Safety first is what local car dealers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are pushing.
In 2020, Massachusetts voters approved, by a 75%-25% margin, a so-called Right-to-Repair law that would give independent mechanic shops access to the telematics installed in makes such as Subaru, Kia and GM.
But a letter from the NHTSA written by Kerry Kolodziej, assistant chief counsel for litigation and enforcement, last week cited conflicts with a federal law known as the Safety Act and urged Massachusetts auto dealers not to comply with the state law.
The Right-to-Repair law would give access to technical information about the car’s performance, but it would also tap into other personal data of the owner and could even take control of the car remotely, according to the letter.
A story by the State House News Service quoted Kolodziej as saying the results could be dangerous.
“A malicious actor here or abroad could utilize such open access to remotely command vehicles to operate dangerously, including attacking multiple vehicles concurrently,” Kolodziej wrote in the letter filed in federal court. “Vehicle crashes, injuries or deaths are foreseeable outcomes of such a situation.”
A “malicious actor” could take over steering or braking, Kolodziej said.
And so now dealers including Subaru and Kia and GM will not switch on the telematics installed in their automobiles, which help repair shops determine what’s wrong and how to fix it.
Dana Drowne, general manager at Kia in South Attleboro, doubts that danger from external control exists, but not being able to access Kia Connect does frustrate customers, he said.
“It frustrates a customer who spent $50,000 on a new car and they can’t access Kia Connect if they bought it in Massachusetts,” he said.
But the new owners learn to live with it.
“For nine out of 10 owners, it’s not a big deal,” he said.
Drowne said he doesn’t believe Massachusetts voters in 2020 knew what they were voting for.
“The law was being sold like dealers were scoundrels trying to hide information from repair shops,” he said. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
He said all car companies with the exception of Mercedes and Volkswagen shared their technical information.
All the small shops had to do was buy the proper equipment and tools.
Drowne said electronic devices like All Data were available to help diagnose car problems.
The small shops sometimes had to pay thousands of dollars for the equipment and it was up to them if they had enough business to make it worthwhile.
Another general manager, who did not want to be named and asked that his dealership also not be identified, agreed with Drowne.
“The small shops have the ability to fix the car just as I do, but you have to buy the equipment,” he said.
“The statement that a car owner couldn’t go to a small shop was a lie,” he said. “And the impression that a car dealer was trying to control you was a falsehood.”
Telematics like Star Link on Subarus and OnStar on General Motors vehicles are more sophisticated now and have personal information about the owner and can give access to control of the vehicle, he said.
That includes remote starting and stopping and being able to trace where a car is located.
That’s the information car companies don’t want to give up because it has nothing to do with car repairs.
But so far no one has figured out a way to secure that information with some kind of firewall, he said.
“I don’t think for a minute manufacturers should have to give that up,” he said.
A spokesman for Subaru New England agreed in an email sent to The Sun Chronicle.
“We look forward to a resolution that allows us to get back to providing the products and services our Massachusetts customers love,” Dominick Infante said in an email to The Sun Chronicle.
“In the meantime, Subaru stands by its commitment to consumer choice when it comes to repairing vehicles. Unfortunately, compliance with the Massachusetts Data Law is impossible for any automaker. As a result, to avoid violating this new law, Subaru stopped offering telematics services to Massachusetts customers purchasing new vehicles. Being forced into that decision was a disservice to both our retailers and our customers, especially as access to telematics data is not necessary to diagnose or repair any Subaru vehicle.”
At a local repair shop
Chris Botelho, manager of Manny & Sons Auto Repair & Tire Center, a family-owned car repair business on Park Street in Rehoboth, confirmed what the dealer said.
“You could always get the equipment to fix the cars,” he said. “You could usually get access, but it would cost you money.”
He said personal information connected to Kia Connect, OnStar or Star Link should be protected because it has nothing to do with repair of the vehicle.
“It should be a lot more secure so nobody can steal it,” he said.
A customer of Manny & Sons for 20 years agreed.
Diane Lynch of Attleboro, who owns a Hyundai and a Kia, said she stopped going to the dealers when she found that Manny’s could do just as good a job fixing her cars as they did.
In one instance, she said a dealer wanted to charge her $1,200, but Manny’s charge was only $250.
“Manny’s is much more reliable and affordable,” she said. “Now I just come to Chris. The dealers are overwhelming.”
Meanwhile, Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey have written a letter to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and the deputy administrator of the NHTSA requesting that the agency’s decision be reconsidered.
“It is disappointing that NHTSA’s letter relies on the argument pushed by major automobile manufacturers that there is, in this case, an irresolvable conflict between maintaining data security and providing independent repair shops with the data they need to conduct repairs,” the senators wrote.
“Auto manufacturers have routinely raised safety concerns as a way to ‘change the subject’ and distract consumers from the fact that ‘vehicle repair and maintenance services from independent repair shops keeps the cost of service and repair down,’” they said. “The district court itself considered these concerns … and concluded that any safety concerns did not override Massachusetts’s right to enforce the law. We urge NHTSA to reconsider its decision and allow Massachusetts to enforce the will of its voters and protect consumers.”