Consumer warranty protection: express warranties.

Under existing law, every manufacturer making an express warranty with respect to an electronic or appliance product, including, among others, televisions, radios, audio or video recording equipment, major home appliances, antennas, and rotators, with a wholesale price to the retailer of not less than $50 nor more than $99.99 is required to make available to service and repair facilities sufficient service literature and functional parts to effect the repair of the product for at least 3 years after the date a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the 3-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product. Existing law also requires every manufacturer making an express warranty with respect to an electronic or appliance product, as described above, with a wholesale price to the retailer of $100 or more, to make available to service and repair facilities sufficient service literature and functional parts to effect the repair of the product for at least 7 years after the date a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the 7-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product. This bill would instead require the manufacturer, in the above-described circumstances and timeframes, to make available sufficient service literature, at no charge, and functional parts, on fair and reasonable terms, as defined, to owners of the equipment or products, service and repair facilities, and service dealers. The bill would also expand the category of products to which these provisions apply to include certain accessories used in connection with an antenna or rotator installation or repair, computer systems, video games, and direct satellite signal receiving equipment. The bill would specify that its provisions are not to be construed to require a manufacturer to divulge a trade secret, as defined.