§ 29-A §1810 — Right to repair

1.
Access to diagnostic systems.
Access to the vehicle on-board diagnostic systems of all motor vehicles, including commercial motor vehicles and heavy duty vehicles having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 14,000 pounds, must be standardized and made accessible to owners and independent repair facilities and the access may not require authorization by the manufacturer, directly or indirectly, unless that authorization is standardized across all makes and models of motor vehicles sold in this State and is administered by the independent entity described in subsection 2.
2.
Independent entity.
The Attorney General shall designate an independent entity not controlled by one or more motor vehicle manufacturers to establish and administer access to vehicle-generated data that is available through the on-board diagnostic system or that is transmitted by the standardized access platform authorized under this section. The independent entity must consist of one representative each from a cross section of industry trade groups including but not limited to organizations representing motor vehicle manufacturers, aftermarket parts manufacturers, aftermarket parts distributors and retailers, independent motor vehicle service providers and new car dealers. The independent entity shall manage cyber-secure access to motor vehicle-generated data, including ensuring on an ongoing basis that access to the on-board diagnostic system and standardized access platform is secure based on all applicable United States and international standards. The independent entity shall:
3.
Model year 2002 motor vehicles.
For model year 2002 motor vehicles, including commercial motor vehicles and heavy duty vehicles having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 14,000 pounds, each manufacturer of motor vehicles sold in this State shall make available for purchase under fair and reasonable terms by owners and independent repair facilities all diagnostic repair tools, parts, software and components incorporating the same diagnostic, functional repair and wireless capabilities that the manufacturer makes available to its authorized repair shops. Each manufacturer shall:
4.
Model year 2002-2017 motor vehicles.
For model year 2002-2017 motor vehicles, including commercial motor vehicles and heavy duty vehicles having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 14,000 pounds, access to a vehicle's on-board diagnostic and repair information system must be the same for an owner or an independent repair facility as that provided to a new vehicle dealer.
5.
Model year 2018 and later motor vehicles.
For model year 2018 and later motor vehicles, including commercial motor vehicles and heavy duty vehicles having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 14,000 pounds, access to the on-board diagnostic and repair information system must be available through use of an off-the-shelf personal computer with sufficient memory, processor speed, connectivity and other capabilities as specified by the vehicle manufacturer and:
6.
Required equipment.
Not later than one year from the effective date of this section, a manufacturer of motor vehicles sold in this State, including commercial motor vehicles and heavy duty vehicles having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 14,000 pounds, that uses a telematics system is required to equip vehicles sold in this State with an inter-operable, standardized and owner-authorized access platform across all of the manufacturer's makes and models. The platform must be capable of securely communicating all mechanical data emanating directly from the motor vehicle via direct data connection to the platform. The platform must be directly accessible by the motor vehicle owner through a mobile-based application and, upon the authorization of the owner, all mechanical data must be directly accessible by an independent repair facility or a licensed dealer as described in section 851, subsections 2 and 9, limited to the time to complete the repair or for a period of time agreed to by the motor vehicle owner for the purposes of maintaining, diagnosing and repairing the motor vehicle. Access must include the ability to send commands to in-vehicle components if needed for purposes of maintenance, diagnostics and repair. All parts, tools, software and other components necessary to complete a full repair of the vehicle, as referenced in this subsection, must be included and provided to motor vehicle owners and authorized independent repair shops.
7.
Exclusions.
Manufacturers of motor vehicles sold in the United States may exclude diagnostic, service and repair information necessary to reset an immobilizer system or security-related electronic modules from information provided to motor vehicle owners and independent repair facilities. If excluded under this subsection, the information necessary to reset an immobilizer system or security-related electronic modules must be made available to motor vehicle owners and independent repair facilities through the secure data release model system as used on the effective date of this section by the National Automotive Service Task Force or other known, reliable and accepted systems.
8.
Enforcement.
If the independent entity described by subsection 2 has reason to believe that a manufacturer has violated any provision of this section, the independent entity shall notify the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall promptly institute any actions or proceedings the Attorney General considers appropriate. The independent entity, through the Attorney General, may apply to the Superior Court of any county of the State to enforce any lawful order made or action taken by the independent entity pursuant to this section.

Legislative History

IB 2023, c. 3, §3 (NEW).