Car manufacturers are using wireless vehicle data to push owners toward dealership for repairs while blocking independent service providers from the same information, a new report from the The U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund has found.
According to the My Car, My Data report, released Monday, this practice has been driving up costs in an industry where repair prices have jumped 44 per cent in the past five years.
The U.S. PIRG Education Fund report found manufacturers control access to telematic data — wireless transmissions about engine health and driving behavior — creating a "two-tiered repair model" that favours authorized dealers over independent shops.
The report cites examples of manufacturers sending vague alerts about vehicle problems directly to owners' phones and dashboards, often with prompts to "contact your dealer immediately" without specifying the issue. Without access to the underlying data, independent mechanics must spend extra time diagnosing problems, the report says.
"Most people won't look (the dealer) in the face and say, 'I'm going to take that to my guy and get that checked out for a second opinion,'" said Glenn Wilder, owner of Wilder Brothers Tire Pros in North Scituate, Mass.
Auto repair costs increased 44 per cent over the past five years — 1.8 times the inflation rate — as software-related restrictions have complicated repairs for independent mechanics, the report found.
Manufacturers act as gatekeepers, the report says, with some already using paywalls to charge subscription fees for diagnostic features after trial periods end. While focused on mechanic shops, it also found the same data restrictions are beginning to affect collision repair centres as vehicles. Post-crash repairs increasingly require access to telematic and diagnostic data to calibrate sensors, validate repairs and clear fault codes, access that is often limited to manufacturers and authorized networks.
More than half of mechanics report passing at least five repairs monthly to dealerships due to vehicle data limitations, according to a 2024 Auto Care Association survey cited in the report.
The report warns manufacturers could expand control over repairs as the technology develops. Tesla already claims to diagnose and repair 80 per cent of issues remotely, and fixed a tire-pressure monitoring recall affecting 700,000 vehicles via wireless connection.
The report recommends giving vehicle owners control over their car's data through a standardized platform, similar to how they can check odometer readings.
"Telematic data is produced by the driver, collected by mechanisms on the vehicle they own, and should be controlled by the vehicle owner," the report states.
The report was authored by Jack Frimet (right) and Julius Shieh (centre), associates with U.S. PIRG Education Fund's Campaign for the Right to Repair, and Nathan Proctor (left), senior director of the campaign.
Frimet and Shieh advocate for right-to-repair policy in the U.S. Proctor leads U.S. PIRG's right-to-repair campaign nationally, working to pass legislation preventing companies from blocking consumers' ability to fix their own electronics.
