Right to Repair: Congress moves to break car makers' repair monopoly

What it does

This bill prohibits car manufacturers from blocking owners' access to their vehicle's data, repair information, and diagnostic tools. It requires manufacturers to provide the same data and repair information to independent repair shops, parts makers, and owners that they give to their own dealers—at the same cost and through the same methods. It also bars manufacturers from mandating use of their own parts or tools, and establishes an FTC-led advisory committee to monitor competition in the auto repair market.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a consumer-protection mandate: it strips manufacturers of the power to monopolize repair access and data, restoring owner choice and competition in the aftermarket. This is fundamentally a competitive-fairness and consumer-rights measure, not a subsidy or deregulation.

What the text implies

• Manufacturers may face significant compliance costs to redesign telematics systems and diagnostic interfaces to provide data access without compromising security—costs that could be passed to consumers through higher vehicle prices.
• The 72-hour data deletion requirement and restrictions on data use may create friction for legitimate repair-shop workflows and warranty tracking, potentially slowing service.
• De-identification standards for R&D data are defined but not prescriptively enforced; manufacturers may argue compliance while retaining significant re-identification risk.
• The bill does not explicitly address cybersecurity liability if third-party repair shops or designees mishandle vehicle data, creating potential gaps in consumer protection.
• State preemption (Section 8) may override existing state right-to-repair laws that are more protective, if those laws diverge from the federal standard.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Ordinary car owners gain the right to choose independent repair shops, access their own vehicle data, and use aftermarket parts without manufacturer interference—lowering repair costs and increasing competition. The bill restricts manufacturer power to lock owners into expensive dealer networks, a clear consumer protection that outweighs any compliance burden on manufacturers.

Who stands to gain

• independent repair shops
• aftermarket parts manufacturers
• diagnostic tool manufacturers
• motor vehicle parts retailers and distributors

Named in the bill

Federal Trade Commission (FTC), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motor vehicle manufacturers, motor vehicle dealers, independent repair facilities, aftermarket parts manufacturers, diagnostic tool manufacturers, motor vehicle equipment manufacturers

Where it stands

44 cosponsors: 22 Democrats, 22 Republicans.

• Feb 25, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Feb 25, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade”
• Feb 10, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

68 lobbying clients named this bill on 105 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $80,653,353 in lobbying spend. A filing names 6 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 99% of bills with at least one filing.

Neal Dunn, the sponsor, reported $438,583 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A. — $37,710,000 on 2 filings
• General Motors Company — $6,610,000 on 2 filings
• American Property Casualty Insurance Association — $3,540,000 on 2 filings
• Toyota Motor North America Inc (tma) — $3,483,687 on 2 filings
• Fedex Corporation — $2,930,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 22, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.