The Automotive Industries Association of Canada wants to hear from service providers about the effectiveness of the so-called “Right to Repair” agreement in Canada.
The Canadian Automotive Service Information Standard (CASIS) came into effect six years ago after years of lobbying and hard work by many industry stakeholders.
The agreement ensures that the automotive aftermarket has equal access to OE repair information, allowing service and repair shops to fix vehicles and conduct ‘flashes’ or updates.
Six years later, the agreement remains unchanged. Recently, AIA conducted an informal survey of a few repair shops asking them about their knowledge of the agreement and their use of the OE repair sites. The results of the test say that there may be gaps in information on the agreement or that there may be barriers to accessing the information on the OE sites.
AIA want to understand what works or does not work for you as a service provider when you have a vehicle in your shop that requires a reprogramming or update.
Your feedback could help the AIA with recommendations they may make to the CASIS Task Force, a group that includes the 4 agreement signatories. Otherwise, the agreement will stand as is.
To get involved or to learn more about this project, please contact Chanel Ghazzawi, research & policy manager for AIA: Chanel.ghazzawi@aiacanada.com.
Related Posts
Comments
-
If I look up a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado Pro Demand gives me 15 main catagories with 109 sub headings, and each sub heading contains multiple sub headings as well. However if I look up a 2016 Silverado I have just 10 main catagories with a whopping 34 sub headings. So “no” the right to repair is not working in Canada, and the fact that the dealers say it is working is a joke.
-
Ok can you elaborate on the 2006 Silverado issue? What do you mean 15 categories? are you not happy that the information is there for you to gain access to?
-
-
Our experience is that information is available however some manufacturers make accessing information more difficult than it has to be (Ie many barriers in the process of updating to the most current versions before any reprogramming can be done) and some manufacturers have made their subscriptions ridiculously expensive. Owners cannot justify paying hundreds of dollars for subscriptions that are not going to be utilized regularly. The result is that we are, in my opinion, purposely very limited to what we can actually do in reality.
The most concerning issue that we have been experiencing is the lack of information regarding warranty maintenance schedules. More and more manufacturers are publishing extended interval services and recommending different versions privately to vehicle owners. Many warranty maintenance items are not even published in the manufacturers maintenance schedule but are presented privately to vehicle owners as a warranty maintenance requirement, thus leaving the after market service providers uninformed. Maintenance schedules need to be proper, complete and easier to follow. -
It was brought to my attention thru an email that this article was written regarding the “right to repair”. As I read this article I stopped and started from the beginning to try to understand what you are trying to ask.
“Is the aftermarket industry is having problems gaining access to the information”
Or
“Are the OE (dealers) industry is not allowing us to access it”Either one I would say comes down to an “aftermarket industry” problem. The information and access is there for our use 24/7/365.
Where I believe the problem is coming from is the number of shops that have owners between 40-70. These are the people that saw the innovation of old school scanners that were nothing more than a code reader (OTC2000)with a small amount of information and now have techs and vehicles that require and demand the best tools to repair todays vehicles.Today vehicles require flashing and or programing on close to 65% of the modules you install. This is where the confusion comes in as these shop owners buy the latest and greatest scanners from tool suppliers to repair all these new vehicles and quickly find out that they can’t fix the problem the shop is having because the expensive scan tool will not “flash or program” what they need to do.
Now the owner is angry as they spend 3-8 thousand on a tool that truly does 10% more than the one they just traded in and they are no further ahead. Now I’m not going to say that the newest scan tool wont program certain items but let’s be real most scan tools are purchased because someone said it will do what you want it to do but falls short on the big promise that you heard from the salesman.
In the end the owner/ technician is stuck taking it to the dealer to get done for the customer or phoning around to see if anyone can do it or worse yet telling the customer that they can’t do the repair because you have to take it to the dealer to get it programmed.Now there are a few shop owners out there that test scan tools and look at them as a scan tool only and only purchase them on a need to basis . With the right equipment (WITECH, MDI, VCM2, J2534) you do have access to all the flashing and OE information and yes it is expensive to have the right equipment and yes it will do everything the dealers can do except warranty work.
