When both the electorate and legislature in Massachusetts passed the state's Right to Repair law in November 2012, it was clear that the industry had turned a corner in what had been a lengthy battle over access to manufacturer repair data by independent repairers.
For Right to Repair supporters, the passage had big implications for their efforts elsewhere in the country. If OEMs had to abide by the rules in Massachusetts, it made little sense for them to do things differently elsewhere. In January, the other shoe dropped, and a coalition of both OEM and aftermarket industry organizations signed a 50-state memorandum of understanding (MOU) that unofficially expands the Massachusetts requirements nationwide.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the Association of Global Automakers, the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), and the Coalition for Automotive Repair Equality (CARE) based the agreement directly on the Massachusetts law. The MOU extends the essential provisions for light vehicles, and covers all companies and organizations that are members of the signatories. The OEM groups represent nearly all of the major automotive manufacturers.
"Our goal has been to get a national agreement with manufacturers, so that we wouldn’t need to go state by state anymore," said Aaron Lowe, vice president of government affairs for the AAIA. "We've been negotiating this for some time, and one of the sticking points was seeing how things would be finalized in Massachusetts. We worked with the trade associations on an agreement that all the manufacturers would pledge to uphold, and it's based on the Massachusetts law."
The agreement came on the heels of another Right to Repair law passing the New Jersey Assembly. Under that bill, manufacturers would have had to make all technical information available for purchase for model years made after 2002. Violations could result in fines of $10,000 for the first offense, and $20,000 for subsequent violations. The law would have also banned manufacturers from requiring dealers to purchase information in a proprietary format under less favorable terms than the information is available to other purchasers.
With the signing of the MOU, all the organizations have agreed to drop their state-by-state efforts, and have called on state-based groups to halt any legislative activity that could undermine the agreement.
“Much like with fuel efficiency economy and greenhouse gases, a single national standard regarding vehicle repair protocols is imperative,” said Mike Stanton, president and CEO of the Association of Global Automakers. “A patchwork of fifty differing state bills, each with its own interpretations and compliance parameters doesn’t make sense. This agreement provides the uniform clarity our industry needs and a nationwide platform to move on.”
According to a document released along with the MOU announcement, the AAIA and CARE have agreed to oppose any additional state efforts while the MOU is being implemented: "While AAIA and CARE would prefer a right to repair law, both groups believe that such a lobbying effort would take years to accomplish as well as significant resources. All groups felt that both the aftermarket and consumers would benefit more by devoting its resources to implementing a voluntary agreement."
Under the MOU, OEMs must make available under "fair and reasonable terms" the same tools, software, and repair information that is available to franchised dealers; beginning with the 2018 model year, they must establish Web sites or clouds that contain the same information and software that dealers have access to as part of their proprietary tools; and car companies must provide access to diagnostic computers using a standardized vehicle interface that meets either the SAE J 2534 or ISO 22900 standards.
The agreement applies to all automobiles under 14,000 pounds, excluding motorcycles.
Since this is an agreement rather than a law, participation is still entirely voluntary. If a repair shop finds it can't access an automaker tool or software, they can contact the car company directly or via the National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF) to request access. If they are not satisfied after 30 days, they can take the issue to a Dispute Resolution Panel established under the agreement. The panel would include two members appointed by automakers, and two members appointed by CARE and AAIA. A fifth neutral member would serve as chair.
"This isn't the same as having a law in every state, but we're going to have a dispute resolution process to handle any issues that might arise with the manufacturers and repairers," Lowe says. "Both the manufacturers and the aftermarket are ready to move on. The issue was resolved in Massachusetts, and the manufactures know they will have to comply. We will make the agreement work in all 50 states, and the manufactures have signed on to do the same."
The NASTF was established by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Association of International Automobile Manufacturers, along with the Automotive Service Association (ASA), to provide a way for service shops to buy vehicle service information via subscription. The ASA has uniformly opposed Right to Repair legislation, and did not participate in the current MOU.
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