By Rita Cook
Texas Metro News
https://texasmetronews.com
WASHINGTON D.C. – While no executive order has been signed regarding Ford, GM, and the Penske Corporation’s push for legislation to restrict consumers from doing their own car repairs, there have been conversations at the White House.
These conversations are directly related to discussions and ongoing legislative battles about this delicate topic.
The automakers typically cite safety, cybersecurity, and telematics access as reasons to restrict self-repair on software-heavy vehicles, but it is obvious it comes down to much more.
President Donald Trump still said he had a “great meeting” with the heads of these companies
mentioned above even with the notion lingering that these automakers are pushing to prohibit people from fixing their own vehicles.
On June 4, there was still some discussion about the actual “bill” Trump was referring to when he mentioned his meetings with the auto industry executives.
In truth it appears there are a few bills floating about on both sides of the fence with one pushing to protect owners’ rights to repair their own vehicles according to the Detroit Free Press.
There is also the Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair Act, which is proposed federal legislation making its way through Congress that would codify consumers’ rights to repair and modify the vehicles they own without interference.
The issue seems to stem from privacy issues relating to vehicle owners and auto repair shops and access to the onboard computer data.
Ford CEO Jim Farley told the Detroit Free Press regarding the automaker’s restrict Right to Repair idea that maybe fixing a 1973 Ford Bronco would work, but fixing a new Bronco at home, could “put people’s lives at risk.”
According to www.sema.org the U.S. House Committee has already advanced legislation to enact right-to-repair provisions.
It was noted “Within the language of the recently approved Motor Vehicle Modernizaton Act of 2026 (H.R. 7389) the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce passed an amended version of the REPAIR Act that codifies the 2014 national memorandum of understanding (MOU) between automakers and the independent repair industry organizations regarding access to vehicle repair and diagnostic information.”
Sec. 202 of H.R. 7389 states it would enact sections of the MOU into law for vehicles weighing under 14,000 lbs. For vehicles that weigh over 14,000 lbs., the bill would make certain sections of a 2015 MOU for heavy-duty vehicles enforceable under federal law.
Also, during Trump’s discussion about meeting with the automakers in addition to his saying they “don’t want people to fix their car” he also told the story of a man who went to jail for seven years “because he fixed his own car.”
Then Trump said, “You believe it?” and said he pardoned that man last week.
To date, there has been no confirmation or further discussion about the pardon story and who the person was specific to his situation and the reason for his incarceration.
There has also been no specific formal bill or piece of legislation that has been officially identified, and self-repair remains legal. Even so the automotive industry continues to lobby Congress over broader “Right to Repair” proposals. Add that to the push for automakers to install kill switches in vehicles beginning next year and you have an ongoing big brother problem with the auto industry partially at the helm.
