\n<\/p>\n
Every time you<\/span> get behind the wheel, your car is collecting data about you. Where you go, how fast you\u2019re driving, how hard you brake, and even how much you weigh.<\/p>\n All of that data is not typically available to the vehicle owner. Instead, it\u2019s gated behind secure restrictions that prevent anyone other than the manufacturer or authorized technicians from accessing the information. Automakers can use the same digital gates to lock owners out of making repairs<\/a> or modifications, like replacing their own brake pads<\/a>, without paying a premium for manufacturer service.<\/p>\n The Repair Act, a piece of pending legislation discussed in a subcommittee hearing at the US House of Representatives on Tuesday, would mandate that some of that collected data be shared with the vehicle owners, specifically the bits that would be useful for making repairs.<\/p>\n \u201cAutomakers are trying to use the kind of marketing advantage of exclusive access to this data to push you to go to the dealership where they know what triggered this information,\u201d Nathan Proctor, senior director of the campaign for the right to repair at PIRG, says. \u201cRepair would actually be quicker, cheaper, more convenient if this information was more widely distributed, but it’s not.\u201d<\/p>\n Today, the US House\u2019s Committee on Energy and Commerce<\/a> held a hearing called (deep breath) \u201cExamining Legislative Options to Strengthen Motor Vehicle Safety, Ensure Consumer Choice and Affordability, and Cement US Automotive Leadership.\u201d The session covered potential legislation about improving road safety<\/a>, regulating autonomous vehicles<\/a>, and helping people protect their catalytic converters<\/a> from theft.<\/p>\n The hearing took on a contentious tone when the discussion turned to the Repair Act. The House bill, introduced in early 2025<\/a> by Representatives Neal Dunn of Florida and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez<\/a> of Washington, calls for automakers to give vehicle owners and third-party repair shops access to telemetry, or the ability to access all the data collected by modern vehicles. The act has been supported by organizations representing vehicle suppliers<\/a> as well as auto care shops.<\/p>\n Bill Hanvey, CEO of the Auto Care Association, who has long called for<\/a> automakers to share vehicle owner\u2019s data, testified in the hearing to say that the threat to owners\u2019 data has been growing over the past decade.<\/p>\n \u201cThe need for the Repair Act is critical and real,\u201d Hanvey said in the hearing, calling today\u2019s vehicles essentially computers on wheels that produce data that manufacturers then gate off to block consumers from accessing. \u201cMake no mistake about it, automakers unilaterally control the data, not the owner of the vehicle. It may be your car, but currently it is the manufacturer\u2019s data to do with whatever they choose.\u201d<\/p>\n The Repair act has been opposed by vehicle manufacturers and car dealerships<\/a>, who cite concerns about their intellectual property being used by third parties. They say they have done enough to make their data and tools accessible and that if you need to get your car fixed it\u2019s not too hard to find somebody authorized to peek inside its digital brain.<\/p>\n \u201cVehicle owners should be able to get their vehicles fixed anywhere they want,\u201d said Hilary Cain, senior vice president of policy at the automaker industry group Alliance for Automotive Innovation<\/a>, in testimony at the hearing. \u201cThe good news is that automakers already provide independent repairs with all the information, instruction, tools, and codes necessary to properly and safely fix a vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n Cain says ultimately automakers support a comprehensive federal right-to-repair law, albeit one that protects company intellectual property and \u201cdoesn\u2019t force automakers to provide aftermarket parts manufacturers or auto parts retailers with data that isn\u2019t necessary to diagnose or repair a vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n