Mechanics calling for equality

Robert Chacon

Mechanics in Glendale and Burbank want to be in the know.

Car manufacturers, they say, withhold technical information on the

automobiles they build, making it difficult for independent mechanics

to perform certain types of maintenance on vehicles.

“It’s simple -- they don’t give us the information in order to get

customers back in dealer shops for repairs,” said Viken Anmahouni,

owner of Jack’s Lube, 510 W. Colorado St., Glendale “That’s not fair

for us. It’s not fair for the after-market industry.”

The Coalition for Auto Repair Equality, an after-market industry

group, is now pushing for federal legislation that would give

complete access to car manufacturer’s automobile information.

“Independent car shops have limited information to car systems,”

coalition executive director Sandy Bass-Cors said. “It makes it more

difficult for independent mechanics to fix cars, and gives consumers

less choice in who fixes their cars.”

Car manufacturers withhold information on anti-theft systems,

anti-lock brakes, certain transmissions, component locations and

traction control, among other vehicle systems, opponents said.

Calls to the president of the California Motor Car Dealers Assn.

and the National Automobile Dealers Assn. were not returned.

“We can connect our diagnostic equipment to a car, but we don’t

have the program to find out what is wrong,” said Jerry

Khachatourian, owner of J’s Auto Clinic in Burbank. “Sometimes we

have to tow a car to the dealer’s shop to fix the problem. That costs

more to the customer.”

Some mechanics can eventually figure out what to repair, but it

takes longer, resulting in a higher bill for customers, Anmahouni

said.

“Car manufacturers are going to make it as difficult as they can

for us to fix their cars. They want to see those cars back in their

dealerships,” said Tom Evans, a technician and manager at Midas, 220

W. Elk Ave., Glendale.

That is not good for consumers, he said, since auto dealers charge

more to repair cars than independent or chain shops.

A simple diagnostic exam might be free or cost $59 at some shops,

Evans said. But at auto dealers, a diagnostic exam typically runs

$89.

Auto manufacturers began using encrypted codes on their on-board

diagnostic systems -- otherwise known as the check engine light --

after the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1991, Bass-Cors said.

HR 2735, the Right to Repair Act, is currently being reviewed by

the Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Sub Committee, and

another similar bill, SB 2138 is also moving through the Senate,

Boss-Cors said.

“These are good consumer bills. Consumers should be able to choose

where, when and who fixes their cars,” she said.