FTC Gains Enforcement Power in Right-to-Repair Bill After $3.1B Cost Study

For corporate counsel and compliance officers in the automotive sector, the right-to-repair debate is no longer a policy abstraction — it is an emerging federal enforcement exposure. The Motor Vehicle Modernization Act would give the Federal Trade Commission statutory authority to compel automakers to disclose repair information, tools and diagnostic codes, transforming voluntary industry commitments into enforceable obligations with potential liability for non-compliance. Understanding the gap between the original REPAIR Act and the narrowed proposal — and the specific data categories the FTC could police — is now a compliance-planning priority.

The right to repair America's increasingly software-defined vehicle fleet has moved to the center of federal policy debate, with Congress weighing legislation that would give the Federal Trade Commission explicit authority to force automakers to share repair information, tools and diagnostic codes with independent shops. The proposal, advanced as a narrower alternative within the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act, is a direct response to years of complaints from independent repair businesses that they are being locked out of the data and software needed to service modern cars. Unlike the original REPAIR Act — which would have mandated far broader access to vehicle data, software and repair information for owners and independent businesses — the current version largely codifies existing industry right-to-repair commitments and turns them into enforceable federal requirements.

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A 2024 Auto Care Association study put a dollar figure on the problem, estimating that vehicle data limitations cost independent repair shops $3.1 billion annually.

The economics driving the fight are substantial. Independent shops such as Piedmont Tire and Auto in Virginia report spending thousands of dollars on equipment, computers and software, yet still hitting walls when manufacturers decline to release factory information. "If we don't do it, it's because we can't do it. Meaning the factory won't release information," said Robb Evans of Piedmont Tire and Auto. Industry survey data indicates more than 8 in 10 independent repair shops send at least one vehicle a month to a dealership because of vehicle data or diagnostic code issues. A 2024 Auto Care Association study put a dollar figure on the problem, estimating that vehicle data limitations cost independent repair shops $3.1 billion annually. The consumer impact is concrete: Piedmont's John Filippone described a case in which a programming task had to be routed through a dealership because the software was withheld, adding $1,200 to a customer's bill that they "didn't need to pay."

The shift from voluntary industry commitments to federally enforceable obligations is the bill's most consequential feature. Automakers have long maintained that repair information is already widely available and have framed data restrictions as cybersecurity, privacy and safety measures rather than competitive moats. By granting the FTC enforcement authority, the legislation converts that argument into a regulatory compliance question: manufacturers would face potential FTC scrutiny if they fail to make certain repair information, tools and diagnostic codes available. For the independent repair sector, enforceable access could reduce the dealership referrals that now burden more than 8 in 10 shops monthly and level a playing field that has tilted toward franchised dealers as vehicle software complexity grows.