The Dealer Wants Your Wallet... We Need the REPAIR Act NOW!

Imagine starting your car and realizing the title says you own it, but the software doesn’t. That’s the reality too many drivers face as manufacturers tighten control over diagnostics, data, and tools. We break down what the Federal Trade Commission and the Government Accountability Office now make clear: independent repair is safe, restrictions lack solid evidence, and software locks are driving up costs while shrinking choice.

We walk through the FTC’s “Nixing the Fix” findings on repair barriers and warranty myths, including how Magnuson-Moss protects you from being forced into brand-only service. Then we turn to the GAO’s 2024 review of vehicle repair, where rising software complexity and encrypted gateways create real hurdles for independent shops. You’ll hear how these government reports align with what techs see daily: without access to calibration data, security gateways, and update tools, even simple fixes become delays, tows, and bigger bills.

From rural drivers who can’t spare a day for dealer appointments to small shops investing in training and certification, the stakes are personal and practical. We connect the dots between policy and your wallet, explaining why enforcement and the Repair Act matter for fair competition, lower prices, and safer roads. If cars are computers on wheels, then access to parts, manuals, diagnostics, and software isn’t a luxury, it’s the only way to keep ownership real.

If this conversation resonates, share it with a friend, send a letter to your lawmaker at repairackt.com, and help us keep repair open and competitive. Subscribe for more candid dives into the policies shaping the auto care industry, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.

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Transcript

Opening And Big Question

Stacey Miller 0:12

Welcome to AutoCare on Air, a candid podcast for a curious industry. I'm Stacey Miller, Vice President of Communications at the Auto Care Association, and this is Traction Control, where we chat about recent news from the global to the local level and what it may mean to the industry featuring guests on the front lines. Let's roll.

Who Owns Your Car’s Data

Stacey Miller 0:34

Imagine walking into your garage, turning on your car, and realizing that you no longer own it. Sure, your name's on the title, but every beep, every diagnostic code, every software update, that belongs to someone else. The company that built your car is trying to tell you who is allowed to fix it and how much you'll pay for it. But two of the most powerful watchdogs in Washington, the FTC and the GAO, confirmed what drivers have been feeling for years. And that's that it's not right. Today, we're gonna dive into the government reports that show that there is really no evidence that repairing through the independent aftermarket is unsafe. There's no evidence that independent repair shops are a threat, and there's no justification for locking Americans out of fixing the things they own. So buckle up, this is a story of how Right to Repair went from a grassroots movement to a federal wake-up call. So for

FTC’s Role And Nixing The Fix

Stacey Miller 1:39

those who don't know what the FTC is and why it matters, the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission, is an independent U.S. government agency that's responsible for protecting people like you and I and promoting fair competition. So it enforces laws against deceptive business practices, monopolistic behavior, and unfair restrictions and rules that harm consumers or small businesses. And they're really critical in the right to repair debate because they're the top consumer protection and competition watchdog in the US. So when the FTC says restrictions can harm consumers or that it lacks evidence, it carries weight in Congress and the courts. So you may remember their 2021 Nixing the Fix report. And if you haven't read it, I'm gonna give you some of the key highlights so you understand how strong our fight and our argument is for right to repair. And it's in our minds one of the strongest federal acknowledgments that manufacturers' repair restrictions are unnecessary. They're anti-competitive and they're harmful. And this gives advocates like you and I really solid backing. Now I also mentioned the GAO.

GAO’s Mandate And Influence

Stacey Miller 3:00

And so the GAO is the government accountability office. They're a nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress. And what their job is, is to audit, review, and evaluate federal activities, emerging issues, and economic impacts to inform lawmakers. They're also incredibly important in the right to repair debate because they're highly trusted, they're evidence-based, they're a neutral party, and they're deeply researched. So Congress really relies on GAO findings to help make policy decisions. And the GAO's findings that evolving vehicle technology restricts consumer choice and disadvantages independent repair shops gives legislators a green light to act. So these reports were published some time ago.

Key Takeaways From FTC Report

Stacey Miller 3:51

I don't think that everybody's read those or really understand those. So here are some of the key takeaways in support of the right to repair argument that you can use in some of your campaigns and some of your education. So from the Nixing the Fix report, the FTC concluded that many consumer products have been harder to fix and maintain because repairs today often require specialized tools, difficult to obtain parts, and access to proprietary diagnostic software, right? They're making it harder to find all the things that you need in order to fix them. And the report does warn that the burden from repair restrictions is falling more heavily on communities of color and lower-income communities. Imagine rural communities where your closest dealership is 250 miles away. How are you going to get a car to that shop to repair it if you don't have a means of transportation and you've got to get to work and you've got to get the kids to school, right? Not everybody lives in these cities where transportation is easy, like DC or New York or LA, right? The report also finds that despite manufacturers' frequent claims, there is scant evidence to support manufacturers' justifications for repair restrictions. They also explicitly note that simply because a product is under warranty does not entitle a manufacturer to require that all repairs be done by the manufacturer or prohibit third-party repairs, right? This goes all the way back to the anti-tying provision of the Magnus and Moss Warranty Act, one of my favorite things, which prohibits conditioning warranty coverage on the use of brand-specific parts or services. So there's a lot of support for being able to repair your things with the parts that make sense to you. So thank goodness for the Magnus and Moss Warranty Act for laying that foundation. Now, the Federal Trade Commission also made comments in that report on the safety and cybersecurity arguments against being able to repair your vehicle at a place that you choose. And the report found that there is no empirical evidence that independent repair shops are more likely to compromise security or safety than authorized repairs. With appropriate parts, repair information, and training, independent repair is no less safe than manufacture-performed repair. And that's a direct quote. One of the things that's so amazing about our industry is how much training our automotive technicians go through to make sure that vehicles are operating safely on the road. And, you know, we thank our partners at ASC for bringing all of that training and all of the parts manufacturers training that brings all of that knowledge to our technicians and keeps them up to speed on the latest and greatest in vehicle technology to keep those vehicles on the road safer longer. So the FTC in that report did conclude that repair restrictions have diluted the effectiveness of the Magnus and Moss Warranty Act, anti-tying provisions, and steered consumers toward manufacturers' repair networks or premature replacement of products, which undermines consumer choice and competition. So the commission also stated that many of the changes that repair advocates seek

