Today in Repair

As any consumer knows all too well, products break. And when they break—well, that’s where things can get tricky.

Consumers who want to fix their own damaged devices, or take them to an independent repair shop, can face challenges. That’s because manufacturers of many products—especially those with computer chips—often limit who has access to the parts, tools and information needed to perform repairs.

Read the Wall Street Journal’s debate on state right to repair laws. (WSJ.com)

The Massachusetts Right to Repair Committee filed an amicus brief in a lawsuit filed over an expansion of Massachusetts right to repair bill that has delayed implementation of the State’s expanded automotive right to repair by more than a year. 

In the brief, the committee makes an argument also made during trial: that independent shops do not have access to information needed to repair their customers’ vehicles.  Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey agreed to put off enforcement of the law until the case has been resolved, but repeated delays by Judge Woodlock in reaching a verdict in the case has some arguing that the will of voters has been thwarted and that automakers and authorized dealerships are benefitting financially from the delay.  

“At this juncture, in light of the passing of nearly one year since the trial of this matter, and one and a half years since the Act was approved by the voters, this brief is offered for the purpose of presenting considerations regarding the effect of further delaying the enforcement of the Act’s provisions.” 

The committee accuses the OEMs of a strategy of using delays that are “frustrating the ongoing efforts of consumers and independent repair shops to obtain fair and equitable access to vehicle diagnostic data needed to maintain and repair vehicles.”(repairerdrivennews.com)