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The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) examined 21 different mainstream tech devices subject to New York’s recently passed electronics Right to Repair law, and found mixed results:
- 9 devices earned A’s or B’s (including all smartphones)
- 3 products received D’s
- 6 popular mainstream devices earned F’s
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The devices that fared poorly, like the HP Spectre Fold laptop, Canon EOS r100 camera, and Apple Vision Pro/Meta Quest 3 VR headsets, usually lacked spare parts or useful repair manuals.
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While New York’s law requires manufacturers to provide tools, manuals, and parts for affordable, easy repair, PIRG says the law has been watered down with loopholes, and there has been no enforcement action taken despite numerous companies failing to comply.
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The cellphone sector has made significant strides in repairability, but other sectors like VR headsets and cameras still have major issues.
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30 states are considering “right to repair” legislation in 2024, but these bills are at risk of being weakened by industry lobbyists.
does this extend to cars? one guy i know told me his subaru had to be put up on a lift and the wheel taken off in order to change a headlight bulb. i don’t care how “good” a car is, if it’s got bullshit like that, i’m buying something else
Aye. If changing a bulb is that involved the car isn’t that good.
That has generally always been true and is a function of there just being only so much space.
Actually open up the hood of your car. Take a look inside. Most of that is engine, battery, and reservoirs. In a sedan or a small SUV there just isn’t a lot of room to make everything accessible from the top. Whereas jacking it up, popping off a wheel, and reaching in for the thing you might touch once in the lifetime of a car is pretty trivial.
Back in the day? I remember my dad having the kids sit in the engine of his pickup truck and my mom’s giant ass SUV to follow instructions and work on it. But you would need a REALLY small child to do that in a sedan.
There has been an upward trend in this, so ‘that has generally always been true’ is not true. I know because I drive proof of it, an EP9 1997 Toyota Starlet. I think the only thing that would really suck is replacing the electric cable tree or bigger dashboard stuff, everything else is basically directly accessible from the hood and trunk. Everyone that has owned a car around me knows that older cars are a lot more accessible for home repairs, so I’m interested to know where you got this?