The Massachusetts Senate will consider the Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act on April 5.
The bill would require that car companies make available for purchase the same service information and tools that they provide their franchised dealers.
Unlike other versions of R2R legislation, the new bill will require that, beginning in 2015, car companies maintain electronic sites that contain the same diagnostic and repair information available to dealers. These sites would be available to the aftermarket on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly subscription.
Further, the proposed legislation would mandate that independent repair businesses be able to access the vehicle’s on-board computers for diagnostic and repair purposes through a standardized vehicle interface that meets SAE J2534 standards.
The J2534 standard was developed by OEMs to comply with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requirements that all vehicle programming regarding emissions-related systems be done through a standardized interface. Many manufacturers, such as Toyota, are now using that same interface to perform vehicle diagnostics and repairs, as well.
The move into the senate is the next step in the progression of the Massachusetts Right to Repair ballot measure, which was approved by the commonwealth’s Attorney General in September. The measure was then certified by the Secretary of State after the R2R coalition submitted more than 100,000 signatures from Massachusetts registered voters.
Under the commonwealth’s constitution, the state legislature now has until May 2 to take action to enact right to repair or the measure will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot.
