Subaru, Kia Shut Off Some Car Features Rather Than Adhere to ‘Right To Repair’ Law
23rd February 2022
What’s happening in Massachusetts mirrors a broader battle over who has the “right to repair” increasingly complex electronic products — from iPhones and farm tractors to the family car.
About 75% of Massachusetts voters sided with the auto repair industry in 2020 by passing a ballot initiative that’s supposed to allow car owners and their preferred auto shops to more easily peek into a car’s trove of online data. Automakers have been fighting it in court ever since.
And two of them, Subaru and Kia, said that rather than run afoul of the new law, they would disable their wireless “telematics” systems from new models in the state. Car buyers and dealerships have been feeling the effects.
The Hyundai system is called BlueLink and it allows one to do some amazing stuff. I don’t use even a third of it, but it’s nice knowing that they’re available. The ability to remotely start and de-ice the car is worth a lot in winter. This strikes me as just dog-in-the-manger attitude on the part of the manufacturers.