U.S. automakers have long tried to monopolize repair, in a bid to cash in on captive customers. But they also want to cash in on user behavior, driving, and phone data without much in the way of oversight, transparency, or consumer privacy. That’s why they’ve historically been so opposed to “right to repair” reforms that make car repairs cheaper, easier, and more transparent.
There’s no defending their shitty behaviors on the merits. So automakers have long lied about right to repair reforms, at times claiming they’re a boon to sexual predators, or a threat to national security in a bid to thwart national and state reforms.
Last week, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Josh Hawley, and Jeff Merkley sent a letter to the heads of Ford, General Motors, Tesla, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Stellantis, Subaru, Toyota, and Volkswagen — to remind them they have an atrocious track record on right to repair:
“As the gatekeepers of vehicle parts, equipment, and data, automobile manufacturers have the power to place restrictions on the necessary tools and information for repairs, particularly as cars increasingly incorporate electronic components. This often leaves car owners with no other option than to have their vehicles serviced by official dealerships, entrenching auto manufacturers’ dominance and eliminating competition from independent repair shops.”
The Senators are quick to point out that despite the industry’s best efforts to monopolize repair, 70 percent of car parts and services currently come from independent repair shops. Those shops are generally well regarded, the senators note, “while nearly all dealerships receive the worst possible rating for price.”
The three senators also poked holes in the industry’s claims that right to repair reforms (like in Massachusetts) harm consumer privacy and security. Automakers routinely are found to have some of the worst privacy and security standards in all of tech, and an FTC report from 2023 found automaker claims that right to repair laws harmed public safety and privacy were baseless.
The automakers have until January 6 to answer the senators’ question. I guess the letter is supposed to scare automakers. But automakers know Trump 2.0 is going to take an absolute hatchet to consumer protection and corporate oversight at agencies like the FTC. They also know Congress (including Josh Hawley) is still too corrupt to pass even a baseline privacy law for the internet era.
With the feds likely useless on right to repair (and everything else for the foreseeable future), that leaves the onus on individual states to continue shoring up consumer right to repair issues. But with so many high stakes fights headed states’ way (immigration, public safety, consumer protection, environment, labor) I think right to repair reforms could easily get lost in the shuffle over the next few years.
