Mainers now have direct access to their vehicle’s wireless diagnostic and repair information.
Advocates said the state’s new “right to repair” law, passed in 2023, allows car owners to send their information to any independent repair shop, rather than being forced to bring their car to the dealership.
Tommy Hickey, director of the Maine Automotive Right to Repair Committee, said Massachusetts is the only other state to have a law like this that gives power back to consumers.
“This is a big win for consumer choice. This is a big win for local business, and this is a great way to keep independent repair shops and car owners alike as the gatekeepers of their own repair information,” Hickey said.
Hickey said manufacturers have not made this information available to consumers or independent retailers for the past eight years.
“The manufacturers create this as a closed system, right? So they collect this information, they disseminate it how they please. And this is really about saying, OK, you can collect it yourselves,” Hickey said.
Hickey said the diagnostic repair information should be made available through a phone app, and said vehicle owners who are denied direct access to it can seek civil damages of $10,000 or more.
This law will only apply to cars sold in Maine after Monday.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
