Do You Have The Right To Repair?

Growing up my family owned a Jeep Wagoneer that consistently broke down towing our boat. My frugal parents couldn’t afford to have it repaired by a mechanic so my Pop dutifully bought the repair manual and spent his days off cursing under the hood in our driveway. He eventually grew so frustrated that he dropped a 500cu Cadillac engine in that old Jeep. Technology has made do-it-yourself repairs little more than nostalgic memories. Now it takes expensive diagnostic computers to identify why the light on the dash came on. And not only are the diagnostic computers expensive but in many cases the codes are proprietary. With recent dealership closures, congress has proposed legislation to protect consumers access to this critical repair information. HR 2057, the Rural Communities Stranded Without The Right To Repair Act would require auto manufacturers to make repair information and computer diagnostic codes available to the general public.

The people at righttorepair.org want you to imagine not having to pay $80-$150 at a dealership for them to tell you that your O2 sensor has gone out and are ramping up efforts to pass the bill [press release via Reuters]. Manufacturers need not fear this legislation, for the simple reason that it won’t magically make people like me able to fix their own vehicles. If anything, attempting repairs myself would actually improve business for my local mechanic. If nothing else though, my complete lack of mechanical competence combined with the passage of this legislation will ensure that my kids will be able to grow up with their own memories of daddy yelling at the car.