Protecting Consumer Repair Choice

Consumers have the freedom to choose where they have their vehicles repaired. Independent repair shops perform more than three-quarters of all post-warranty repairs, with manufacturers making the tools and information needed to diagnose and repair vehicles available to them under a 2014 industry agreement.

A bill proposed in Congress in 2026 called the REPAIR Act(H.R. 1566) had almost nothing to do with vehicle repair. Backed by large insurance companies and aftermarket parts manufacturers, the legislation would allow third-party access to sensitive driver and vehicle data and enable aftermarket manufacturers to reverse-engineer original vehicle parts. These provisions could allow any third party greater access to vehicle data while encouraging the use of potentially inferior non-original parts — raising concerns about consumer privacy, safety and choice.

In May 2026, the House Energy and Commerce Committee replaced the original bill with a narrower, bipartisan approach. The revised legislation codifies the existing industry agreement on access to repair tools and information, gives the Federal Trade Commission authority to enforce it, and directs the FTC to study issues involving vehicle data, privacy, cybersecurity and safety.

NADA supports this approach, which protects consumer repair choice without advancing unrelated commercial interests or compromising consumer privacy and vehicle safety.