I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2694 

To protect the rights of consumers to diagnose, service, maintain, and repair 

their motor vehicles, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 13, 2007 

Mr. TOWNS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To protect the rights of consumers to diagnose, service, 

maintain, and repair their motor vehicles, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Motor Vehicle Owners 

5 Right to Repair Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Consumers are entitled to diagnose, service, 

9 maintain, or repair their own motor vehicles if they 


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1 so choose, or to choose a service provider to perform 

2 these services for their motor vehicles. 

3 (2) Consumers are entitled to all information 

4 about safety alerts, recalls, and other events relevant 

5 to the operation of their vehicles and to have this in6 formation available to their service providers in 

7 order to ensure the fuel efficient and safe operation 

8 of their motor vehicles. 

9 (3) Promoting competition in price and quality 

10 for the diagnosis of problems, service, maintenance, 

11 and repair of motor vehicles will benefit consumers. 

12 (4) Regular diagnosis, service, maintenance, 

13 and repair of motor vehicles, motor vehicle equip14 ment, and motor vehicle systems such as pollution 

15 control, transmission, antilock brakes, electronic and 

16 mechanical systems, heating and air-conditioning, 

17 and steering are essential to improve fuel economy, 

18 protect the environment, and promote the safety of 

19 modern motor vehicles. 

20 (5) Better fuel economy can reduce our depend21 ence on foreign oil and help protect the environment. 

22 Proper maintenance of a motor vehicle can signifi23 cantly improve its gas mileage. Fixing a motor vehi24 cle that is noticeably out of tune can improve its gas 

25 mileage by an average of 4 percent. Replacing a 


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1 clogged air filter can improve a motor vehicle’s mile2 age by as much as 10 percent. Fixing a serious 

3 maintenance problem, such as a faulty oxygen sen4 sor, can improve a motor vehicle’s mileage by as 

5 much as 40 percent. 

6 (6) Computers of various kinds increasingly are 

7 being used by manufacturers in motor vehicle equip8 ment and motor vehicle systems. On-board computer 

9 technology controls virtually all of the vehicle’s sys10 tems, and only service technicians with the necessary 

11 information can access the computers to perform di12 agnosis, service, maintenance, and repair of the vehi13 cle. 

14 (7) Manufacturers have made available to their 

15 authorized dealers and service providers the informa16 tion, tools, and replacement equipment necessary to 

17 diagnose problems and to service, maintain, and re18 pair motor vehicles that incorporate computers in 

19 their motor vehicle systems. 

20 (8) Manufacturers have failed to make avail21 able, or have inhibited, restricted, or limited the 

22 availability to consumers and independent service 

23 providers of the information, tools, and replacement 

24 equipment necessary to diagnose, service, maintain, 

25 and repair consumers’ motor vehicles. A statistically 


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1 valid and reliable survey of 10,000 consumers re2 ported that 14 percent were turned away in calendar 

3 year 2006 and told to go to an authorized dealer be4 cause the independent car repair shop ‘‘did not have 

5 the tools, equipment or information required to do’’ 

6 the required service. Of these 14 percent, 62 percent 

7 stated that they were inconvenienced by the turn 

8 away. Of these turned away, 25 percent said that 

9 they would not or probably would not return to the 

10 independent garage because of the inconvenience in11 curred. 

12 (9) Overall, independent service providers lose 

13 an average of 5.6 percent in productivity per month 

14 because of the lack of information and tools, which 

15 translates into an annual revenue loss of approxi16 mately $5.8 billion. 

17 (10) Consumers expressed a clear preference 

18 for independent repair shops for two significant rea19 sons—convenience and price. By a ratio of 25 to 17, 

20 they expressed a preference for independent repair 

21 shops when convenience is the principle factor, and 

22 by a ratio of 13 to 5 when price is the principle fac23 tor choice. 

24 (11) Consumers whose service providers cannot 

25 repair their motor vehicles because neither the conVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:34 Jul 14, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2694.IH H2694

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1 sumer nor the service provider has access to the nec2 essary information and tools lose both time and 

3 money and may have no realistic choice but to turn 

4 to an authorized dealer. Independent service pro5 viders suffer a business loss because they have to 

6 turn away consumers or expend time and effort con7 tacting manufacturers’ representatives to try to ob8 tain the necessary information. 

9 (12) Consumers in the United States have ben10 efited from the availability of a wide choice of serv11 ice providers for their motor vehicles. The American 

12 economy has also benefited from the availability of 

13 an aftermarket tools and parts supply that provides 

14 jobs to over 5 million workers in 495,000 businesses, 

15 and generates $200 billion in annual sales. 

