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By Alice Gibbs
Senior Reporter
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A small number of U.S. states already guarantee drivers the right to fix their own cars—but for most Americans, what repairs are allowed still depends on where they live, a new Newsweek map shows.
The visualization comes as President Donald Trump moves to expand what the White House describes as Americans’ “freedom to fix” their vehicles. A June 29 presidential memorandum directs federal regulators to clarify what repairs people can legally carry out on their own cars, particularly when it comes to emissions systems.
Unlike state laws, which focus on access to vehicle data and repair information, Trump’s order targets federal emissions rules that can limit what repairs are legally allowed.
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But while the federal move could affect drivers nationwide, the map highlights how state-level protections remain uneven—especially when it comes to access to vehicle data and diagnostics.
Where You Can Legally Repair Your Car
Only two states—Massachusetts and Maine—currently have comprehensive automotive right-to-repair laws.
Massachusetts became the first state to pass such a law in 2012, requiring manufacturers to give car owners and independent repair shops the same access to diagnostic and repair information as dealers. Voters expanded the law in 2020 to include telematics, allowing access to data transmitted wirelessly by newer vehicles.
Maine followed more recently, with voters approving a similar measure in 2023. The law requires standardized access to diagnostic systems and, from 2025, creates a framework for sharing vehicle-generated data through a secure, owner-authorized platform.
States With Partial Right-to-Repair Laws
Five states—California, Colorado, Minnesota, New York and Oregon—have enacted broader right-to-repair laws, but these do not apply to motor vehicles.
Instead, these laws cover areas such as consumer electronics in California, New York, Minnesota and Oregon, and agricultural equipment in Colorado.
For example, California’s law requires manufacturers to provide parts, tools and documentation for electronics and appliances, but it does not extend to cars.
Minnesota and New York explicitly exclude motor vehicles from their statutes, while Oregon’s law also leaves cars outside its scope.
Most States Still Have No Automotive Law
Across the rest of the country—more than 40 states, including Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio—there is no state-level automotive right-to-repair law.
That does not mean drivers have no repair options. Some level of access to diagnostics and parts is available nationwide through a combination of federal protections and industry agreements, but those baseline rules do not typically guarantee access to newer systems such as telematics or proprietary software, which are central to how modern vehicles are diagnosed and repaired.
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What Trump’s ‘Freedom to Fix’ Plan Could Change
Trump’s memorandum does not create a nationwide right-to-repair law, but it could change how federal rules interact with state-level gaps.
The directive specifically instructs Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin to issue guidance within 30 days clarifying what emissions-related repairs individuals can legally carry out under the Clean Air Act.
In the memorandum, Trump said “consumers should be able to fix their vehicles with affordable parts without being deemed to have circumvented emissions controls,” framing the move as a way to reduce costs and expand repair options, adding that the administration was taking "historic action to reduce or remove these burdensome regulations."
An EPA spokesperson told Newsweek it has “received the clear message” from Trump and will move quickly to ensure Americans have the freedom to fix their vehicles and equipment, while protecting small businesses and consumers from "foreign knockoffs" and "delays tied to California’s certification process."
The agency pointed to its February 2026 guidance reaffirming the right to repair nonroad diesel equipment—“saving time and thousands of dollars per repair”—and said it will build on that action to implement the new directive.
It added that, since day one, the Trump EPA has been working to lower costs by rolling back what it calls a “regulatory mess,” delivering savings that now “add up into the trillions,” with Zeldin pledging to continue advancing the president’s agenda.
Trump has also claimed the issue drew his attention after he “noticed they were arresting people for fixing their car,” and in a June 2026 anecdote suggested one man served seven years for doing so. However, publicly available case records do not support that characterization.
The most prominent case cited by supporters involved Troy Lake, a Wyoming diesel mechanic who pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act by systematically disabling emissions-monitoring systems on 344 heavy-duty commercial trucks—not carrying out a simple DIY repair. He was sentenced in December 2024 to one year and one day in prison and served around seven months before being released to home confinement, later receiving a presidential pardon in November 2025.
Federal authorities said the conduct involved deliberate tampering with onboard diagnostic (OBD) systems—equipment required to monitor emissions compliance—rather than routine maintenance or personal vehicle repairs.
The memoranda also argued that existing rules—particularly those tied to the Clean Air Act—have made repairs more expensive and limited the supply of compliant parts.
The memorandum also takes aim at what critics call a de facto monopoly in emissions-related aftermarket parts certification, where California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) runs the only widely accepted approval pathway.
CARB spokesperson John Swanton told Newsweek: “Automakers have long been free to sell replacement parts in California without official government approval—only modified and add-on parts sold into California are subject to the state's anti-tampering laws. Those laws remain in effect to ensure companies are producing reliable, high‑quality products that perform as promised and to protect Californians from breathing excess pollution.”
If implemented, the changes could expand what drivers can legally fix on their own vehicles, including in states without dedicated automotive right-to-repair laws.
Support and Industry Pushback
Advocates for stronger right-to-repair laws, including consumer groups such as the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), argue that restrictions imposed by manufacturers are driving up costs and limiting consumer choice. PIRG says companies often “prevent consumers from doing their own repairs or using independent repair shops” by restricting access to parts, tools and information, which can allow manufacturers to “charge whatever they want” or steer customers toward more expensive options.
Others in the industry have pushed back on right-to-repair in the past. In a 2025 court challenge to Massachusetts’ right-to-repair law the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents major car manufacturers including Ford, GM and Toyota, argued that broader data-sharing requirements pose risks because “unfettered access to vehicle data poses safety and security issues.”
Despite this, In a statement yesterday John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, said: “We're on the same page with President Trump and share his priorities here: more vehicle choice, more vehicle affordability and a policy that ensures America's car owners remain free to fix their vehicles anytime, anywhere.
“[The] White House memorandum reaffirms these principles: protecting both automotive intellectual property and confidential business information. That’s an important acknowledgement and builds on the longstanding commitment from automakers to provide consumers and independent repair shops with the same repair instructions, tools and diagnostic codes they provide franchised auto dealers.
"This is precisely what we've been saying as far back as 2003: Automakers support the freedom to fix. Always have, always will. A significant directive from President Trump and the EPA that should end the confusion and controversy around automotive repair once and for all.”
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Emma Lee-Sang.
Update 06/30/26 09:20 a.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
Update 07/01/26 03:21 a.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from the EPA.
Update 07/02/26 03:10 a.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from CARB.
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