Current Events > Subaru and Kia disabled features in right to repair state

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.wired.com/story/fight-right-repair-cars-turns-ugly/

Chie Ferrelli loved her Subaru SUV, which she bought in 2020 because it made her feel safe. So when it was time for her husband, Marc, to purchase his own new car last summer, they returned to the Subaru dealer near their home in southeast Massachusetts. But there was a catch, one that made the couple mad: Marcs sedan wouldnt have access to the company's telematics system and the app that went along with it. No remote engine start in the freezing New England winter; no emergency assistance; no automated messages when the tire pressure was low or the oil needed changing. The worst part was that if the Ferrellis lived just a mile away, in Rhode Island, they would have the features. They bought the car. But thinking back, Marc says, if he had known about the issue before stepping into the dealership he probably would have gone with Toyota.
Subaru disabled the telematics system and associated features on new cars registered in Massachusetts last year as part of a spat over a right-to-repair ballot measure approved, overwhelmingly, by the states voters in 2020. The measure, which has been held up in the courts, required automakers to give car owners and independent mechanics more access to data about the cars internal systems.

But the open data platform envisioned by the law doesnt exist yet, and automakers have filed suit to prevent the initiative from taking effect. So first Subaru and then Kia turned off their telematics systems on their newest cars in Massachusetts, irking drivers like the Ferrellis. This was not to comply with the lawcompliance with the law at this time is impossiblebut rather to avoid violating it, Dominick Infante, a spokesperson for Subaru, wrote in a statement. Kia did not respond to a request for comment.

The dispute is the latest chapter in long-running disagreements between the state and automakers over the right to repair, or consumers ability to fix their own cars or control who does it for them. In 2012, Massachusetts voters passed a similar ballot measure that, for the first time, required automakers to use nonproprietary onboard diagnostics ports on every vehicle.

Late stage Capitalism is you buy a product but the corporation actually owns it.

Oh wait! It gets worse!!!!

MUCH WORSE

Automakers say opening the cars mechanical data to anyone would be dangerousand a violation of federal law. In November 2020, just after voters approved the ballot measure, a trade group that represents most major automakers sued Massachusetts in federal court. The group, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, argued that the federal government, not states, should control who gets access to cars telematics systems. The group also said that it would be irresponsible and dangerous to create the open data platform that the law required, especially by 2022. The Massachusetts Right to Repair Committee, representing more than 1,600 Massachusetts repair shops, says the automakers had ample time to prepare. Last summer, the Biden administration directed the Federal Trade Commission to write rules making it easier for consumers to access their own data and repair tools; advocates hope the rules will apply to vehicles.

For Siegel, the controversy points to a bigger and woolier question about whether consumers understand just how much data is flowing from their vehicles and where it goes. Theres money to be made from a cars GPS location, temperature data, biometric info, and data on key parts. A few years ago, Siegel and his colleagues estimated that the US connected-car data market could be worth up to $92 billion, with everyone from manufacturers and parts suppliers to dealers and insurers racing for a share. The most important thing is to show people their own breadcrumbs, Siegel says.

Cars are now guzzling data about you and giving it FOR FREE to the automakers.
tsk tsk

I don't have a car, and likely will move closer to a city with public transit whenever I move. Fuck cars.

Good thing I don't have either one of those brands of cars.

MI4 REAL posted...

Good thing I don't have either one of those brands of cars.

They are not the only brand keeping tabs on you. They just the ones who were smart enough to realize if they let any mechanic get their data, they have exposed alot of your personal information which could cause massive issues.

Those people still bought the car so they can't complain. This isn't like that Society meme. They could have chosen with their money. Them buying it then complaining AFTER the fact is just silly.

WingsOfGood posted...

They are not the only brand keeping tabs on you. They just the ones who were smart enough to realize if they let any mechanic get their data, they have exposed alot of your personal information which could cause massive issues.

I know. All of them are.

The good thing is that they can trade it in for something else and probably get all of their money back.

cjsdowg posted...

Those people still bought the car so they can't complain. This isn't like that Society meme. They could have chosen with their money. Them buying it then complaining AFTER the fact is just silly.

The disabled features are a symptom, not the problem. The real problem is why they are fighting back against the law.
And that is because they were tracking too much about a person to safely let anyone but them have access to that data.

cjsdowg posted...

Those people still bought the car so they can't complain. This isn't like that Society meme. They could have chosen with their money. Them buying it then complaining AFTER the fact is just silly.

I don't think you thought this one through fully.

Good, good, right to repair

Makes me happier I have an old dumb car that doesn't even have power windows.

Ask yourself "Why did they give your laptop a free camera" and then think a bit.

You should come up with the answer in a few minutes.

(Also, why does it not have a CD Drive.)

ElatedVenusaur posted...

Makes me happier I have an old dumb car that doesn't even have power windows.

My aim was to give my dad a car that worked well, so I could trade it in.

And then my car got totaled.

Fuck me

MI4 REAL posted...

Ask yourself "Why did they give your laptop a free camera" and then think a bit.

You should come up with the answer in a few minutes.

(Also, why does it not have a CD Drive.)

Laptop it actually makes sense. Webcam is used for many things. It is also not free.

But smart tvs did have actual hidden cameras inside of them for awhile.

So... go buy the car in Rhode Island. It only messes up the taxes a little it.

WingsOfGood posted...

Laptop it actually makes sense. Webcam is used for many things. It is also not free.

But smart tvs did have actual hidden cameras inside of them for awhile.

They will always find another way.

Questionmarktarius posted...

So... go buy the car in Rhode Island. It only messes up the taxes a little it.

Reminder that Questionmark is always in my threads shilling hard for Capitalism.

"Just go buy it in Rhode Island! Nothing to see here folks!"

lol

WingsOfGood posted...

Reminder that Questionmark is always in my threads shilling hard for Capitalism.

What are they going to do, shut off the goodies in every car that enters Massachusetts?
If the "RI" model does stuff the "Mass" model does not, why are you buying the crippled one?

You're only a "victim" of capitalism if you're dumb enough to voluntarily be one.

Questionmarktarius posted...

What are they going to do, shut off the goodies in every car that enters Massachusetts?
If the "RI" model does stuff the "Mass" model does not, why are you buying the crippled one?

You're only a "victim" of capitalism if you're dumb enough to voluntarily be one.

So the actual point went over your head. Not surprised.

Imagine buying a car in 2022

It's funny he says he would have went with Toyota, because were also considering really scummy practices like having literal remote start DLC on their cars.

https://www.thedrive.com/tech/43636/toyota-reviewing-key-fob-remote-start-subscription-plan-after-massive-blowback

Also you gotta be fucking stupid to buy that car *anyway* unless they knock a huge number off the price. Without those features it's literally below the entry-level trim offered on 90% of vehicles now.

WingsOfGood posted...

So the actual point went over your head. Not surprised.

No law can oblige Kia to provide "telematics" (whatever that is) in places where its being dicks about right-to-repair. If anything, any legislative attempts to do so will end it everywhere else, because lawyers.

Blbmbr666 posted...

It's funny he says he would have went with Toyota, because were also considering really scummy practices like having literal remote start DLC on their cars.

Never trust a purchase that comes with an always-on service. You're just going to get fucked in the end.