“Large manufacturers and industry groups like to flaunt these MOUs as a way of saying, ‘No need to regulate us. No need for new laws. We’re on this,’ ” said Paul Roberts, founder of Secure Repair, an organization of IT and cybersecurity professionals who support the right to repair. “They are purely public relations gestures, almost always intended to head off regulation that the industry in question would rather not see passed.”
The allied repair and automaker groups oppose some proposed legislation but say they would support a law that mirrors their agreement, which they see as extending nearly a decade of cooperation.
The 2014 deal, which came about after Massachusetts passed its own automotive right-to-repair law in 2013, gave shops in all states the same access to diagnostic and repair information that automakers make available to their authorized dealership networks.
Under the new agreement, that access is upheld even as technology evolves, the groups said. It also applies to telematics data needed to diagnose and repair a vehicle and covers all vehicle technologies and powertrains, including battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell.
Additionally, the agreement establishes a forum to resolve issues repairers might have related to the availability of diagnostic and repair information, and a working group to consider any technological advancements that could affect the vehicle repair marketplace.
“There are a number of groups out there and organizations that are delivering a narrative that automakers and repairers aren’t working together to ensure the consumer receives a proper repair,” said Aaron Schulenburg, executive director of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists. “Our three groups … to the contrary, we just experience a different reality.”
Critics suggest that legislation is the most effective remedy.
Roberts said 70 percent of post-warranty vehicle repairs happen at independent repair shops — a statistic often cited by the alliance — because of the legislative efforts in Massachusetts to ensure those shops still have access to the data they need for those repairs.
Absent that law, he said, “it’s unclear whether that would still be the case.”
The Auto Care Association said in an email that it was not consulted about the new agreement and does not support it. Rather, the association claimed the motivation behind it was to “create confusion with drivers and lawmakers that right to repair has been resolved.”
