-rate denominator, keyword forecast and observed campaign return remain unavailable.

Download the research brief (JSON) ↓
Primary sources and counting methods
  • NHTSA complaint data

    Aggregate calculations use the retained October 28, 2026 source snapshot and fixed received-date window; consumer state and incident location remain distinct.

  • Recall 24V868

    Manufacturer report: specified 2022–2024 IONIQ 5 and 2023–2025 IONIQ 6 vehicles. Exact production/VIN scope matters.

  • Ford TSB 24-2254

    August 23, 2024; specified non-hybrid 10R80 vehicles and build dates. First 12 of 17 PDF pages retrieved, including applicability/action.

  • Prologue owner notice

    July 2026 camera notice. Its dated parts forecast is not a current availability determination.

  • F-150 offer report

    Firm-reported offer only. Acceptance, finality and payment not verified.

  • California CIV 1793.22

    Tanner presumption and definitions; individual qualification requires legal review.

  • California CIV 1794

    Remedies, conditional civil penalties, costs and fees are separate from a headline recovery.

  • DCA procedure guidance

    Review manufacturer elections, transaction facts and applicable effective dates before campaign copy.

The download includes the public claims, sources and four campaign hypotheses. Raw narratives, personal information and private research archives are excluded. Retrieved documents and current snapshots cannot establish what was publicly known before a historical incident.

Legal qualification and advertising boundaries

A lawyer must review transaction, warranty, repair, notice and timing facts. The 18-month/18,000-mile Tanner window is a rebuttable presumption with conditions, not a universal claim deadline. Used/CPO warranty and manufacturer-election branches require separate review; historical wins do not decide current eligibility.

Health and abuse-related promotions have platform targeting and data-use restrictions. Use eligible query/context campaigns and review each creative, landing page and measurement method. Sensitive intake belongs in restricted first-party systems. Public records are context, not a person-level audience list.

Google personalized advertising policy ↗ · California advertising requirements ↗

What would establish acquisition performance?

A dated keyword/auction export, mature deduplicated intake cohorts, attorney acceptance and signed outcomes, actual firm contribution inputs, and a prespecified concurrent comparison. Track pending matters and conversion lag. Public counts supply none of those ad-performance inputs.

No campaign was launched for this research. CPC, acquisition cost and incremental return remain unmeasured. Qualified and signed-matter details must not be exported to an ad platform without a method-specific policy and privacy review.

Start with a buying decision

Bring the model. Build a better brief.

Bring the geography, topic and decision you want to test. We’ll discuss an aggregate brief with dated sources and clear limits.

Email Meru AI ↗Explore the public directory

Public records stay public. A research brief does not promise legal eligibility or campaign results.