Massachusetts Question 1 "Right to Repair" (Boston: income, maintenance)

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by Cape Cod Todd

I'm facing this issue right now with my wife's 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
When we bought it new I totally forgot to get a trailer hitch. I inquired at the dealer and they quoted me $700. I found a draw tite on Amazon for $110 plus a harness for $25 to plug into the existing Jeep wiring that is sitting right where the trailer hitch goes. I installed the hitch and the plug, went to test the lights and there was no power. I checked the fuses and they were good. I then went online to find out what was wrong and it turns out that I need to bring the JeeP back to the dealer so they can "enable" the existing wiring harness to work. I called the dealer and the cost is $139!



$139! to access the computer in the car and flip a switch!



I put the hitch on so I could use my bike rack with it and to maybe tow my boat in an emergency. Oh well at least I don't need the lights to work for the bike rack..



Right to Repair has very little to do with public safety and everything to do with grabbing our money.

Current bill doesn’t address that. It’s specific to closing the wireless telematics loophole.

Programming a module can be done by independent shops or an advanced DIYer. I did the same thing on my dads ‘18 F150 when he installed a trailer brake. Needs to be enabled in the vehicles as_built data. I was able to do it home with a popular program (this one is Ford specific) and connect my laptop to enable it. Same deal with when I changed the electronic steering rack on my car. I was able to activate the modules at home with my laptop. Modern vehicle repairs of major components (steering rack, trans, instrument cluster) noe require module programming by computer to accomplish. There are means to do this currently by advanced DIYer or a competent independent shop.


This bill is just tying to get ahead of the automakers plan to move the obd2 type port to wireless transmission starting 2022 model year and make the protocol closed source so you can’t dump your own codes and fix your car and must go to the dealer to program modules.


As someone who considers themselves an advanced DIYer when it comes to vehicle repair, I want access to that so I can continue to work on my own cars, dump codes, and reprogram modules in my garage, and not seek out ANY shop.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by scorpio516

Do you want all independent mechanics to go out of business? Vote no.

They are going to go out of business relatively soon anyway thanks to electric cars.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by Lampert

They are going to go out of business relatively soon anyway thanks to electric cars.

Maybe shrink. Electric cars still have bearings, bushings, struts/shocks, brakes, etc. which need servicing.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

Maybe shrink. Electric cars still have bearings, bushings, struts/shocks, brakes, etc. which need servicing.

I am sure they are not literally all going out of business but all the things you mentioned need repair quite rarely. And brakes are used a lot less by electric cars because of the regenerative brakes. I have 3-4 repair shops within walking distance from my workplace I really doubt they will all be open 20 years from now.

[MMS02760]

The campaign against it is totally engaged in an outrageous scare campaign. Their ads have had the negative effect on me. Anything that makes the auto industry so fearful that they would spend so much money to defeat it and stoop to such lows in doing so must mean that is has to be good for the general consumer.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by Lampert

I am sure they are not literally all going out of business but all the things you mentioned need repair quite rarely. And brakes are used a lot less by electric cars because of the regenerative brakes. I have 3-4 repair shops within walking distance from my workplace I really doubt they will all be open 20 years from now.

The shops that go out of business will be the shops that don’t change with the times. There are plenty of old school shops that make their bread and butter off brake jobs and loose suspension parts. There are independent shops that don’t want to touch anything that has to do with a computer. Unfortunately it’s a requirement these days to fix anything.


I’m sure we all know that one guy who “won’t buy a new car because they are all computers”. That’s the analogy for the independent ship that will die out. Shops that survive will learn how to use the onboard computer diagnostics to help troubleshoot or learn how to swap out steering racks and program them.

EV cars will still need repairs. Just different repairs. Adapt or die.


And yes, this bill enables those shops (and home mechanics) to continue to pull data from their car to help troubleshoot or replace modules.


Sadly; this bill is not understood by many. It’s been dumbed down to “I pick where to fix my car” and “rape”. Sadly, this is often how politics goes.

[lrfox]

This is a fairly easy "yes" as far as I'm concerned. Clearly the auto industry thinks it is too which is why they're resorting to such scare tactics in order to try and prevent it. It's the only card they can play.

Several automotive companies have already made moves on this front. A buddy of mine owns a fairly substantial shop and has already had Dodge blocking scanners (for several years) so that he has had to go directly through the company in order to collect the data he needed which was time consuming and frustrating. The next step is to stop sharing the data with the independent or unaffiliated shops at all. "Yes" prevents that from happening.

As with most things, there are shreds of truth hidden in the opposition's propaganda. As more and more cars become equipped to wirelessly transmit increasingly detailed data, there needs to be some oversight in place to protect owners from that data getting into the wrong hands. And no, I don't trust manufacturers to be the guardians of that information. I am less concerned about all of that stuff than the average person, but I just bought a brand new car last week and I'm amazed at how much information is shared. I can even agree to have someone contact me from the manufacturer if they receive a diagnostic that something is off. My previous car was a 2016 model - it had none of this.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by Lampert

I am sure they are not literally all going out of business but all the things you mentioned need repair quite rarely. And brakes are used a lot less by electric cars because of the regenerative brakes. I have 3-4 repair shops within walking distance from my workplace I really doubt they will all be open 20 years from now.

It's a fair point, which is why I stated the industry is likely to shrink considerably ... I'd argue it already has as even ICE vehicles have gotten considerably more reliable since the '80s. When is the last time you had a water pump give up the ghost 35k miles?

Electric vehicles still have plenty of typicals like wheel bearings, suspension work, alignments, tire replacement, gearbox (albeit a different tech and only in some EVs), braking system (albeit a lower frequency), HVAC, steering. They also have some additionals which may or may not be 'open-source', such as battery/motor diagnostics and replacement. For the shops that do it, inspections should be as lucrative as always.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

EV cars will still need repairs. Just different repairs. Adapt or die.

I agree in general with your post but I don't really agree with this statement. They need a lot less repairs and that's going to be a big issue for car repair shops. You are talking about loosing 1/4 to 1/3 of their revenues.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

It's a fair point, which is why I stated the industry is likely to shrink considerably ... I'd argue it already has as even ICE vehicles have gotten considerably more reliable since the '80s. When is the last time you had a water pump give up the ghost 35k miles?

Yeah. Definitely.
Although from customer point of view this didn't really result in saving much money because back in the days mechanics would actually try to repair a broken piece (cheaper) while nowadays they typically just replace a part they may not even know that much about.