February 7, 2022 – Chie Ferrelli loved her Subaru SUV, which she bought in 2020 because it made her feel safe. So when it was time for her husband, Mark, to purchase his own new car last summer, they returned to the Subaru dealer near their home in southeast Massachusetts.
But there was a catch, one that made the couple mad: Mark’s sedan wouldn’t have access to the company’s telematics system and the app that went along with it. No remote engine start; no emergency assistance; no automated messages.
The worst part was that if the Ferrellis lived just a mile away, in Rhode Island, they would have the features. Subaru disabled the telematics system and associated features on new cars registered in Massachusetts last year as part of a spat over a right-to-repair ballot measure approved, overwhelmingly, by the state’s voters in 2020.