The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against Harley-Davidson Motor Company Group, LLC for illegally restricting customers’ right to repair their purchased products. The FTC’s complaints charge that The Motor Company’s warranties include terms that convey the warranty is void if customers use independent dealers for parts or repairs. The FTC is ordering Harley-Davidson to fix warranties by removing illegal terms and recognizing the right to repair and ensure that dealers compete fairly with independent third-parties.
“Consumers deserve choices when it comes to repairing their products, and independent dealers deserve a chance to compete,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The order requires Harley to fix their warranties, come clean with consumers, and ensure fair competition with independent providers. Other companies that squelch consumers’ right to repair should take notice.”
The Federal Trade Commission announced a complaint on June 23, 2022, against Harley-Davidson, ordering the company to "fix warranties by removing illegal terms and recognizing the right to repair, come clean with customers, and ensure that dealers compete fairly with independent third-parties."
Link to Federal Trade Commission Statement:
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/06/ftc-takes-action-against-harley-davidson-westinghouse-illegally-restricting-customers-right-repair-0
Right To Repair has been a lightning rod for several industries, particularly powersports where it has galvanized the aftermarket and the OEMs. "This action taken by the FTC is a huge win for motorcycle riders,” states Mike Kennedy, President & CEO of Vance & Hines. “While we still need to see how this plays out, we anticipate that riders will have more choices in how they repair and update their motorcycles during the warranty period, which is clearly a big deal for companies in the motorcycle aftermarket, too. I hope that the "it will void your warranty" threat for someone who just wants a better sounding or smoother running Harley is a thing of the past."
Motorcycle Industry Council Government Relations head Scott Schloegel weighed in on the right to repair ramifications back in the July issue, noting the damaging effects of digital right to repair regulation or legislation would be felt across the entire powersports industry:
Dealers — Right to Repair regulation or legislation would mean customers tampering with their vehicles thinking that they can fix them as well as the factory-trained dealerships can. This may result in bringing vehicles to the dealership after further damaging it and expecting you to fix it under the warranty despite possibly violating the warranty. This could create significant ill-will with consumers and raise Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act issues at a time of heightened enforcement by FTC.
OEMs — Having untrained/undertrained people attempting to work on today’s highly sophisticated vehicles could potentially alter the effectiveness of high-tech safety equipment, could damage the electronics, could negatively impact emissions, could be detrimental to performance, and could result in completely unwarranted reputational damage to their brand.
Consumers — No doubt many weekend wrenchers love the idea behind this effort, but having unfettered access to codes and repair equipment will be a tempting proposition to tamper with sophisticated machinery. This could jeopardize safety systems, negatively impact emissions and performance, and nullify the warranty. Repairing and maintaining these highly technical vehicles requires intense specialized training as well as continued education.
Get the full scoop here:
https://issuu.com/dealernews/docs/issue_7_july/82