Safety And Cybersecurity Claims Tested

Stacey Miller 7:24

to address manufacture repair restrictions, such as access to information, manual spare parts, tools, they're well supported by comments in testimony. So the bottom line is the typical arguments manufacturers use to limit repair access, such as IP protection, safety, quality, they're not backed by solid evidence. And the restrictions harm drivers, independent repair businesses, and lead to fewer choices, higher costs, and potential inequities. Point blank, period. So let's move on to the GAO report, if the FTC report findings didn't just blow your mind. So the GAO's vehicle repair report, information on evolving vehicle technologies and consumer choice, was conducted in 2024, a little bit more recently. And that report found that as vehicle technologies evolve, so more electronics, more wireless data, more software-based controls, restrictions by automakers on access to the data and the diagnostic tools are indeed creating real barriers to independent repair. So the more technology, the harder it is to repair. And according to the GAO, these restrictions disadvantage independent repair shops, which means drivers have fewer choices, higher prices, and more inconvenience when trying to repair or maintain their vehicles. The report also signals that existing regulatory and marking conditions are insufficient to ensure that there is fair competition in the vehicle repair market as automotive software and connectivity become more central. Every single vehicle nowadays has software and wireless connectivity on it. So by highlighting these evolving vehicle technologies,

Training And Consumer Protection

Stacey Miller 9:18

the GAO did add some urgency in their report because as cars become more software-driven, access to data, diagnostic tools, and service information becomes increasingly critical for meaningful repair choice. Think about driving to a shop. Oh, I hear this noise, and your technician was once able to hear the noise and diagnose it immediately by knowing what that noise sounded like. It's a little different now with all of the technology and the software, right? It's not just a mechanical part, it's software, it's code. So all of this information becomes so critical for meaningful repair choice. Otherwise, we may be entrenched in a repair monopoly, right? And that's a really scary thing to say, I'm not gonna be able to repair this, I'm gonna have to go someplace that's further, that's more inconvenient, I may not be able to afford it, um, and it's gonna take me longer to do it. But there were options, and there are so many viable options. So the bottom line from that GAO report is that the technological evolution in vehicles has increased the leverage of manufacturers to control repairs and restrict access to the data, tools, and information that it hampers consumer choice, it increases costs, and it threatens independent repair competition. So, and you've heard us say all of these things before, right? Both reports really confirm that many of the manufacture-imposed repair restrictions are not justified by safety, security, or legitimate business reasons, and they undermine core arguments against third-party or consumer repairs. Um, the FTC explicitly ties such restrictions to anti-competitive practices and loss of consumer choice. And what that really suggests is that enforcement under the existing law is appropriate.

GAO On Evolving Vehicle Tech

Stacey Miller 11:18

The GAO adds that in the context of rapidly evolving software-driven vehicles, that denying access to data and tools effectively locks consumers into manufacture authorized repair networks for the life of the product, a repair monopoly. So, together, these reports are evidence-based, they're government-endorsed backing for policy, such as federal right to repair legislation, the Repair Act, to ensure access to parts, manuals, diagnostic software, and tools necessary for independent repair. So if the government is writing reports saying that there's a problem with fixing vehicles, then maybe there's an issue with fixing vehicles. And we should get that solved by passing the Repair Act. Now, we have been talking about this a lot, and I want to thank everybody for their engagement thus far on the issue. If you've already sent a letter to your legislator urging them to support Right to Repair, thank you so much. Please continue sending letters to your legislator. Please continue urging them to support Right to Repair. Give them a phone call, post on social media, share this information and share this podcast with everybody that you know so that they can get educated and they can get engaged because the more voices, the better. The easiest way to get involved and engage your legislator, and it only takes 30 seconds, is by visiting repairackt.com, R-E-P-A-I-R-A-C-T.com, just as it sounds, and take 30 seconds to fill in your information, and that will send a pre-populated letter to your legislator urging them to support the Federal Repair Act. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Auto Care on Air. Make sure to subscribe to our podcast so that you never miss an episode. And don't forget to leave us a rating and review that helps others discover our content. AutoCare on Air is a production of the Autocare Association, dedicated to advancing the autocare industry and supporting professionals like you. To learn more about the association

Data Access And Repair Monopoly Risks

Stacey Miller 13:24

and its initiatives, visit autocare.org.