Automaker-Funded Groups Are Using Fear Mongering To Take Away Your Right To Repair Your Car

If you don’t live in Massachusetts, which most of us don’t—a good thing because it’s not exactly a roomy state—then you likely haven’t seen the commercials aiming to persuade people to vote “no” on Massachusetts Question 1, the “Right to Repair Law” Vehicle Data Access Requirement Initiative. I’m going to say it’s a good thing these ads haven’t crawled across your screen because they are absolute fear-mongering bullshit, funded by almost all of the major automakers currently selling in America. Their goal is to make it impossible for individuals or independent shops to repair cars.

The ads are funded in part by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which includes members such as BMW Group, Bosch, FCA (and PSA, so I guess Stellantis now), Ferrari, Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai/Kia, Isuzu, Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Porsche and more—hell, even freaking Karma is in on this. It’s pretty much everyone except, notably, Tesla, and while it is no angel in this category, it’s worth noting that Elon Musk’s company is not joining in.

Fundamentally, here is what the yes or no options for Question 1 would do:

A “yes” vote supports requiring manufacturers that sell vehicles with telematics systems in Massachusetts to equip them with a standardized open data platform beginning with model year 2022 that vehicle owners and independent repair facilities may access to retrieve mechanical data and run diagnostics through a mobile-based application.

A “no” vote opposes requiring vehicles beginning with model year 2022 to be equipped with a standardized open data platform that vehicle owners and independent repair facilities may access to retrieve mechanical data and run diagnostics through a mobile-based application, thereby maintaining that vehicle owners and independent repair facilities may access mechanical and diagnostic data through a personal computer.

Read the full story on jalopnik.com.