June 21, 2019—According to The Boston Herald, a coalition of independent repair shops is reigniting the “right to repair” campaign in hopes that state policymakers will update the 2013 law to provide the same information to diagnostic data as the manufacturers give authorized dealerships.
The Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition, relaunched last year after the successful 2012 right-to-repair ballot question and the subsequent 2013 law.
“Automakers are increasingly restricting access through rapidly expanding wireless technologies in vehicles not covered under current law,” the coalition said in a statement to the Herald, adding that if repair shops can’t get that data, “car owners have no choice but to be steered by vehicle manufacturers towards more expensive automaker authorized repair options.”
State lawmakers filed legislation in January to strengthen protections against “telematic systems,” technologies in newer cars that transmit crucial diagnostic and repair information to manufacturers—including automatic airbag deployment and crash notifications, navigation and stolen vehicle location, reports The Boston Herald.
