Texas has entered the right to repair fight. House Bill 3682, filed on March 4, 2025, would require original equipment manufacturers to provide independent repair providers and vehicle owners with the resources necessary to perform repairs — on fair and reasonable terms. If it passes, the law would take effect September 1, 2025.
This is a big deal. Texas is one of the largest auto markets in the country. If this bill moves, it sends a signal that right to repair isn't a coastal issue anymore.
What HB 3682 Would Actually Require
The bill takes aim at a practice that has quietly strangled independent repair shops over the past decade: automakers locking down the software tools, diagnostic data, and repair procedures that technicians need to do their jobs.
Under HB 3682, OEMs selling vehicles in Texas would be required to make repair resources — including diagnostic tools, technical service bulletins, software, and related data — available to independent repair providers and vehicle owners. The "fair and reasonable terms" language is important: manufacturers couldn't comply technically but price the tools out of reach, or create compliance hurdles so burdensome that independent shops still couldn't practically access what they need.
The goal is straightforward: an independent shop in San Antonio or a mobile mechanic in Houston should be able to perform the same repairs as a dealership, without being locked out by proprietary software restrictions.
Why This Matters for Texas Shops and Mobile Mechanics
The independent auto repair industry in Texas is enormous — thousands of shops, tens of thousands of technicians, and a growing number of mobile mechanics serving a state where vehicles are essential and distances are long.
As vehicles have gotten more computerized, the gap between what dealers can service and what independent shops can access has widened. It's not about skill — it's about access. An OEM can decide that a certain calibration or software update can only be performed by authorized dealers, and suddenly a skilled independent technician is locked out of a repair they're fully qualified to perform.
That drives consumers toward dealerships for repairs that independents could handle at lower cost. It reduces competition. And reduced competition is always bad for consumers.
Mobile mechanics feel this acutely. They operate with portable tools and depend on access to diagnostic data to do their jobs effectively. The more OEMs restrict that access, the harder it becomes to serve customers outside of a dealership environment.
The Opposition Will Show Up
If history is any guide, automakers and their lobby groups will push back hard. The same arguments that have been used against right to repair legislation in other states — cybersecurity concerns, liability worries, quality control — will resurface in Austin.
Some of those concerns are legitimate in the abstract. None of them justify a complete lockout of independent repair access. Other states have crafted workable frameworks. Congress is working on a federal version. Texas can do this.
What Happens Next
HB 3682 still needs to pass committee, clear the full House, move through the Senate, and be signed by the governor. That's a lot of steps. But the fact that it was filed at all, in a state as economically significant as Texas, reflects growing recognition that repair access is a consumer rights issue — not just an industry fight.
If you're a Texas vehicle owner or independent shop owner, now is the time to contact your state representative and tell them you support HB 3682. Consumer voices in the legislative process are underrated. They move votes.
We'll be tracking this bill as it progresses. For more on the national right to repair landscape, see our coverage of the federal bill in Congress and Maine's law taking effect. And for help finding a vetted independent shop or mobile mechanic near you, visit our Find a Mechanic directory.