About Care

U.S. House 108th Congress

H.R. 2735, the Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act
Requires a manufacturer of a motor vehicle sold or introduced into commerce in the United States to disclose to the vehicle owner or to a repair facility of the motor vehicle owner's choosing the information necessary to diagnose, service, or repair the vehicle. Sets forth protections for trade secrets.

Instructs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prescribe a uniform methodology for manufacturer disclosure in writing and on the Internet. Prohibits the FTC from prescribing rules that interfere with the authority of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding motor vehicle emissions control diagnostics systems.

States that manufacturer noncompliance with this Act constitutes an unfair method of competition and an unfair or deceptive act or practice affecting commerce within the purview of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

Original Sponsor:

Joe Barton, R-TX, Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce
    Sponsors/co-sponsor(s): 118
  • 70 Democrats
  • 0 Independent
  • 48 Republicans

Legislative Activity

07/15/2003: Re-introduced in U.S. House by Joe Barton, R-TX, as H.R. 2735, The Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act of 2005 Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce

09/22/2004: Hearing held in House Sub-committee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection

Local repair shops contend they have less and less access to the codes for onboard computer systems, which they need to diagnose problems. Consumer groups say this can limit competition and drive up repair costs.
The Santa Rosa (CA) Press Democrat October 6, 2005

Erminio Caparole, P&E Service, Morton Grove, IL, replaced the engine service computer in a customer’s Ford van, only to find that the local Ford dealer wouldn’t release the information to program it. Caparole had to tow the van to the dealership and pay $150 to reprogram it.
Fortune Small Business October 1, 2005

Bob Merrill, Horsepower Auto Care, was forced to send some customers to a dealer because he couldn’t turn off warning lights with his equipment.
Biz Journals October 4, 2004

Anderson cited examples of repairs that independent repair shops previously could repair but now require dealership intervention, such as battery replacement and the ABS brake system.
WTTG-TV Washington, D.C. September 23, 2004

“I’ve never had a scan tool saying “send the car to dealership,” said John Rowe, Rowe’s Automotive. Rowe, who had recently invested $3000 in upgrading another scanner. “I paid how much money to have it say ‘send car to dealership.”’
Antelope Valley Press (CA) August 30, 2004