Sponsors (45)
Introduced February 25, 2025 by Neal Patrick Dunn · Last progress February 25, 2025
The bill significantly empowers vehicle owners and independent repairers by expanding access to vehicle‑generated data and strengthening consumer protections and enforcement, but it raises compliance costs for industry, limits state/local authority, leaves some ADS diagnostics excluded, and creates potential administrative, legal, and operational trade‑offs.
Vehicle owners and independent repair shops gain broad access to vehicle-generated diagnostic and repair data (via OBD/J‑1939, wireless telematics, and parity tools), making independent diagnosis and repair easier and likely lowering repair costs.
Vehicle owners (and their designees) get clearer rights and control over vehicle-generated data, including consent limits on use, sale, or transfer and the ability to designate multiple designees and service providers.
Consumers gain stronger enforcement tools: the FTC’s powers apply to violations, consumers can file complaints (including for non‑monetary harms), and investigations have expedited timelines, increasing accountability and quicker remedies.
Motor vehicle manufacturers and dealers (and ultimately buyers) face increased compliance, reporting, and tool-parity costs that could be passed on to consumers in higher vehicle prices or service charges.
The Act preempts state and local laws on covered matters, shifting regulatory authority to the federal level and reducing local flexibility to address region-specific needs.
Diagnostics and repair information for ADS (automated driving systems) are excluded from required vehicle-generated data access, which may limit independent repairability and competition for ADS‑equipped vehicles.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Requires automakers to give owners and independent repairers equal access to vehicle data, repair information and tools, bans tech/legal blocks, and assigns FTC/NHTSA oversight and reporting.
Requires automakers to give vehicle owners and their chosen repairers the same access to vehicle-generated data, repair information, and tools that automakers provide to their own dealers and authorized shops. It bans technological and legal barriers that block independent repair, sets up an FTC advisory committee and enforcement process, directs NHTSA to require point-of-sale owner notices, and preempts conflicting state or local laws. Establishes timelines and processes for federal oversight: the FTC must create and run a multi-stakeholder advisory committee, handle private complaints and investigations of unfair repair/data access practices, and produce regular reports; NHTSA must adopt rules for disclosure at purchase. The law defines many key terms and excludes certain automated-driving system diagnostics and personal data from required access.