“What if I told you that some of the biggest car companies in America are lobbying Congress, right now, to make sure that your favorite mechanic cannot repair your vehicle, not because they don’t know how, not because they’re not qualified, not because it is unsafe, but because controlling who repairs your car may become one of the most profitable businesses in the automotive industry.” … “When President Trump emerged from a recent meeting with automotive executives and (he) remarked that he found it strange some industry leaders appeared opposed to Americans repairing their own vehicles, most coverage focused on the politics.” (quoted from Car Coach Reports [CCR])
Motor Vehicle Modernization Act of 2026 (HR.7389) was introduced by Rep. Brett Gutherie in the US House of Representatives in February. By May it surged through the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and is now in front of the US House of Representatives. According to Chat GPT, the purpose of this bill is to modernize the vehicle safety program; update federal motor vehicle safety regulations; update procedures related to safety exemptions and self-driving vehicles; etc. But what Chat doesn’t tell is that within this bill there is a battle over control over information held within the vehicle’s computerized system and the real battle is who profits from that control. According to CCR, “consumers think that the 'right to repair' means that if I buy a vehicle, I should be able to repair it. If I don’t want to go to the dealership, I should be able to go to an independent mechanic and if the mechanic has the training, the equipment and the expertise, they should be able to work on my vehicle.
Modern vehicles are computers on wheels. According to CCR, “they (vehicle’s computerized system) know when systems fail, when maintenance is needed, when sensors stop working, when software requires updating and how systems are preformed and increasingly access to that data information determines whether a repair can happen efficiently.” This is the concept of telematics – (AI definition) technology that combines telecommunications and informatics to collect, transmit, and analyze data from a vehicle. After the car leaves the dealership, it is still connected to the system by software updates, connected services, subscriptions, vehicle data, diagnostics, service programs, maintenance reminders, and remote features.
However, from the time the original bill was introduced into the House of Representative until now, the subcommittee removed anything related to regulating the telematics in the car industry. With no regulations, the car industry will have the power to keep control over who repairs the car after leaving the dealership. If they can put the independent repair shops out of business, it means more profit for them (monopolies).
In 2012, Massachusetts voters approved the ‘Massachusetts Right to Repair Act’ referendum giving vehicle owners and independent repair shops access to the diagnostic and repair information needed to service modern vehicles, instead of limiting that information to manufacturer-authorized dealerships. In 2020 the voters approved an expansion of the first referendum. Initially, the car industry sued the state of Massachusetts stating cyber security risks but eventually all claims were dismissed. This 'experiment" proved that this did not lead to mass cyber issues and problems.
A few years ago, American farmers voiced their frustration and anger that they could not fix their brand-new green tractors that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. This applied to any repair. The owner could replace a burned-out light bulb but in order for the tractor to work, a company serviceman had to reset the tractor’s computer. Negotiations between Farm Bureau and the company came to a "Right to Repair Memorandum of Understanding" which was a step in the right direction.
The issue is, should the owner have the right to fix their own machinery or hire independent mechanics to fix their vehicle or will vehicle companies maintain total control over service revenue, diagnostics, vehicle data, and software subscriptions/updates?
If you believe that vehicle owners should have the right to hire independent service mechanics to fix their vehicles, contact your representatives, Department of Transportation, and National Traffic Safety Administration.