Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sam Brownback (R-KS) recently introduced the Motor Vehicle Owners Right to Repair Act. This legislation will give consumers the freedom to choose auto repair shops for their vehicles, and it will allow independent repair shops to compete on a level playing field with other facilities.
Senator Boxer said, “Consumers should have choices about where to take their cars for repair or maintenance. The Right to Repair Act gives customers more options by making it easier for independent repair shops to compete. During these tough times, it’s critical that we support small businesses and consumers — this legislation does both.”
Senator Brownback said, “The Right to Repair Act will allow consumers greater choice of where to take their cars for repairs and maintenance work. This legislation is also beneficial for smaller, independent auto repair shops that are currently unable to access some information about the cars when that data is held exclusively at the dealership.”
Electronics control most vehicles’ vital functions, including brakes, airbags, ignition and other operating systems. However, many local independent shop owners find that the information they receive from manufacturers is incomplete, which complicates the repair process and hurts consumers, who may have to travel far or pay premium prices for complete service.
The Right to Repair Act would require car manufacturers to provide to all repair shops the access codes, repair instructions, tools, equipment, and other information necessary to diagnose, service and maintain their vehicles. Manufacturers must provide the same information to independent repair shops as they provide to authorized dealers.
There are more than 200,000 independent repair shops in the United States, employing hundreds of thousands of American workers.
Representatives Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and George Miller (D-CA) introduced a similar bill, H.R. 2057, in the House of Representatives last April. It currently has more than 50 cosponsors.
