Auto manfacturers look to restrict repair & customizing after purchase

[LukerDooker]

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/04/20/automakers-gearheads-car-repairs/

Automakers to gearheads: Stop repairing cars
Car Companies Say Home Repairs Are 'Legally Problematic,' Seek Copyright Restrictions

"Last September, Ford took steps toward consolidating such control, filing a lawsuit against Autel US Inc., a diagnostic-equipment manufacturer based in Huntington, New York. Ford alleges the company unlawfully copied trade secrets and accessed on-board computer systems that relay technical information on diagnostic codes and repair data. The EFF says consumers should have the right to have their cars fixed by independent mechanics."

 

[Bobmbx]

Officer: "Good evening, motorist...may I ask what it is you are doing?"

Motorist: "I'm....changing a flat tire"

Officer: "I see.....that is a violation of the Ford Motor Company copyright. Sign here, please"

 

[LukerDooker]

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/s/gm-ford-others-want-working-own-car-illegal-160000229.html

"According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, John Deere argued that “letting people modify car computer systems will result in them pirating music through the on-board entertainment system.”

That’s right— pirating music. Through a tractor."

 

[DeepBlueSC]

Really much ado about nothing. Not only have the automakers tried this type of thing before, they have also failed miserably.
Before any/everyone gets all up in arms over this, bear in mind the automotive aftermarket segment is gigantic and has incredible clout. They will fight this battle if for no other reason than it is their very livelihood and existence at stake. Also keep in mind how long it takes to get an appointment at the dealer to get service done. Now double the number of cars they have to see and tell me what happens.

It's been a while, but being in the industry for most of my life, here's a story with a legal precedent to go with it. In the 1990's a guy bought a new Corvette. I can't recall all of the specifics anymore, but recall he decided he didn't want it or wanted them to replace it with a new one. Anyway, he drained the oil out and ran the engine at full throttle until he blew it up, and then put the oil back in. He then had it towed to the dealer. The dealer, after disassembling the motor and determining (correctly) that a lack of lubrication was the cause, yet could find no reason for the lack of lubrication, accessed the car's PCM. As I understand, they accessed the factory level data, not just what the scan tool at Autozone will tell you. They used that data, which is/was factual and time-based to prove that he deliberately revved/overevved the motor for a specific period of time. They further assumed/determined (correctly) that he most likely removed the oil and then replaced it afterwards as the oil had no supporting evidence of the damage to the engine.

The dealer therefore declared that the car had been deliberately abused for the purpose of causing permanent damage to it. For that reason they refused to repair it under the warranty and, as I recall, voided the balance of the warranty. He sued the dealer and GM, stating that the data they used to determine this was, in fact, his personal, proprietary and private property and that they had no rights to access it. The court agreed. There was no disputing he had destroyed the car, but the information used to prove/determine that was essentially stolen from him. In the end, GM put a new motor in the car.

An extreme case/situation, but it creates a slippery slope for the OEM's. I also believe there is existing law that prevents the OEM's from doing what their attempting to do here. Remember how they tried to say only OEM parts will keep the warranty in effect? The response to that was fine, but the OEM's have to provide those parts free of cost. All of a sudden that became a non-issue.

 

[joney]

Still at it, and still more push back:

A Fight Over the Right to Repair Cars Turns Ugly

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.

www.wired.com

 

[drudis]

IMOHO, I see White/Black/Grey areas:

You put an aftermarket chip, remove redline, spin the motor to 7,000rpm, blow motor - is Ford responsible for your modifications?

You put on a catch can, this is not factory, changes the emissions settings, engine fails... is Ford responsible for your modifications?

You put on aftermarket LED foglights, update Forscan to run them with high-beam, engine fails... is Ford responsible for your modifications?

I think its a matter of common sense.

 

[boominXplorer]

^ as I agree with these statements above I'm not buying anything I can't fix myself. I own my own repair facility and have all the official Ford software and logins as well as 75% of what I work on is Ford's so I will be one of the last independent shops to be affected.

Any computer flash can be detected by Ford software so your not hiding anything if you tune then remove the tune before dealer visit. You do want to do that anyway incase they do a reprogramming as it will make your tuner a brick.

Right now with most manufacturers you can download their software for a small fee and use a J box pass thru to update / reprogramming right from their website.

Taking away user functions because of a right to repair spat is going to affect a company negatively. They are only hurting themselves. The only ones doing this right is Tesla unfortunately. They actually have reasonable repair pricing and technology updates including hardware updates for older cars. Friend of mine just had both screens replaced in his 2013 model S for $1500 out the door with new hardware and software.