Tag Archives: Right To Repair

Automobile Owners Granted “Right To Repair” Exemption

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Vehicle owners in California and across the United States will soon be able to alter their automobiles software without violating U.S. copyright laws, thanks to changes with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

As part of the latest three year review, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an advocacy group based in San Francisco, filed petitions seeking changes to parts of the copyright act that prohibit consumers from unlocking software on certain products. Two of the petitions dealt directly with automobile software used to control a vehicles engine and emissions-control units. A lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation said the group believes that researchers and car owners need access to vehicle software not only to make repairs or to adjust performance, but also to improve security. Continue reading →

FTC Urged To Enforce Mandatory Recall Repairs On Used Vehicles

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According to recent reports from the New York Times, a group of eleven consumer and safety organizations are petitioning the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate used car dealership, CarMax, for deceptive advertising practices. The group claims that the dealership is advertising their pre-owned vehicles as passing a rigorous 125 point quality inspection, but the inspection fails to carry out the basic step of checking to see if there are any unfixed safety recalls affecting the vehicle. Continue reading →

The Right To Repair Act And Your California Lemon Law Rights

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The Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act, are several bills introduced to the United States Congress last February. If passed, the bill would require automobile manufacturers to give independent repair shops access to the same repair information their approved repair shops have. The legislation hopes to give consumers a choice to pick a repair facility best suited to their particular needs.

It is important to note, however, that under the California Lemon Law, a vehicle owners must give a manufacturer authorized dealer a reasonable number of repair attempts before their vehicle can be considered a lemon. While, the Right to Repair Act will give consumers more choice of where to take their vehicles, it may also negatively affect their lemon law rights. Continue reading →