The Auto Care Association announced its collaboration with other industry groups asking the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles to clarify its intended implementation of Public Act No. 23-40 new section 24. This enactment could impose burdensome and potentially anti-competitive requirements upon automotive aftermarket service and repair facility operators in the state of Connecticut, the association said.
The new section requires repair shops engaged in the business of changing the oil or tires and tubes of a motor vehicle to determine if the motor vehicle being repaired or worked upon is subject to an open recall. If so, repair shops must provide the owner of the motor vehicle with written notice of each such open recall at the time of the repair or work. The implementation does not appear to impose the same obligation on dealerships. Also, it imposes unnecessary burdens on shops, the environment and vehicle owners.
“We are concerned that this regulation poses a burden on aftermarket service and repair facility operators in Connecticut without helping consumers in a meaningful way,” said Lisa Foshee, senior vice president, government affairs and general counsel, Auto Care Association. “Auto manufacturers are responsible for the recalls and should be primarily responsible for providing notice to consumers about those recalls.”
Read the full letter here.