16 (13) Vehicle owners in the United States should 

17 have the right— 

18 (A) to all information necessary to allow 

19 the diagnosis, service, maintenance, and repair 

20 of their vehicles; 

21 (B) to have access to information, tools, 

22 and replacement equipment so that they can, if 

23 they wish, diagnose problems themselves and 

24 maintain, service, and repair their own vehicles; 

25 and 


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1 (C) to the availability at both authorized 

2 and independent service providers of the tools, 

3 replacement equipment, and information nec4 essary to diagnose problems in vehicles and to 

5 service, maintain, and repair them. 

6 (14) Discriminating between authorized dealers 

7 and independent service providers and restricting the 

8 availability of information, tools and replacement 

9 equipment limits who can diagnose, service, main10 tain, and repair motor vehicles and what tools and 

11 replacement equipment may be used to repair those 

12 vehicles, limits consumer choice, limits competition, 

13 and impedes the safe and energy-efficient operation 

14 of motor vehicles. 

15 (15) Access for consumers and all service pro16 viders of information, tools, and replacement equip17 ment necessary to the diagnosis, service, mainte18 nance, and repair of motor vehicles can be accom19 plished without infringing manufacturers’ legitimate 

20 trade secrets. 

21 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are the fol22 lowing: 

23 (1) To protect consumers’ rights to choose a 

24 service provider for the diagnosis, service, mainte25 nance, and repair of their motor vehicles; 


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1 (2) To promote safety and energy efficiency by 

2 requiring motor vehicle manufacturers to make 

3 available to consumers and their service providers 

4 the information, parts and tools necessary to facili5 tate regular diagnosis, service, maintenance, and re6 pair of motor vehicles, motor vehicle equipment, and 

7 motor vehicle systems; and 

8 (3) To promote competition in price and quality 

9 for the diagnosis of problems, and the service, main10 tenance, and repair of motor vehicles by giving con11 sumers the widest possible choice of service pro12 viders. 

13 SEC. 3. MANUFACTURER REQUIREMENTS. 

14 (a) DUTY TO DISCLOSE INFORMATION.—The manu15 facturer of a motor vehicle sold, leased, or otherwise intro16 duced into commerce in the United States shall provide 

17 to the motor vehicle owner, and to all service providers 

18 on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, all informa19 tion necessary to diagnose, service, maintain, or repair the 

20 motor vehicle, and all information necessary to fully utilize 

21 the tools and motor vehicle equipment (including replace22 ment equipment) needed to diagnose, service, maintain, 

23 and repair the motor vehicle. Such information shall in24 clude— 


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1 (1) information about safety alerts, recalls, 

2 service bulletins and the need for adjustments to 

3 maintain energy efficiency; 

4 (2) information necessary to access and inte5 grate replacement equipment into the motor vehicle; 

6 and 

7 (3) all other information of any kind needed or 

8 used to diagnose, service, maintain, repair, activate, 

9 certify, or install any motor vehicle equipment (in10 cluding replacement equipment) in a motor vehicle. 

11 (b) DUTY TO MAKE TOOLS AVAILABLE.—The manu12 facturer of a motor vehicle sold, leased, or otherwise intro13 duced into commerce in the United States shall offer for 

14 sale to consumers, and to all service providers on reason15 able and non-discriminatory terms, any tool necessary to 

16 diagnose, service, maintain, or repair a motor vehicle, and 

17 shall provide the information necessary to enable 

18 aftermarket tool companies to manufacture tools with the 

19 same functional characteristics as those tools made avail20 able by the manufacturers to authorized dealers. 

21 (c) REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT.—The manufacturer 

22 of a motor vehicle sold, leased, or otherwise introduced 

23 into commerce in the United States shall offer for sale 

24 to consumers, and to all service providers on reasonable 


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1 and non-discriminatory terms, all equipment necessary to 

2 diagnose, service, maintain, or repair a motor vehicle. 

3 (d) PROTECTION OF TRADE SECRETS.— 

4 (1) A manufacturer may not be required to 

5 publicly disclose information that, if made public, 

6 would divulge methods or processes entitled to pro7 tection as trade secrets. 

8 (2) No information may be withheld by a manu9 facturer on the ground that it is a trade secret if 

10 that information is provided (directly or indirectly) 

11 to authorized dealers or service providers. 

12 SEC. 4. AUTHORITY OF FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of enforcing com14 pliance with this Act, the Federal Trade Commission may 

15 utilize all authority conferred on it by the Federal Trade 

16 Commission Act, or otherwise. 

17 (b) A violation of section 3 of this Act constitutes 

18 an unfair method of competition and an unfair or decep19 tive act or practice within the meaning of section 5(a)(1) 

20 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 

21 45(a)(1)). 

22 (c) Violation of a rule prescribed under section 4(d) 

23 of this Act constitutes violation of a rule defining an un24 fair or deceptive act or practice prescribed under section 


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1 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 

2 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

3 (d) RULEMAKING.—The Federal Trade Commission 

4 may prescribe rules to implement this Act. 

