Federal regulators reverse course, allow Massachusetts’ Right to Repair law; here is what it means

Boston, MA – Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward J. Markey, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, released a statement on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reversing course and allowing enforcement of Massachusetts’ Right to Repair law.

“The federal government has heeded our call and clarified that Massachusetts’ Right to Repair law can now be enforced. Today’s action will not only help to ease burdens and lower costs for Massachusetts drivers, but also ensure that transportation regulators continue to build on the promise of the Biden administration’s pro-competition, pro-consumer agenda. We commend the Biden White House for their collaboration with Massachusetts Attorney General Campbell’s office and hope they will continue to work together to ensure Massachusetts car owners fully benefit from the right to take their cars to the repair shop of their choice.”

In June, Senators Warren and Markey wrote to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman sharply criticizing NHTSA’s communication to car manufacturers advising them not to comply with Massachusetts law and urging NHTSA to reverse course immediately.

Massachusetts voters in 2020 approved an update to the 2013 “right to repair” law, which ensured that independent auto repair facilities had access to the same vehicle diagnostic data as manufacturers and dealerships.

The new law will require that the owner of a vehicle be allowed to give independent repair shops access to the mechanical data collected and transmitted wirelessly by computers onboard cars and trucks. The systems, known as telematics, were not covered by the 2013 law, but have become more prevalent in newer models.