Right to Repair Act

[racer12306]

I became aware of this through another forum I visit, www.montecarloss.com. This seems like a good thing if it goes through. Below is the post that was made at the other site. I am not taking credit for finding out about this act, just spreading the word. You can also go to www.house.gov and search for your representative and send him/her an email. WE WANT THIS TO GET PASSED

The Right to Repair Act wants to make available to car owners and independent repair facilities the information necessary to diagnose and repair new cars.

As most of us either own or will purchase a new car, this legislation affect all of us. If the dealerships get their way, no one will be able to fix your car but them. They are trying to squeeze everyone out.

For example, those that have to undergo ODBII emission inspections, if the check engine light is on, it actomatically fails inspection. The only people who could diagnose the problem and tell you what needs to be done to repair it are the dealerships. We all know the costs, not only money, but time and frustration, invovled in that.

This legislation does not interfere the dealer's right to perform routine services or warranty work. It also does not unconstitutionally take the manufacturers' trade secrets or other properties or require them to disclose them.

All this legislation does is keep the choice in our hands, not theirs.

Right to Repair

Please, everyone, go to this site, and click on the Send a Letter to Congress link, register and send a letter to your congressmen and women. Make your voices heard and make a difference. This time it affects your wallet.

 

[NJC]

Cliff Stearn's comments (house.gov)

I can see the dealer's resistance to this proposed legislation. They can keep a larger share of the repair biz by keeping needed info from the indy shops.

 

[javacontour]

There is a set of common OBD-II codes, so what a code means is pretty much the same for ALL car makers.

Yes there are manufacturer specific codes, but the bulk of the codes are the same.

I don't see OBD-II as making things harder, but easier for repair facilities and the at home DIY. For less than $100, I purchased an interface for my laptop that allows me to read OBD-II codes from any carmaker that has an OBD-II system, foreign or domestic.

Now, I realize that reading the codes is only one part of the problem, knowing the troubleshooting steps is another big piece of the puzzle.

I think the carmakers should be compensated for selling the information needed to service their cars. It cost them money to design the cars as well as develop the repair procedures, so why shouldn't they be allowed to set the terms they give out that information?

I wonder how much repair is really impacted by OBD-II?

Suspension work is not impacted.
Engine mechanical work is not impacted.
Brakes and exhaust are not impacted to a large degree. There may be oxygen sensors and ABS sensors, as well as other ABS parts if they report through the main computer. ABS may report through a seperate computer or through the CAN (Car area network)
Bodywork certainly isn't impacted.

The dealers derive a benefit from buying a franchise from an automaker.

What are indepenent shops willing to pay to get that information?

T

 

[Master ACiD]

obd2 is a BLESSING TO THE MECHANIC! you here me everyone! its a BLESSING!

 

[racer12306]

I understand that OBD-II is a very beneficial setup. This act would allow individuals and independent repair places to purchase the new diagnostic equipment, etc when they come out, so that they can repair cars. It keeps the dealers from forming a "monopoly" of sorts. If this act were to fail there is a possiblity of the dealers and auto manufacturers keeping the rights to all equipment and such, this would keep the little guys out of the market

 

[Pete C.]

http://www.righttorepair.org/

 

[PandaBear]

I think the problem is, the mechanics don't want to buy an $80 manual for every car out there, so they want the auto company to standardize on the codes or putting it on the internet.

I seriously don't think there is any secret out there that can't be found if you search hard enough. Do you care if you run into a error meaning "invalid memory access" or "stack overflow" in your ECU? You can't do anything about it anyways. As long as it says which physical component is bad, it is good enough.

 

[racer12306]

To rephrase:

The passing of this act will maintain the freedom that consumers have to choose who works on their vehicles.

 

[Master ACiD]

kias are just as easy to get parts for as any vehicle. you can drive to any kia dealer in the world and order up ANY parts off ANY kia made in the last 15 years.

 

[Bret Chase]

"I think the problem is, the mechanics don't want to buy an $80 manual for every car out there, so they want the auto company to standardize on the codes or putting it on the internet."

that's why most if not all independants maintain a very expensive subscription to Alldata or Mitchell-on-demand.. to get the info they require. I too don't get what the big deal is. I've never seen a vehicle that could only be serviced at a dealer. independants spend the money to get the tools they need, it's as simple as that.

 

[javacontour]

It seems more emotional that based in any sort of fact. I read the story in Wired by the woman who owned the car that kept giving a gas cap code.

She owns a Kia. Many independent shops won't touch that car, not because of the computer codes, but because Kia's a tough car to get parts.

The article didn't mention that she could go to AutoZone and get her gas cap CEL (or more correctly in OBD-II, the MIL) turned off.

So the run some sort of tear jerking emotional story instead of giving all the facts, that she does have choices, and in fact, for the $120 she spent each time at a dealer, she could have purchased her very own code reader to read and turn off the codes if it was such a hardship.

I think the little guy should be able to work on the vehicles, but I also see how dealerships have spent large sums of money on their service equipment, training, etc, and the dealers and carmakers should NOT be required to just give away the knowledge or tools.

What comes next, the small shops complaining because the cost of those tools and diagnostic computers is too high?

I noticed the bill only addressed "non-emissions" related computers.

T

 

[javacontour]

From the bill

quote:

---

(a) Duty to Disclose- The manufacturer of a motor vehicle sold or introduced into commerce in the United States shall promptly provide to the vehicle owner, or to a repair facility of the motor vehicle owner's choosing, the information necessary to diagnose, service, or repair the vehicle. The motor vehicle manufacturer shall make available all non-emission-related service information, training information, and diagnostic tools on a non-discriminatory basis to any repair facility of the owner's choosing, and shall not not limit such information to those repair facilities within the manufacturers' approved network. The information to be made available shall include the following:

---

So the hapless Kia owner with the gas cap issue gets no relief under this legislation.

T

 

[PandaBear]

I thought OBDII take care of the emission related issue already.

 

[javacontour]

Exactly, so why is the woman with the Kia in the Wired article even an issue?

That story is pure emotion, light on the facts.

T

 

[Jay]

I don't understand the problem. I can buy the same service manual the Acura dealers use and have access to the same repair info they do. I can and do perform all the repairs that I want to do on my car.

The information about OBDII is plain wrong. OBDII is a mostly standardized diagnositic trouble code system that any repair shop can use to troubleshoot any make.

What "problem" is the legislation trying to correct?

 

[PandaBear]

Just out of curiosity, does Mitchell or Alldata have complete info to every models or do manufactures restrict some infos to external? I would imagine the frictions are between Mitchell/Alldata vs. Manufactures regarding to what should be released and what shouldn't.

Or manufacture don't put down written/printed info but say "use tester 3456 and plug into port 1234, and check the error message and follow procedure accordingly".

In that case, it would be Snap-On vs. Manufactures.

 

[sunfire]

Bump

Anyone else seeing signs for "Right to Repair" at your local auto parts store?

All of my local AAP, AZ, and Pepboys have signs up.