You won't see mechanics marching in ticker-tape parades like whoever wins the Super Bowl on Sunday, but as drivers, we scored a quiet victory earlier this month. A total of 23 automakers and thousands of independent garages and chain shops, after a 13-year legal fight over access to manufacturer repair tools, have called a truce. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Association of Global Automakers, and two aftermarket groups signed a memorandum agreeing to a "Right to Repair." Now, when the airbag sensor on your Volvo S80 fails, you can choose whether to drop $1000 at a franchised dealer or your favorite shop; and if you choose the latter, the automaker can't force you to complete the work at a dealer.
Word for word, the MOU is nearly identical to the Right to Repair bill signed into Massachusetts law in November. It stipulates that automakers must make the same diagnostic and repair tools—specifically, the computerized tools essential to working on modern cars—available to independent shops as they are to dealers. They'll have to offer aftermarket repair tools through licensed suppliers and ensure they're sold on "fair and reasonable terms."
Beginning in model year 2018, all automakers will be required to use one standard, non-proprietary interface for mechanics to plug into the car and read its service data, such as with an Ethernet or USB connection. Information to reset engine immobilizers and other factory electronic security systems must be available via an encrypted network (which, in most cases, is already widely used). And if automakers refuse to comply or their prices go sky high, a five-member panel representing both sides can be summoned to resolve the dispute. In return for these gestures, repair shops have agreed to quit lobbying for a federal "Right to Repair" law—which has been stalled in the House of Representatives since 2011—and convince other states such as New Jersey to kill similar bills.
"A patchwork of 50 differing state bills, each with its own interpretations and compliance parameters doesn't make sense," said Mike Stanton, president of Global Automakers. "This agreement provides the uniform clarity our industry needs and a nationwide platform to move on."
The agreement only applies to model year 2002 vehicles and newer. Motorcycles, heavy-duty vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating over 14,000 pounds, and RVs are exempt. But while it sounds great on paper, the MOU isn't a law. Unless automakers are forced into a Massachusetts court, there's no punitive way to enforce a voluntary agreement. It's not even considered valid until all 23 automakers, not their respective trade groups, sign individual letters agreeing to comply.
"We definitely want pledges from each automaker," Aaron Lowe, a vice president for the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, told Car and Driver. "It's a big step to drop this legislative battle."
To their credit, most automakers have provided independent shops with all the necessary repair tools for many years, including full access to their internal factory websites. But mechanics and those who track the aftermarket say that while many automakers like Hyundai, Toyota, and Ford are transparent with repair information, the German brands and Honda, in particular, have not been as open. Often times, outside shops can complete most of the repair on, say, a fuel sensor, but will get hung up by security codes that only a dealership can activate. Without the code, the work is rendered useless.
"That last 1 percent prevents the job from being completed," said John Nielsen, managing director for automotive engineering at AAA, which has lobbied on behalf of a national "Right to Repair" bill. "I don't think this is a question between independent shops and dealers. Choice is fundamental in our economy."
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AAA doesn't think the agreement has gone far enough. In the MOU, only dealerships can fix navigation systems, telematics services such as OnStar, or "any other service integrating vehicle location technology and wireless communications," which can easily be construed to exclude outside repairs on infotainment systems. While the original Massachusetts bill had no mention excluding telematics services from repairs, automakers successfully lobbied to include it on the final version, something AAA says will block car owners from receiving critical data about their car's performance.
"When you look at where telematics is going, you can start to diagnose problems before they occur," Nielsen said. "That's really the future of repair."
Since the Massachusetts law and this MOU are too fresh, we're not sure yet if all automakers are making good on their words. But as we've seen elsewhere, self-regulation that purports to protect consumers—such as the murky privacy policies adopted by software companies—often brings no punitive consequences against companies that look the other way. If one of our long-term cars breaks down, we may see for ourselves.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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