I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1449 

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

their motor vehicles, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 8, 2011 

Mr. TOWNS (for himself and Mr. PLATTS) 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 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

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

8 (1) Motor vehicle owners are entitled to choose 

9 which service provider will diagnose, service, main10 tain, or repair their motor vehicles. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 1449 IH

1 (2) Promoting competition in price and quality 

2 for the diagnosis of problems, service, maintenance, 

3 and repair of motor vehicles will benefit consumers. 

4 (3) Regular diagnosis, service, maintenance, 

5 and repair of motor vehicles, motor vehicle equip6 ment, and motor vehicle systems such as pollution 

7 control, transmission, anti-lock brakes, electronic 

8 and mechanical systems, heating and air-condi9 tioning, and steering are essential to America’s mo10 bility, minimizing fuel consumption, protecting the 

11 environment, and enabling the highest levels of safe12 ty possible in modern motor vehicles. 

13 (4) Computers of various kinds are now used by 

14 manufacturers in motor vehicle equipment and 

15 motor vehicle systems. On-board computer tech16 nology controls virtually all of the vehicle’s systems, 

17 and only service technicians with the necessary tools 

18 and information can access the computers to per19 form diagnosis, service, maintenance, and repair of 

20 the vehicle. 

21 (5) Manufacturers have made available to their 

22 authorized dealers and service providers the informa23 tion, tools, codes, and replacement equipment nec24 essary to diagnose problems and to service, mainVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:25 Apr 11, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1449.IH H1449

emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 1449 IH

1 tain, and repair motor vehicles that incorporate com2 puters in their motor vehicle systems. 

3 (6) Consumers in the United States have bene4 fitted from the availability of a wide choice of service 

5 providers for their motor vehicles. The American 

6 economy has also benefitted from the availability of 

7 an aftermarket tools and parts supply that provides 

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

9 and generates $200 billion in annual sales. 

10 (7) Vehicles are now being equipped with sys11 tems that permit vehicles to communicate repair and 

12 diagnostic information wirelessly with the vehicle 

13 manufacturer and repair facilities. Car owners have 

14 the right to choose where and to whom information 

15 generated by their vehicle and vehicle computers is 

16 sent. 

17 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

18 (1) to protect motor vehicle owners’ right to 

19 choose a service provider for the diagnosis, service, 

20 maintenance, and repair of their motor vehicles; 

21 (2) to promote competition in price and quality 

22 among service providers; and 

23 (3) to promote safety and fuel efficiency by al24 lowing consumers to choose among competing service 

25 providers. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 1449 IH

1 SEC. 3. MANUFACTURER REQUIREMENTS. 

2 (a) DUTY TO DISCLOSE INFORMATION.—The manu3 facturer of a motor vehicle sold, leased, or otherwise intro4 duced into commerce in the United States must provide 

5 to the motor vehicle owner and service providers, using 

6 reasonable business means and on a non-discriminatory 

7 basis, all information to diagnose, service, maintain, or re8 pair the motor vehicle. This information must include— 

9 (1) information about safety alerts, recalls, 

10 service bulletins and the need for adjustments to 

11 maintain vehicle efficiency, safety and convenience; 

12 and 

13 (2) all information of any kind provided di14 rectly, indirectly, or wirelessly to new car dealers or 

15 any repair facility to diagnose, service, maintain, re16 pair, activate, certify, or install any motor vehicle 

17 equipment (including replacement parts and equip18 ment) in a motor vehicle. 

19 (b) DUTY TO MAKE TOOLS AVAILABLE.—The manu20 facturer of a motor vehicle sold, leased, or otherwise intro21 duced into commerce in the United States must offer for 

22 sale to the motor vehicle owner and to all service providers 

23 on a reasonable and non-discriminatory basis, any tool for 

24 the diagnosis, service, maintenance, or repair of a motor 

25 vehicle, and provide all information that enables after26 market tool companies to manufacture tools with the same 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 1449 IH

1 functional characteristics as those tools made available by 

2 the manufacturers to authorized dealers. 

3 (c) REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT.—The manufacturer 

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

5 into commerce in the United States must offer for sale 

6 to motor vehicle owners, and to all service providers on 

7 reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, all equipment 

8 for diagnosis, service, maintenance, or repair of a motor 

9 vehicle. 

10 (d) PROTECTION OF TRADE SECRETS.— 

11 (1) A manufacturer may not be required to 

12 publicly disclose information that, if made public, 

13 would divulge methods or processes entitled to pro14 tection as trade secrets. 

