Nissan is one of the most sued automakers in California lemon law litigation. A three-year California study found 4,308 lemon law cases filed against Nissan — a volume that places it among the top handful of defendants in Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act cases statewide. CVT transmission defects across multiple model lines have been the dominant driver of that litigation, generating both individual lemon law claims and consolidated class actions. If you need to serve Nissan in California, the process is well-established, but the entity name matters.
The Correct Legal Entity
The correct entity name is Nissan North America, Inc. This is the U.S. subsidiary of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., the Japanese parent company. Nissan North America, Inc. is a California corporation headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee. It is the entity responsible for importing, distributing, marketing, and providing warranty service for Nissan and Infiniti vehicles in the United States.
Do not name “Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.” as the sole defendant in a California lemon law case — that is the Japanese parent and would require international service under the Hague Convention, which is both time-consuming and procedurally complex. For California vehicle defect cases, Nissan North America, Inc. is the correct defendant.
If your case involves an Infiniti vehicle, note that Infiniti was previously operated as a separate subsidiary but Nissan North America, Inc. is now the entity that handles Infiniti warranty and litigation matters in the U.S. Verify the current structure for your specific facts.
Search bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov to confirm the current registered agent before serving.
Where to Serve
Registered agent: CT Corporation System
Address: 330 N. Brand Blvd., Suite 700, Glendale, CA 91203
CT Corporation System is the registered agent for Nissan North America, Inc. in California. The Glendale office at 330 N. Brand Boulevard accepts service of process for Nissan and thousands of other California-registered corporations. Suite 700 is on the seventh floor. Service is accepted during normal business hours.
For more on CT Corporation’s role and service procedures, see our CT Corporation service page.
What Documents Are Commonly Served
Nissan’s California litigation is concentrated in vehicle defect and warranty law, with labor claims as a secondary category:
• Lemon law complaints — Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act cases are the dominant category. The CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) defect affecting Nissan Altima, Rogue, Sentra, Pathfinder, Murano, and Versa models has been the single largest driver of lemon law filings against Nissan over the past several years. Documented defects include shuddering, hesitation, overheating, and premature failure. Nissan has faced both individual lemon law claims and certified class actions over these transmissions.
• CVT class action complaints — Multiple class actions are pending in California and federal courts alleging that Nissan concealed known CVT defects from consumers. These are served on the registered agent.
• Product liability complaints — Beyond CVT issues, claims involving Takata airbag inflator defects (Nissan was one of several automakers subject to the largest automotive recall in U.S. history), fuel system problems, and structural defects.
• Subpoenas for warranty and repair records — Attorneys in lemon law cases regularly subpoena Nissan’s warranty database and repair order histories to establish the number of repair attempts.
• PAGA and employment actions — Labor code violation claims from Nissan dealership employees and corporate staff.
How We Handle It
CT Corporation’s Glendale office is one of the most active registered agent service locations in Southern California, and our servers handle it regularly. For Nissan service, we confirm the entity name — Nissan North America, Inc. — matches what is on the complaint before presenting documents to CT’s intake staff. A mismatch between the named defendant and the registered entity can create proof of service issues that complicate the case.
For CVT class actions that require concurrent service on multiple defendants, we coordinate multi-location service efficiently to avoid scheduling delays.
Service Level | Timeframe | Price
Standard | 10 business days | \$99
Expedited | 3 business days | \$150
Rush | 24 hours | \$175
Court Filing Add-on | — | +\$30
