Porsche Right-to-Repair Lawsuit Alleges Automaker Holds Unlawful Monopoly on Repairs and Maintenance

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that Porsche has unlawfully monopolized the repair-service market for certain vehicles in the United States by making critical diagnostic, coding, and software tools inaccessible to independent repair shops, forcing drivers to rely on authorized Porsche dealers. 

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The 15-page right-to-repair lawsuit asserts that the proprietary electronic control units (ECUs), software coding, firmware, encrypted modules, telematics systems, and diagnostic protocols in the Porsche vehicles at issue—those sold by the automaker between January 1, 2021 and the present—are “designed to restrict access to Porsche dealers alone.” As a result, independent mechanics and consumers have been “foreclosed” from completing even common repairs and maintenance operations, the suit states.

With its 100 percent share of the market for many varieties of repairs and maintenance, Porsche is able to charge “supracompetitive prices” for all repairs and maintenance on affected vehicle models, with the automaker “reap[ing] additional profits through parts sales,” the complaint says.

The class action lawsuit contends that Porsche has no legitimate safety, environmental, or intellectual property concerns to justify its monopolistic repair restrictions, nor are such restrictions necessary to achieve any “cognizable procompetitive benefits.”

Repair restrictions deprive consumers of the ability to repair their own vehicles or visit their preferred mechanic for repairs, and similarly force drivers to spend more on repairs, maintenance, and parts, the filing relays. Indeed, the case notes that Porsche dealerships are likely to only use more expensive Porsche-brand parts, even when cheaper alternatives are available.

The complaint says that effective and reliable repairs are “critical” to the safety of the affected Porsche vehicles, and that the unlawful repair restriction additionally “exposes [consumers] to danger on the road.” Moreover, consumers cannot effectively conduct lifecycle pricing prior to purchasing an affected Porsche vehicle as the full extent of the repair restrictions is “not transparent or disclosed,” and the harms from Porsche’s anti-competitive conduct outweigh any purported benefit to consumers, the complaint says.

The Porsche right-to-repair class action lawsuit seeks to cover all individuals and entities in the United States who paid a Porsche-authorized dealer to perform repairs or maintenance services on affected vehicles.

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