By Levy Joffrion
If you're a collision repair shop owner, you don't need to be told that information availability is a problem.
Collision repairers are facing more and more technical issues that require difficult-to-obtain repair information. You encounter the problem daily.
But what you may not know is that there are folks out there trying to fix the crisis.
One of those devoting a great deal of effort toward solving the problem is Michael “Mike” West, owner/operator of Southtowne Auto Rebuild Inc., in Tukwila, Wash. West is a member of the Automotive Service Association Collision Division Operations Committee and chairman of the automotive manufacturers subcommittee.
West agrees that industry and legislative efforts are moving the needs of collision repairers in the right direction.
Legislative Effort
The main thrust in the legislative effort is toward getting H.R. 2735 - the Motor Vehicle Owner's Right to Repair Act - passed into law. The representatives who introduced the bill (U.S. Reps. Joe Barton, R-Texas, and Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y.) pointed out to their peers that vehicles have become more complex and that not everyone can work on them. They told their fellow legislators: “The end result is that motorists have become chained to the car manufacturers and their car dealers in order to have their vehicles repaired and parts replaced ... this lockout of information has forced them to return to car dealers and forced them to pay higher, noncompetitive costs.” H.R. 2735 would preserve a vehicle owner's freedom to choose where, how and by whom to repair their vehicles as well as their choice in car parts.
Not the least among legislative effort has been ASA members asking customers to sign petitions urging enactment of H.R. 2735. This started this past November when ASA sent a letter to its members urging them to work for the bill's passage by getting their customers to sign petitions that ASA provided. “There was a tremendous response,” says Bill Haas, ASA's vice president for divisions, education and training. “We had lots of petitions returned with thousands and thousands of signatures and our outgoing chairman, Jim Keller, presented them to Congressman Towns during the Congressional reception held in Washington during the ASA annual convention.”
During the 2002 ASA Annual Convention, held April 8-13 in Washington, D.C., ASA scheduled appointments for its members to have individual, one-on-one meetings with their elected representatives. ASA members discussed information availability, tax credits for apprentices and other important issues currently being considered in various bills before Congress.
A lot of effort has also been expended toward working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has a new proposed service information rule. Progress in the rulemaking process has been slow and the EPA expects to release the final rule mid-summer.
It all started when Congress mandated that vehicles come manufactured with a computer system to monitor vehicle emissions. The original rules were designed to protect automobile manufacturer information yet provide repairers and consumers adequate protections. As vehicles have advanced, so have the computer systems installed. Computer systems now control vital systems such as engine management, brakes, airbags, steering mechanisms, climate control, anti-theft and ride control, to name a few. What began as a clean air measure became an unintended “vehicle in itself” to a repair and parts information monopoly by car manufacturers. Car manufacturers and dealers have been reluctant, understandably, to share the information necessary to repair vehicles because it takes business away from them.
The original service information regulations, which came about after the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 were signed into law, were thought at the time to be adequate with regard to what information repairers would receive, as well as the distribution and cost of that information.
As Robert L. Redding Jr., ASA's Washington, D.C., representative, has pointed out, federal intervention is necessary because a federal law put us in the situation we find ourselves today.
Information needs to be not only available, but also accessible and affordable. The EPA's position is that if it isn't affordable by the majority, then it isn't accessible.
The new rules are expected to have a big impact on the collision repair industry, particularly in regard to the cost of information.
“A lot more work needs to be done to ensure equity,” says Haas. “But our legislative effort is paying off. It most definitely has gotten the attention of the original equipment manufacturers and I think they're making a big effort to be more cooperative.”
Industry Effort
As proof of that, Haas points to the letter of intent signed this past October by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. The letter states: "By Jan. 1, 2003, the undersigned manufacturers intend to make available to independent technicians the same diagnostic and repair capabilities by making available diagnostic tools (and tool information), service information and training materials that they currently make available to their franchised dealerships for all 1996 and newer cars and light trucks."
Manufacturers agreeing without exception are Aston Martin Legonda Ltd., Daewoo Motor America Inc., Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Hyundai Motor Co., Isuzu Motors America Inc., Jaguar Cars Ltd., Kia Motors America Inc., Land Rover, Mazda North American Operations, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Nissan North America, Subaru of America Inc., American Suzuki Motor Corp., Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., and Volvo Cars of North America.