5 (e) COOPERATION WITH U.S. DEPARTMENT OF

6 TRANSPORTATION.—The Federal Trade Commission shall 

7 cooperate with the Department of Transportation to pub8 lish technical service bulletins on a Federal Internet 

9 Website. 

10 (f) LIMITATION.—The Federal Trade Commission 

11 may not prescribe rules that— 

12 (1) interfere with the authority of the Adminis13 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency 

14 under section 202(m) of the Clean Air Act (42 

15 U.S.C. 7521(m)) with regard to motor vehicle emis16 sions control diagnostics systems; or 

17 (2) conflict with rules prescribed by such Ad18 ministrator under such section. 

19 SEC. 5. ACTION BY STATES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Whenever an attorney general of 

21 any State has reason to believe that the interests of the 

22 residents of that State have been or are being threatened 

23 or adversely affected by a violation of section 3 of this 

24 Act, or by the violation of a rule promulgated by the Fed25 eral Trade Commission to implement this Act, the State, 


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1 as parens patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf of 

2 its residents to enjoin such violations, to obtain damages, 

3 restitution, or other compensation on behalf of residents 

4 of such State, or to obtain such further and other relief 

5 as the court may deem appropriate. 

6 (b) NOTICE.—The State shall serve prior written no7 tice of any civil action under subsection (a) of this section 

8 upon the Federal Trade Commission with a copy of its 

9 complaint, except that if it is not feasible for the State 

10 to provide such prior notice, the State shall serve such 

11 notice immediately upon instituting such action. Upon re12 ceiving a notice respecting a civil action, the Federal 

13 Trade Commission shall have the right— 

14 (1) to intervene in such action, 

15 (2) upon so intervening, to be heard on all mat16 ters arising therein, and 

17 (3) to file petitions for appeal. 

18 (c) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bringing any 

19 civil action under subsection (a) of this section, nothing 

20 in this chapter shall prevent an attorney general from ex21 ercising the powers conferred on the attorney general by 

22 the laws of such State to conduct investigations or to ad23 minister oaths or affirmations or to compel the attendance 

24 of witnesses or the production of documentary and other 

25 evidence. 


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1 (d) ACTIONS BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.— 

2 Whenever a civil action has been instituted by or on behalf 

3 of the Federal Trade Commission for violation of any rule 

4 prescribed under section 4(d) of this Act, no State may, 

5 during the pendency of such action instituted by or on 

6 behalf of the Federal Trade Commission, institute a civil 

7 action under this Act against any defendant named in the 

8 complaint in such action for violation of any rule as al9 leged in such complaint. 

10 (e) ACTIONS BY OTHER STATE OFFICIALS.— 

11 (1) Nothing contained in this section shall pro12 hibit an authorized State official from proceeding in 

13 State court on the basis of an alleged violation of 

14 any civil or criminal statute of such State. 

15 (2) In addition to actions brought by an attor16 ney general of a State under subsection (a) of this 

17 section, such an action may be brought by officers 

18 of such State who are so authorized. 

19 SEC. 6. CONSUMERS’ RIGHTS. 

20 A consumer or service provider may bring a civil ac21 tion to enjoin any violation of section 3 of this Act or of 

22 any rule issued pursuant to this Act and for damages 

23 therefore (including court costs and reasonable attorney 

24 and expert witness fees). Such an action may be brought 

25 in any court of competent jurisdiction. 


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1 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) The term ‘‘commerce’’ has the meaning 

4 given that term in section 4 of the Federal Trade 

5 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 44). 

6 (2) The terms ‘‘manufacturer’’, ‘‘motor vehi7 cle’’, and ‘‘motor vehicle equipment’’ have the mean8 ings given those terms in section 30102(a) of title 

9 49, United States Code. 

10 (3) The term ‘‘motor vehicle owner’’ and the 

11 term ‘‘consumer’’ mean any person who owns, 

12 leases, or otherwise has the legal right to use and 

13 possess a motor vehicle, or the agent of such person. 

14 (4) The term ‘‘service provider’’means a person 

15 engaged in the diagnosis, service, maintenance, or 

16 repair of motor vehicles or motor vehicle engines. 

17 (5) The term ‘‘replacement equipment’’ has the 

18 meaning given that term in section 30102(b)(1) of 

19 title 49, United States Code. 

20 (6) The term ‘‘model year’’ has the meaning 

21 given that term in section 32901(a) of title 49, 

22 United States Code. 

23 (7) The term ‘‘dealer’’ has the meaning given 

24 that term in section 30102(a) of title 49, United 

25 States Code. 


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1 (8) The term ‘‘technical service bulletin’’ means 

2 a communication sent to a dealer about the diag3 nosis, service, maintenance or repair of a motor ve4 hicle or item of motor vehicle equipment and shall 

5 include all communications sent to the Secretary of 

6 Transportation under sections 30166(f) and 

7 30166(m)(3)(A)(ii) of title 49, United States Code. 

Æ 


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