Now the owner that spent 3-8 thousand says I can’t afford to buy that right now or might say we don’t do enough to warrant the purchase of another tool that sits on the shelf so for you here you go
With a guess of what a job might look like there is a possibility of missing $295 on one job or moreWith flash capabilities
Diagnostics $120
R&R part $150
Flash $139
Total $409 repaired out the door same day and customer is happy that you took care of itWithout Flash capabilities
Diagnostics $120
R&R part $150
Travel -$176 ( .4 one way for 2 people to travel to drop off vehicle to get flashed @110/hr times 2 because you have to pick it up)
Flash $139
Flash cost -$119
Total $114As an industry we are our own worst enemies. We buy tools that won’t do what we need them to do and then won’t buy tools that will. Where is the problem? Look at the long term. What can’t you afford to do….. miss out on the future of the automotive world. Be a part of the solution not the problem.
Dollar for dollar the smartest investment that I made is to purchase flashing tools (yes we have more than one) over the last 8 years and will buy dealer specific tools to do dealer specific flashing and programing based on my customers’ needs
Hope this helps on the question you are have
Rich Payter
Mayland Heights Autopro
mhautopro@shaw.ca
403 277-6617 -
The factory information isn’t worth anything without the skills and product knowledge to back it up. The aftermarket is dying because technology has advanced to the point where the tools and subscriptions make it uneconomical for the all makes repair business to survive past the next 10 years.
-
I know this is a super old article but thought i would post. The fact that Mitchel Prodemand, Direct Hit and All Data refuse to carry Canadian only model service info of any kind would show that the right to repair is not working here. I can’t even find wheel torque for a 2015 Nissan Micra without going to the dealer.
-
I’ve encountered an issue that totally is not allowed to be repaired outside of the dealership. The ECM for Audi cannot be programmed/fixed by anyone but the Audi dealership. The amount of money the dealership charges versus an independent Audi mechanic is substantial.
-
I do lots of electronics and I also maintain my own car.
Right now I have two old Volvos and I tried buying the official documentation and couldn’t find it. There is software and a simple interface cable called VIDA DICE that I had to purchase bootleg on ebay.
If as an industry, you cannot help me do my own work, I don’t see why I should tell my government official to help you either.
I didn’t need the cable, you don’t need “scan tools” of any kind, a laptop and basic electronic equipment like a good digital oscilloscope and a programmable power supply is all you should need to program ANY modules.
The manufacturers must put out their documentation and software freely available to anyone. I find it unbelievable that anyone would buy a new 20k$+ car and not get the maintenance documentation and maintenance software to maintain their very expensive purchase.
If they can’t get it right out of the box, it will mean it is always a hassle for his mechanic to also get it.
Shade tree mechanics are not a threat to the industry. They work on the desperate cases you guys won’t even touch, and madam bmw driver isn’t going to take her business to them either. But if they can at least get the data -for free- as they should (this should come with the car) then you, the aftermarket jobber, would also get it for sure…
-
I purchased an ex-lease vehicle, still under warranty. That should include access to all diagnostic information provided through the OBD port. The security system (and possibly others) is password protected. The manufacturer includes this password with the vehicle documentation provided to the original purchaser, which I presume would be the dealership’s leasing company. As a “second owner” I’m being told by the dealership that they are not allowed by the manufacturer to give that out, but the manufacturer just refers me back to the dealership. This is equivalent to buying a car or house but the seller retains the only key.
I should have the right to access all OBD modules, and to be able to ensure my vehicle is secure from data theft of my vehicle’s security password, especially since I have no control over how securely the records are protected of all who have a record of my vehicle’s code.
As far as flashing updates, this should be modeled after and as easy as updating apps on a tablet: Download and install a manufacturer’s free app on a mobile device, enter my vehicle vin, receive notifications when flash updates become available, bluetooth pair to an OBD interface, create a backup and then perform the flash. The technology is available, mature and reliable. That it hasn’t been in place for years already evidences both manufacturer and dealership intentional barriers to a free market and fair competition, and to maintain repair price control and dealership dependency.
-
we all deserve the same information so WE can chose where we want to do repairs. I trust my repair man to fix my car for 15 years and counting’
Leave a Reply