Ever since the automobile became part of our lives, they were worked on by service stations, garages, and often by the owners themselves. Perhaps you became your own mechanic after you started driving.
Over time cars have become more complex, yet the independent service garages and DIY mechanics got the tools that allowed them to service and repair cars.
On July 21, 2012 the Massachusetts legislature enacted the Right to Repair bill. There was also a similar binding ballot initiative that passed with 86% support. The Massachusetts legislature enacted a bill, H 3757 to reconcile the two laws. November 26, 2013 the bill was signed into law. In early 2014, the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, Coalition for Auto Repair Equality, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, and the Association for Global Automakers, signed a memorandum of understanding that was based on the Massachusetts’s law committing the vehicle manufacturers to meet the requirements in all fifty states.
In February 2019, the Right to Repair Coalition started a new public awareness ad campaign to update the Right to Repair Law which members claim is at risk because of wireless automotive technology which could limit independent repair shop’s access to information which dealerships receive. Voters later passed 2020 Massachusetts Question 1 to address this problem.
(The above was taken from a Wikipedia entry on Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair)
House Resolution 906, a new version of the “Right to Repair” Act, formally known as the “Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair (REPAIR) Act,” has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by U.S. Representative Neal Dunn (R-FL) and co-sponsored by Representatives Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Warren Davidson (R-OH), and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA).
Automobile manufacturers have been making changes in the amount and level of information they are providing independent service shops and DIY mechanics. Examples that have started appearing in different makes are clearly to make it impossible to service your own car or have an independent garage service your vehicle. One manufacturer has made it impossible to change the windshield wipers on its cars without using dealer only software that positions the wipers so that they can be serviced. Otherwise, it is impossible to change them. Other manufacturers have made it so that if a car’s battery needs to be changed or replaced, it must be programed into the car’s computer with a dealership only code. Clearly automobile manufacturers are creating an environment where eventually any repairs or service that their brand vehicles need can only be done at a dealership.
The dealerships service department has become the major profit center. It contributes far more than the sales department does.
Check with your member of Congress and Senate to see how they are supporting the Right to Repair Act.
JIM'S GARAGE 
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