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EDMONTON — Canada's small auto shops are warning that the cost of getting newer vehicles serviced could “skyrocket” because they say some auto makers are restricting access to vital diagnostic software.
Without the software, smaller shops are forced to send some repairs to dealerships, and the volume of this dealers-only work will increase as more computer systems are added to new models.
“It hurts your reputation when you can't offer a customer the service they need because you were denied access to the software,” says Nancy Suranyi, whose family runs a small shop on the outskirts of Edmonton.
Auto mechanics now diagnose problems by using hand-held computers that plug into an outlet under the dashboard in newer cars. But these devices need a computer chip and software, which in some cases are given only to dealers and denied to the smaller shops.
Even putting a pair of snow tires on a newer vehicle requires software to calibrate sensors that monitor tire pressure.
“You have to go somewhere else to get it done, so how much of an inconvenience is that for you?” Mr. Suranyi said. “The customer is probably just going to start going straight to the dealership for all repairs and service.”
Industry figures show Canadians spend roughly $16-billion a year on after-market repairs, which does not include repairs done at dealerships, so the stakes are high.
Bob Telford, publisher of the trade magazine Service Station Garage Management, said small shops across Canada are facing the software-access problem. He sees the situation getting worse.
“Access to diagnostic software is crucial in order to keep customers satisfied,” said Mr. Telford, adding that consumer costs for maintaining vehicles “will go through the roof.”
“You will have fewer and fewer choices as to where you can have your vehicle maintained.”
Last year, New Democrat MP Brian Masse put forward right-to-repair legislation that would require auto makers to make diagnostic software available to all shops and technicians. Although private member's bills rarely become law, he said interest in this issue appears to be growing.
“There seems to be more interest even though this bill is a year old,” Mr. Masse said. “What's happened to the industry is they've continued to experience more problems with diagnostic capabilities to service their customers.”
But Canada's auto dealers say consumers are not reporting problems in having their vehicles repaired and there is no public outcry on this issue.
Association president Rick Gauthier, president of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association, has said the after-market auto repair industry is trying to force auto makers to disclose “confidential repair information.”
“Lobbyists for this legislation are trying to expand their members' already majority of share of the automotive repair market under the guise of representing the interests of consumers,” he said last fall in a letter to Mr. Masse.
Representatives for the association did not return phone calls last week.
Other major players are now joining the push to end the restrictions on auto software, including the Canadian Automobile Association, the Retail Council of Canada and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
“They've all indicated support for us and said they'd like to see this situation resolved,” said Marc Brazeau, president of the Automotive Industry Association of Canada, which represents after-market parts suppliers, distributors and retailers.
Federal officials at Industry Canada are also getting involved in the discussions, so he sees some positive momentum, Mr. Brazeau said.
“We're not saying don't go to a car dealer for service,” he said. “Even if the dealers wanted all the business, they simply don't have the ability to meet the complete demand of Canadian consumers.”
The National Automotive Trades Association of Canada is an umbrella group of provincial associations for small shops.
Spokesman Rene Young said that, in some cases, body shops cannot reset the airbag warning light, and glass shops cannot reset computers that disable the starting system when a window is broken. Shops in rural areas are sometimes forced to tow vehicles hundreds of kilometres to the nearest dealership, he said.
The group favours a voluntary approach to resolving this issue.
“This was the way it was done in the U.S. a number of years ago and it seems to be working quite well,” Mr. Young said.
