New Progress for Automotive Right to Repair in 2020

During this year’s general election, the state of Massachusetts helped open the door for auto repair shops to work on connected cars in the near future.

Back in 2014, Massachusetts voted to pass the Motor Vehicle Owner’s Right to Repair Act, which required new vehicle manufacturers to give third-party repair shops the same access and ability to repair their vehicles as they give their brand-name dealerships.

This act benefits all of us who work in independent auto repair. It also benefits vehicle owners by giving them more options for where they can go for repairs.

Once the Right to Repair Act was passed in Massachusetts, it led to a national agreement between vehicle manufacturers, the Auto Care Association, and the Coalition for Auto Repair Equality.

What’s Changed With the Right to Repair Act in 2020?

Since 2014, the automotive industry has seen a rise in smart cars that send and receive telematics (operational) data between a vehicle's on-board computer and the manufacturer. The 2014 legislation still excluded third-party access to telematics data, which will become increasingly important as auto repair shops fight to earn the business of smart car owners.

On November 3, 2020, nearly 75% of Massachusetts voters voted in favor of Right to Repair, this time extending the law to include telematics, giving connected car owners the ability to share telematics data with the auto repair shop of their choice.

While vehicle manufacturers have until 2022 to design their vehicles to make it easy to share telematics data with repair shops, the long-term implications of this legislation are very positive for our industry.

Tekmetric is excited about this major win, and we look forward to adding features that will leverage telematics data and make it easier for auto repair shops to adapt to working on smart cars and connected vehicles in the near future.

For more information about Right to Repair, visit Autocare.org