Rough driving Subaru Getting through snowy weather is a rite of passage for some New Englanders, where the area is the Japanese automaker’s top market.
So it’s surprising that Subaru fans when Massachusetts authorized dealer begins selling its 2022 model year without a key component: in-car wireless technology that connects drivers with music, navigation, roadside assistance and collision avoidance sensors.
“The seller Joy Tewksbury-Pabst, who bought a Subaru Ascent without realizing that she would miss the remote start and lock feature she had before business her 2019 model. She also lost the ability to check wiper fluid levels, tire pressure and mileage from her phone.
What is happening in Massachusetts reflects a larger battle over who has the “right.” fix“Electronic products are increasingly complex – from iPhones to farm tractors to family cars.
About 75% of Massachusetts voters sided with car repair in 2020 by passing a voting initiative that allows car owners and their favorite auto shops to easily browse through an online inventory of cars. Since then, automakers have fought it in court.
And two of them, Subaru and That, said that, instead of breaking the new law, they would disable their wireless “telecommunications” system from new models in the state. Car buyers and dealers are already feeling the effect.
“It’s definitely a pity,” said Joe Clark, general manager of the Steve Lewis Subaru dealership in Hadley, western Massachusetts. “People are calling back after the fact, realizing that they’re missing out.”
Tewksbury-Pabst was one of more than 2.5 million people who voted for the ballot measure in November 2020, after a costly election battle marked by dueling TV ads. She believes it will help independent auto shops compete with in-house dealers repair shop.
She’s mostly frustrated with Subaru, describing its reaction to the law as “like a kid who doesn’t know how and takes their ball and goes home.”
Cars already have a diagnostic portal that mechanics can access for basic repair information, but independent auto shops say only automakers and their dealers have access into the real-time diagnostics that cars now transmit wirelessly. That is increasingly important in the context of the transition to Electric Carmany of which don’t have those diagnostic ports.
The law requires automakers to create an open standard for sharing mechanical data. Subaru spokesman Dominick Infante said “the failure to comply” with that regulation “is a detriment to both our retailers and our customers”.
“The data platform that the new law requires to provide data does not exist and will not soon exist,” he said in an email.
An auto industry trade group immediately sued State Attorney General Maura Healey after passing a law that prevented it from going into effect, arguing that the deadlines were unreasonable, the penalties were too heavy and the auto Sharing too much driving data with third parties leads to cybersecurity and privacy risks.
Part of the war is over, too, who will warn drivers and encourage them to visit when the car needs repair. The current system favors dealers, which many auto shops fear will soon stop working if independent mechanics cannot easily access the necessary software upgrades and mechanical data. for basic repairs – from tire alignment to broken seat heaters.
“If we don’t have access to repair information, diagnostic information, you’re putting the entire workforce out,” said Bob Lane, owner of Direct Tire & Auto Service, in a suburb of Watertown. out of the business. “If the only person who can fix the car, from a data point of view, is the dealer, then the consumer has lost the right of choice.”
The Repair Now Movement has a powerful ally in the United States President Joe Bidenwho signed an executive order last year aimed at boosting competition in the repair business and counted several wins after Apple and Microsoft voluntarily began helping consumers repair their phones and laptops. them easier.
“Rejecting the right to repair raises prices for consumers,” Biden said in January. “That means independent repair shops can’t compete for your business.”
The Federal Trade Commission and state legislatures are also keeping an eye on the regulatory changes. Under close scrutiny are restrictions that direct consumers into the repair networks of manufacturers and sellers, add costs to consumers, and close independent stores, many of which are owned by retailers. owned by entrepreneurs from poor communities. U.S. Representative Bobby Rush, an Illinois Democrat, introduced a bill this month to allow auto repair shop to get the same data available to dealers.
Brian Hohmann has spent decades adapting to changes in the automatic technologyfrom attending a school to repair carburetors – now an obsolete technology – to learning how to program.
“Essentially every car today is 50 computers with four tires on it,” said Hohmann, owner of Acc Precision Automotive in suburban Burlington. “If you’re not computer savvy, you’ll have a hard time.”
But Hohmann says most independent garages are perfectly capable of competing with dealers in both repair skills and price as long as they have access to the information and software they need. That usually involves buying an expensive, car-maker-specific scanner, or paying for a day or annual subscription to get the necessary access.
Massachusetts’ rules prioritized independent auto repairers over others thanks to an earlier right to repair law passed by voters in 2012. But that was before most cars started transmitting zero. wire much of their critical data outside of cars – presenting what auto shops see as a loophole to existing rules that focus on in-car diagnostics.
Automakers argue that independent stores can already get the data they need with permission – but having it automatically accessed by third parties is dangerous.
Such data access “could be disastrous for the bad guys”, the lawsuit was brought by the Automotive Innovation Alliance, a trade group backed by Ford, Synthetic engine, Toyota and other major automakers, including Subaru and Kia.
The case is now in the hands of U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock, who is considering whether to separate the most controversial ballot provision to let the other sections take effect. A decision is expected in March following delays caused by actions by Subaru and Kia, which the state says should have been disclosed by the automakers earlier. Massachusetts lawmakers are also considering postponing the law to give automakers more time to comply.
Subaru and Kia say most drivers can still use the driver-specific Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to play music or get navigational assistance.