Companies agreeing with narrow exceptions are BMW Group, DaimlerChrysler AG, Saab Cars USA Inc. and Volkswagen of America.
ASA also received individually signed letters of intent from
all of the aforementioned manufacturers.
“This is a significant step in the right direction for automobile manufacturers. Independent repairers are assured all service information tools and training materials under this new commitment. ASA has been working with the auto manufacturers through the National Automotive Service Task Force,” said Redding.
The NASTF meets twice a year: at the Society of Automotive Engineers meeting in Detroit in March and at ASA's Congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) in Las Vegas in October or November.
The task force was established to facilitate the identification and correction of gaps in the availability and accessibility of automotive service information, technician training, diagnostic tools and equipment, and communications for the benefit of automotive service professionals. NASTF is a voluntary, cooperative effort among the automotive service industry, the equipment and tool industry, and automotive manufacturers.
The task force's service information committee is co-chaired by Redding and Greg Dana of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Haas is a member of the service information committee, as well as the tool and equipment, training and communication committees.
One of the task force's major efforts has been to develop the Vehicle Manufacturer Service Information Matrix.
Since the Clean Air Act requires the automobile manufacturers to make service information and diagnostic scan tool capabilities available to the aftermarket for vehicle emission systems, the information in the matrix is dedicated to information and tools for non-emissions-related systems of the automobile.
This is the only credible resource available to what information and tools are available from each manufacturer and how they can be accessed or obtained. Besides including the phone number or Web site address for each manufacturer or its designated intermediary, there is a complaint form that can be used to communicate with NASTF anytime you experience a problem with the information contained in the matrix.
“Technicians are urged to complete the complaint form on any problem they encounter,” says Haas. “That's the only way the program will truly be successful.”
The matrix will be updated quarterly to ensure its accuracy as a resource. It can be accessed via the task force's Web site (www.nastf.org) and via ASA's Web site (www.asashop.org), or a printed version is available from the collision and mechanical divisions of ASA.
Also in development are two additional matrices, one identifying for the aftermarket what training materials are available from manufacturers and another for diagnostic scan tools that would provide the capabilities of the tools available from manufacturers.
West has led an effort to move the task force toward including collision information and training.
This past year, he contacted 24 manufacturers providing information to the matrix in an effort to create a baseline of where the matrix was and what collision repairers need in the future from NASTF. West then presented the results of his survey at NASTF's meeting this spring in Detroit.
Redding says the survey “provided a clear indication of the lack of collision information available, and it was well received by NASTF. Members of the task force were pleased West established a foundation for developing a successful collision program within NASTF for collision repairers.”
West told the task force: “There are some real gaps and weaknesses in the current system. The matrix would be a point of frustration for collision repairers to use at this time, with corrections needing to be made regarding contact phone numbers.”
He also suggested the telephone contact person should be better informed as to what is available so they would be able to pass the information along in a more helpful manner to a repairer during an inquiry call.
West requested that a separate column be added to the matrix for collision repair information. Adding a separate column would help alleviate some frustration for collision repairers. The task force agreed with his suggestion and the next update of the matrix will include such a column.
Redding and Haas agree that West's presentation was an eye-opener for members of the task force. They point out that the matrix is a work in progress and like most things, will improve with use as its weaknesses are addressed.
“The task force has made much progress,” says West, “and they're proceeding at a decent pace.”
West believes the matrix is certainly a step in the right direction. One of the biggest problems technicians have always encountered is where to find the service information they need to fix a vehicle. “The information needs to be available, it needs to be accessible, and it needs to be affordable,” said West.
He cites his shop's recent attempt to find information on a Jeep's airbag system as an example of the difficulties collision repairers face. “We needed to know how to disable it because we had to do some welding on the vehicle,” says West. “We couldn't find anything in the manufacturer's manuals we had and when we went to a dealer, we were told they wouldn't give us that information for potential liability reasons. I said, 'The Chrysler information is readily available, why isn't Jeep?' They replied, 'That's our policy.'”
West said that leaves the collision repairer with a real problem; he can't get the information he needs so he just does what he thinks is best. But as anyone will tell you, working on an airbag can be dangerous ... even fatal, he points out.
West believes much work remains to be done to ensure that independent collision repair professionals are assured the service information, tools and training materials they need. But he agrees that progress is being made.
