In the wake of a voter-approved law, Subaru and Kia dealers in Massachusetts have disabled systems that allow remote starts and send maintenance alerts.
Highlights
- Massachusetts voters approved a voter-approved right-to-repair ballot measure in 2020.
- The measure required automakers to give car owners and independent mechanics more access to data about the car’s internal systems.
- New vehicles are now computers on wheels, gathering an estimated 25 gigabytes per hour of driving data.
- The dispute is the latest chapter in long-running disagreements between the state and automakers over the right to repair, or consumers’ ability to fix their own cars or control who does it for them.
- In 2012, Massachusetts voters passed a similar ballot measure that, for the first time, required automakers use nonproprietary onboard diagnostics ports on every vehicle.