Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) introduced the Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act into the U.S. Senate last week.
The House version of the bill (HR 2057) was introduced by Reps. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and George Miller (D-CA) and currently has 56 cosponsors.
The Right to Repair Act, according to the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, “protects motoring consumers from a growing and potentially hazardous vehicle repair monopoly by requiring that car companies provide full access at a reasonable cost to all service information, tools, computer codes and safety-related bulletins needed to repair motor vehicles, thus leveling the competitive playing field between dealerships and independent repair shops.”
The legislation also provides automakers with “strong protections for their trade secrets, only requiring them to make available the same diagnostic and repair information they provide their franchised dealers.”
“By introducing right to repair legislation, Sens. Boxer and Brownback have taken important action to ensure that American car owners will continue to have access to a competitive auto repair marketplace, thus ensuring that repair costs don’t price vehicle ownership above the heads of many Americans,” said Kathleen Schmatz, AAIA president and CEO. “This bill keeps motorists in the driver’s seat by making sure that they, and not the vehicle manufacturers, have the final say on where a car is taken for service.”
