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GAO-24-106633 1 (2024-03-21)

handle is hein.gao/gaoqba0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Why This Matters Key Takeaways The term right-to-repair refers to consumers' ability to decide who repairs their products. For vehicles, this means consumers deciding whether to make their own repairs or take their vehicle to repair facilities. Repair facilities may be at businesses franchised with or owned by automakers, known as dealerships, or repair shops not associated with dealerships, known as independent repair shops. Vehicles are becoming more technologically advanced and increasingly transfer data, including repair data, wirelessly directly to automakers. This trend may cause challenges for independent repair shops in conducting repairs as they may not have access to that data as automakers may not share it with them. The federal government has a limited role regarding vehicle repairs. The Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is focused on vehicle safety and is involved in vehicle right-to-repair issues only when they affect vehicle safety. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is involved in protecting consumers and promoting competition, including in the vehicle repair market. We were asked to review the effects of changing vehicle technologies on vehicle right-to-repair. This report examines how changes in vehicle technologies could affect competition and consumer choice in the vehicle repair market and NHTSA's and FTC's actions related to this issue. * Most automakers have been operating under a 2014 voluntary right-to-repair agreement that generally resulted in independent repair shops having access to the information, data, and tools needed for repairs. However, stakeholders we interviewed, and a nongeneralizable review of a set of complaints, suggest independent repair shops may face some access limitations. Advanced vehicle technologies may make repairs more expensive and complex because they require additional knowledge, equipment, and other investments. Such issues could particularly affect some independent repair shops that are unable to make such investments. In addition, according to some independent repair stakeholders, the wireless transfer of data between vehicles and automakers may disadvantage independent repair shops compared to dealerships. If independent repair shops face limitations in access to the information, data, and tools needed for repair, consumers might have fewer repair choices. If independent repair shops face disparities in access, it could make repairs more expensive or inconvenient for some consumers. FTC is taking steps to better understand potential vehicle repair limitations by considering new ways to categorize and analyze potentially relevant consumer complaints. Page 1 GAO-24-106633 VEHICLE REPAIR

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