Working On Your Own Car Illegal

John T. Chaney said:

I would love to know where Elio Motors stands on this, Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). More reason to resign my love for Ford. The list of supporters.

General Motors Company
BMW Group
FCA US LLC
Ford Motor Company
Jaguar Land Rover
Mazda
Mercedes-Benz USA
Mitsubishi Motors
Porsche
Toyota
Volkswagen Group of America
Volvo Cars North America

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Welcome to the forum.

Personally I've always jailbroken and unlocked my iPhones, though I have complied with federal rules in the period when unlocking was prohibited.

Depending on what you're asking about, anyone can perform warranty repairs to their vehicle including the computer, though if you cause damage while attempting repairs it isn't covered. After reading the article, I think there are a few issues. Though enacted for cellphones, "H.R.1123 - Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act" may actually apply to vehicles, especially ones capable of transmitting data wireless

In my opinion, it is unlikely you would kill yourself or others crashing you're iPhone into a Samsung Galaxy user (whether stock or jailbroken) like one could by crashing a BMW into a Volvo, etc so I think there is some merit to looking into what types of software modifications and on what systems in a car are we talking about modifying. Just because something can be done doesn't mean it should be. It is completely illegal to put a car with a nitrous set up on any public road in Maine, though I know people who have, I don't appreciate their gambling with my safety on the interstate.

This is a super topic though and only going to become more of an issue, nice post!

"Working On Your Car Illegal"

Try to stop me!

If these efforts were successful, then perhaps Maytag, Whirlpool, etc. could get together and stop you from working on your refrigerator, washer, dryer, or anything which has a microprocessor in it which covers a lot of items today.

I suspect companies, governments, and other groups float ideas around a few years first to get people accustomed to an idea before they really push to make it law.

pistonboy said:

If these efforts were successful, then perhaps Maytag, Whirlpool, etc. could get together and stop you from working on your refrigerator, washer, dryer, or anything which has a microprocessor in it which covers a lot of items today.

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according to a Whirlpool repair guy who did some work on our new stove a few days ago, Whirlpool recently bought Maytag

JEBar said:

pistonboy said:

If these efforts were successful, then perhaps Maytag, Whirlpool, etc. could get together and stop you from working on your refrigerator, washer, dryer, or anything which has a microprocessor in it which covers a lot of items today.

Click to expand...

according to a Whirlpool repair guy who did some work on our new stove a few days ago, Whirlpool recently bought Maytag

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The Whirlpool Corporation is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of home appliances, headquartered in Benton Charter Township, Michigan, United States, near Benton Harbor, Michigan. The Fortune 500 company has annual revenue of approximately $20 billion, 100,000 employees, and more than 70 manufacturing and technology research centers on the world. The company markets Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Gladiator GarageWorks, Inglis, Estate, Brastemp, Bauknecht, Indesit and Consul. After acquiring the Maytag Corporation on March 31, 2006, the Whirlpool Corporation surpassed Electrolux to become "the largest home appliance maker in the world."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whirlpool_Corporation

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I always think of "illegal immigration" when I get up in the morning I choose which laws I choose to obey .
I'm sure the law is Government sponsored as "They" are afraid it will be harder to track you.

pistonboy said:

I suspect companies, governments, and other groups float ideas around a few years first to get people accustomed to an idea before they really push to make it law.

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That's how it usually goes. Follow the money and you will know what its all about. In most laws someone is gaining and someone is loosing.

The law might have its uses in to going against aftermarket suppliers and engine tuners, if the car company doesn't profit from their work. Imagine someone develops a tuning solution to provide more power, or more fuel efficiency, then the automobile industry could choose to go after them and therefore effectively void your ability to tune your engine, by taking the tuners and suppliers out of business. That would really keep your own access to the technology limited.

No one can easily stop you from opening the hood and working on your car, but you could potentially void your warranty and the car company might claim that they have no liability for anything once you started working on your car. While many might not be stopped, chilling effects for those who do like to work on their cars are very likely. That is one reason why many people are opposed to the application of the copyright act in this manner. After all: as electronics become more and more important in cars, fixing and modifying the also increasingly has to do with computers and software and that is what this copyright act is threatening to interfere with.

The point of the law is not necessarily to stop people from modifying their cars, it just sounds dramatic.

Here is one example how copyright can be used by automotive manufacturers to keep you from ever really owning your car: