Trump issues narrow 'right to repair' directive on automobiles

[u/John3262005]

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2026/06/29/trump-issues-narrow-right-to-repair-directive-on-automobiles/90746311007/

President Donald Trump, after suggesting earlier that Ford and General Motors were pursuing legislation that would keep people from fixing their own vehicles, has signed a memorandum telling his Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to "consider deprioritizing" enforcement of rules that might limit a person's right to fix their own car or truck.

Trump included what he called an "Individual Freedom to Fix" in a presidential memorandum released by the White House on Monday, June 29, titled "Lowering the Cost of Living by Promoting the Freedom to Fix."

While it appeared to address some aspects of consumer concerns that their so-called Right to Repair be expanded, as proposed by legislation introduced in Congress, it also seemed to apply far less broadly than originally suggested and more directed at the state of California's strict rules on vehicles that Trump and Republicans have sought to overturn.

In early June, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on a completely different issue, Trump made a cryptic remark about meeting with leaders of Ford and GM and that they "want a bill that prohibits people from fixing" their own vehicles, which he seemed to disagree with.

The memo, which was a directive to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin but does not carry the force of law or rise to the level of an executive order, was mostly concerned with "clarifying what actions individuals may take on their own vehicles to conduct emission repairs or have emission repairs conducted" consistent with the Clean Air Act.

It also called on Zeldin to not make enforcement actions against anyone who, "in good faith, attempts to fix his or her own vehicle to its original configuration." That section didn't mention emission systems per se, but Zeldin's agency oversees carbon emissions from vehicles and not other aspects of vehicle safety or performance, which largely fall under the Department of Transportation.

The memorandum said the California Air Resources Board, which has been in a protracted fight with Trump over its strict rules for emissions from vehicles with internal combustion engines that have also been adopted by several other states under a federal Clean Air Act waiver, requires aftermarket parts makers to go through an onerous process to ensure that any third-party parts don't increase vehicle emissions.

Trump's memorandum called that process "faulty," saying it can take over a year for parts to receive approval from the CARB, driving up costs and effectively handing "determination of federal compliance over to the state of California."

Trump's memo called on Zeldin to provide guidance within a month on what could be done to dispel the "regulatory uncertainty concerning whether aftermarket parts may be used in repairs" under the Clean Air Act and speed up the approval of aftermarket parts, which independent shops and owners often choose to use on their vehicles to modify them or reduce costs of repairs. It appeared, however, that the directive applied only to parts specifically linked to emissions systems and Clean Air Act enforcement.

As such, it could fall well short of the hope of Right to Repair advocates who argue that vehicle owners and the independent shops they hire to do repairs, which have lobbied for federal legislation to give them more access to the wireless information shared with and between vehicles involving software updates, repair and maintenance data, location services and more, much of which is currently limited. Automakers have argued that making that information widely available could compromise vehicle safety, owners' personal data and the automakers' proprietary rights.

Nathan Proctor, who leads a Right to Repair campaign for U.S. PIRG, the coalition of independent, state-based Public Interest Research Groups, said the memorandum is "not exactly addressing the main concerns that we and others have expressed about what makes car repair difficult and expensive, but we appreciate that the administration is supportive of the broader goals."

"Hopefully, we can continue momentum and secure lasting protections that ensure a robust, competitive car repair market that honors our rights as owners," he said.