Copyright 2002 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  

The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
July 3, 2002 Wednesday Home Edition
SECTION: Business; Pg. 3D

LENGTH: 696 words

HEADLINE: AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY: Bill would crack repair codes;
Independent shops cry foul

BYLINE: SHELLEY EMLING

SOURCE: Cox Washington Bureau

BODY:
New York --- If your car engine starts sounding like cymbal-wielding squirrels and one of those mysterious dashboard lights comes on, you know that fixing it yourself is far too complicated.

It's not so easy for your repair shop, either.

As cars have become more computerized, independent mechanics and repair shops say they are being denied the computer codes and other information needed to fix them.

As a result, they say, consumers often have no choice but to go to dealerships, where consumer groups say the average rate for labor is $10 to $20 per hour higher.

But legislation has been introduced that would require manufacturers to share the codes needed to run diagnostic tests and make repairs.

The Motor Vehicle Owner's Right to Repair Act, introduced last month by Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.), would require manufacturers to give consumers and repair shops the information necessary to diagnose, service or repair a car.

Wellstone called the issue a case of "blatant collusion," adding that thousands of small repair shops were being threatened.

"The big manufacturing companies are acting like a cartel," he said.

Wellstone's bill is a companion to one offered in the House by Reps. Joe Barton (R-Texas), Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) and 39 co-sponsors.

Hearings are expected this summer.

At the same time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has developed its own plan requiring manufacturers to publish on the Internet the codes related to emission repairs.

Everyone agrees that a car's systems --- including brakes, air bags and engines --- are increasingly controlled by computers.

As far back as 1990, the Clean Air Act mandated that all cars built after the mid-1990s be equipped with a computer-controlled emissions-monitoring system.

Mechanics today figure out what's wrong with a car by hooking it up to a small computer that displays a code of letters or numbers to identify the problem --- if the mechanic has the reference material to interpret that code.

Bill Haas, a vice president at the Automotive Service Association, based in Bedford, Texas, said independent repair shops perform 80 percent of the repairs for vehicles that are not covered by warranties because "that's where consumers want to have services performed."

But if "you were driving a Honda and had a problem with its anti-lock brakes, you'd be forced to take it to the dealer instead of the repair shop around the corner because only the dealer would know how to fix it," Haas said.

According to the Automotive Service Association, which represents more than 12,000 independent U.S. repair shops, at least 10 percent of the cars brought into independent shops can't be repaired there because adequate information isn't available.

Repair shops say the percentage will go up as newer models replace pre-1996 ones.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an industry group, has issued a "letter of intent" to make diagnostic codes available to independent repair shops by early next year.

But Haas said not all manufacturers support the letter and that the issue is more than just having codes.

"Repair shops need information such as wiring charts, diagnostic procedures, the software that's necessary to run diagnostic tests, all sorts of things," he said.

The alliance admits that some manufacturers such as Honda haven't signed the letter. It maintains that most diagnostic information repair shops need is already posted on the Internet.

Gloria Bergquist, an alliance spokeswoman, acknowledged that some repair shops might not have had adequate information in the past because they didn't know where to find it but said there's no need for any legislation.

"We support giving the diagnostic codes. What we don't support is giving the proprietary computer codes so that someone could create a substandard part and configure a car's computer system to make it work," said Bergquist.

Meanwhile, the legislation has garnered the support of the American Automobile Association.

"We support the principle," said spokesman Jerry Cheske. "The idea is to get more information into the hands of consumers and mechanics."

LOAD-DATE: July 3, 2002