Dunn Introduces Bill Empowering Vehicle Owners with Crucial Data Access

Representative Neal Dunn (R-FL) is introducing legislation to allow vehicle owners access to important repair and diagnostic data needed for auto repairs.

Named the "Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair (REPAIR) Act," Rep. Dunn's bill allows consumers to access such data about their vehicles and find the best services at the best prices.

The REPAIR Act was inspired by Judge Denise Casper's dismissal of a lawsuit issued by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which sued the state of Massachusetts after the wildly popular Right to Repair law passed the ballot with almost 75% of the vote in 2020.

Like Rep. Dunn's bill, Massachusetts' Right to Repair law requires automakers to provide vehicle owners and independent repair shops with access to telematics data. Autobody News described this as allowing consumers greater freedom in choosing where and how their vehicles are serviced.

In his press release, the Florida Congressman said, "American consumers deserve full control over their vehicle repair and maintenance data to ensure they can find the best service for their vehicle at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, vehicle manufacturers are standing in the way of American consumers accessing their own data to use the repair shop of their choosing, limiting consumer choice."

Dunn further condemned automakers' stranglehold on repair data, adding, "For far too long, manufacturers have championed anti-competitive practices by withholding crucial maintenance information, squeezing their customers and independent repair shops."

"Your vehicle belongs to you, not the manufacturer. I am introducing the REPAIR Act to provide a binding, workable solution to anti-competitive behavior in the auto repair industry to reaffirm consumer control over their vehicle maintenance data and empower them to work with repair shops big and small," Dunn concluded.

Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), the bill's cosponsor, said, "Americans are tired of lip service about lowering prices or respecting the trades. We want to be able to fix our own stuff and to be stewards of our stuff and not reliant on a stream of cheap disposable crap. But auto manufacturers have made it increasingly difficult to have real agency. It's time for Congress to listen to ordinary Americans and pass right-to-repair legislation."