15 (2) No information may be withheld by a manu16 facturer on the ground that it is a trade secret if 

17 that information is provided (directly or indirectly) 

18 to authorized dealers or service providers. 

19 SEC. 4. AUTHORITY OF FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of enforcing com21 pliance with this Act, the Federal Trade Commission may 

22 utilize all authority conferred on it by the Federal Trade 

23 Commission Act, or otherwise. 

24 (b) VIOLATION OF SECTION 3.—A violation of section 

25 3 of this Act constitutes an unfair method of competition 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 1449 IH

1 and an unfair or deceptive act or practice within the mean2 ing of section 5(a)(1) of the Federal Trade Commission 

3 Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)(1)). 

4 (c) VIOLATION OF A RULE.—Violation of a rule pre5 scribed under section 4(d) of this Act constitutes violation 

6 of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice 

7 prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade 

8 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

9 (d) RULEMAKING.—The Federal Trade Commission 

10 may prescribe rules to implement this Act. 

11 (e) COOPERATION WITH DEPARTMENT OF TRANS12 PORTATION.—The Federal Trade Commission must co13 operate with the Department of Transportation to publish 

14 technical service bulletins on a Federal Internet Website. 

15 (f) LIMITATION.—The Federal Trade Commission 

16 may not prescribe rules that— 

17 (1) interfere with the authority of the Adminis18 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency 

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

20 U.S.C. 7521(m)) with regard to motor vehicle emis21 sions control diagnostics systems; or 

22 (2) conflict with rules prescribed by the Admin23 istrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 1449 IH

1 SEC. 5. ACTION BY STATES. 

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

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

4 residents of that State have been or are being threatened 

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

6 Act, or by the violation of a rule promulgated by the Fed7 eral Trade Commission to implement this Act, the State, 

8 as parents patrial, may bring a civil action on behalf of 

9 its residents to enjoin violations, to obtain damages, res10 titution, or other compensation on behalf of residents of 

11 the State, or to obtain such further relief as the court may 

12 deem appropriate. 

13 (b) NOTICE.—The State must serve prior written no14 tice of any civil action under subsection (a) of this section 

15 upon the Federal Trade Commission with a copy of its 

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

17 to provide such prior notice, the State must serve notice 

18 immediately upon instituting an action. Upon receiving a 

19 notice of a civil action, the Federal Trade Commission 

20 may— 

21 (1) intervene in the action; 

22 (2) upon intervening, to be heard on all matters 

23 arising therein; and 

24 (3) to appeal. 

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

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


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 1449 IH

1 in this chapter will prevent an attorney general from exer2 cising the powers conferred on the attorney general by the 

3 laws of such State to conduct investigations or to admin4 ister oaths or affirmations or to compel the attendance 

5 of witnesses or the production of documentary and other 

6 evidence. 

7 (d) ACTIONS BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.— 

8 Whenever a civil action has been instituted by or the Fed9 eral Trade Commission for violation of any rule prescribed 

10 under section 4(d) of this Act, no State may, during the 

11 pendency of the action instituted by the Federal Trade 

12 Commission, institute a civil action under this Act against 

13 any defendant named in the complaint in such action for 

14 violation of any rule as alleged in such complaint. 

15 (e) ACTIONS BY OTHER STATE OFFICIALS.— 

16 (1) Nothing contained in this section may pro17 hibit an authorized State official from proceeding in 

18 State court on the basis of an alleged violation of 

19 any civil or criminal statute of such State. 

20 (2) In addition to actions brought by an attor21 ney general of a State under subsection (a) of this 

22 section, an action may be brought by officers of a 

23 State who are so authorized. 

24 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 1449 IH

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

2 given that term in section 4 of the Federal Trade 

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

4 (2) The terms ‘‘manufacturer’’, ‘‘motor vehi5 cle’’, and ‘‘motor vehicle equipment’’ have the mean6 ings given those terms in section 30102(a) of title 

7 49, United States Code. 

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

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

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

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

12 (4) The term ‘‘service provider’’ means any per13 son engaged in the diagnosis, service, maintenance, 

14 or repair of motor vehicles or motor vehicle engines. 

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

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

17 title 49, United States Code. 

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

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

20 United States Code. 

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

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

23 States Code. 

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

25 a communication sent to a dealer about the diagVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:25 Apr 11, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1449.IH H1449

emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 1449 IH

1 nosis, service, maintenance or repair of a motor ve2 hicle or item of motor vehicle equipment and shall 

3 include all communications sent to the Secretary of 

4 Transportation under sections 30166(f) and 

5 30166(m)(3)(A)(ii) of title 49, United States Code. 

Æ 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS