Right To Repair With Roy Littlefield IV, VP of Government Affairs for the Tire Industry Association

Episode 176

Roy Littlefield IV

Tire Industry Association

Roy Littlefield IV is the Vice President of Government Affairs for the Tire Industry Association. In his role, Roy leads advocacy efforts across state and federal levels to support independent tire and auto repair shops. With deep roots in the industry — his father also served in TIA leadership — Roy has been involved in policy from a young age. He now champions initiatives like the Right to Repair Act, helping protect consumer choice and shop independence nationwide.

In this episode…

The modern vehicle repair landscape is becoming more exclusive, locking out independent repair shops and consumers from essential data. As cloud-based systems and EV technology evolve, traditional tools like OBD2 ports are being phased out, creating barriers to access. How can the industry and lawmakers ensure fair repair rights for everyone?

According to Roy Littlefield IV of the Tire Industry Association, the key lies in mobilizing grassroots support and pushing for bipartisan legislation. Roy explains how right to repair laws, such as those in Maine and Massachusetts, are being held up in court despite overwhelming public support. He also reveals the strategic moves being made to pass a federal Repair Act that would secure nationwide access to vehicle repair data.

On this episode of Gain Traction, Mike Edge welcomes Roy for a conversation about the right to repair movement, legislative hurdles, and how independent shop owners can take action. Roy shares insights on consumer rights, industry trends, and the importance of grassroots advocacy.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[02:10] Why Right to Repair is the most urgent issue facing the auto industry
[03:25] How EVs and new tech give OEMs the upper hand in the repair market
[05:08] The challenge of cloud-based systems replacing traditional OBD2 ports
[10:44] Roy Littlefield IV and Mike Edge share personal stories of inflated dealership repair estimates
[11:33] How VIP Tire and Auto led a Right to Repair victory in Maine
[12:45] Why automakers claim they “can’t comply” with basic consumer access laws
[15:44] How bipartisan support is building for national legislation
[16:25] Grassroots advocacy and how shop owners can make an impact

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Quotable Moments:

“Right to repair is the biggest issue right now facing the industry, and it’s going to hit us like an avalanche.”
“Consumers should have the right to decide who works on their vehicle — and own that information.”
“Even something as simple as an oil change is becoming a problem because of data lockouts.”
“Despite 80% of voters supporting it, one lawsuit can hold up progress for years.”
“Every person matters — whether you’re an intern or a CEO, everyone deserves respect and recognition.”

Action Steps:

Report blocked repair access: Submit your issue via the TIA advocacy page so it can be used in legal and legislative efforts.
Contact your lawmakers: Speak to your local, state, and federal representatives about how Right to Repair affects your business.
Educate consumers: Let customers know they have a choice — and a right — to get their vehicle serviced outside the dealership.
Display QR codes in your shop: Use TIA’s printable posters with QR codes to make it easy for your team to report issues.
Support the federal Repair Act: Encourage your trade networks to back bipartisan legislation ensuring nationwide repair access.

Transcript

00:02
Welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast where we feature top tire and auto repair professionals, shop owners, industry executives and thought leaders and share their inspiring stories. Now let’s get started with the show.

00:18
Hey folks, welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast, the official podcast for tire business. I am Mike Edge. Your host Roy Littlefield IV is our guest today. He is the Vice President of Government affairs for the Tire Industry association, also known as tia. He is here to talk about right to Repair. But before we begin, this episode is sponsored by Tread Partners. Tread Partners is a digital marketing agency that specializes in digital marketing for multi location tire and auto repair shops. Tread Partners works with its clients that have hundreds of locations, down to five locations. Get a professional review of your digital structure and strategy from an agency that only works exclusively in this industry. Let Tread Partners take a look under your digital marketing hood today.

01:02
Contact Tread partners just visit treadpartners.com my past guest shout out today is for Brian Bates, President of EAS Tire and Auto in the metro area of Denver. They’re also part of the Straightaway tire and auto family. Please check out the podcast at gain traction podcast.com Roy welcome to Gain Traction Podcast.

01:25
Hey Mike, how are you? Thank you so much for having me, man.

01:27
I’m glad to have you. I know we got to talk last year at sema we talked a little bit about the topic we’re going to talk about today. I’m excited to hit this head on, but as a reference for all our listeners out there, if this name sounds familiar to you, we had Roy’s dad on who’s Roy Littlefield III. I think it’s almost three years ago is episode like 92 or something. So anyway, way to represent the family.

01:52
Thank you so much. Good to be following in those footsteps.

01:55
Yeah. So your dad and I actually talked about right to repair a little bit, but I think we’ll get a little bit more into the weeds because we got a little more historical reference points now, a little more progress I think. So let’s just explain why right to Repair is such an important issue.

02:10
Well, thank you for having me again, Mike. And right to repair I think is the biggest issue right now facing the industry. And maybe not everyone is aware of it yet and maybe part of that is because right now the average vehicle on the road is 13 years old. But this is an issue that’s going to hit us like an avalanche if we don’t get on top of it. And if we look at these newer vehicles 20 and up, they’re getting very hard to Access. A lot of them are taking away the OBD2 ports. You’re having to go through a cloud based system. And a lot of our members are finding that these vehicles are especially the newer ones, are becoming much more difficult to work on and to access the repair information.

02:50
This is a big issue for you as a consumer and myself who owns a vehicle and for the general public, we should have a right to decide who works on our vehicle and as a consumer, own that information.

03:03
So as consumers we need to understand that. So the battlegrounds are kind of drawn or the battle lines are drawn with between manufacturers of automobiles and then those independent shop owners, that and ourselves included, consumers that would like to fix our own cars and have they have the data to do that.

03:25
Right, right. And right now independent shops are doing about 70% of those repairs. But the OEM see this as a great opportunity for them for the future, especially with these EVs that are very difficult to work on. They’re not making as much profit wise when they’re selling these, but they’re being told everything is going to come back to you now for maintenance. And if you look at the new dealerships that are being built and the service bays and the size of those being put in, they are planning to have this business in the future. So we are working very hard to protect our members.

03:57
And those independent shops now being just, you know, a guy looking on the outside looking in, it would seem like we have the numbers, don’t we? I mean, like in the sense of there’s more of us than there are of them. I mean, are we the squeaky wheel right now or are we not squeaking enough? Does that make sense?

04:15
Yeah. Well, we’re certainly making some noise, but we need some more noise. And even if you look at TIA’s membership, we probably cover every congressional district. But we’ve got to rally the troops on this issue because what we’re up against, Mike, is a lot of money.

04:31
Yeah.

04:31
These ems have it and they’re spending it. And you know, unfortunately in Washington and on the state level, it’s a money game. But where we have had the success, and we’ll talk about that a little later on, is where these grassroots efforts have been spurred.

04:47
What? Well, so let’s just touch into that right now. What are the independent repair shops faced with right now? What’s their, what’s the biggest challenges that they’re going through? You mentioned one of them, I think, is the fact that the cars are getting more complicated. 20 and up. And those have rolled off of most of the warranty plans at this point.

05:08
Yep. Yeah. So rather than getting that information directly from the vehicle, as you would traditionally do with an OBD2 port, you’re now having to go through a cloud based system. So we’re seeing more firewalls, paywalls, security systems. And at what cost is this coming at? If you’re a dealer who works on multiple manufacturers, then you’re talking about multiple platforms, forms you’re going to have to invest in. And if you’re not investing in these, it’s sometimes a situation or where we’ve even heard with something as simple as an oil change, they can do the repair, but then they can’t get the light off. So then it has to go back to that oem, which is then an additional charge.

05:51
What a pain.

05:53
And if you’re then having to eat that cost yourself, you’re then losing on that repair if you pass that cost on to the consumer. And you’re probably going to lose that consumer.

06:05
So if 70% of the market is still with the independence and you say it’s coming like an avalanche, can these guys, I mean, could the OEMs or let’s say the dealerships, could they even handle the volume?

06:18
No, really, they could not. You know, when you talk about how much volume we are doing, 70%. I mean, there is parts of the country, as you know, where it’s sometimes couple hours to a dealership. So we really worry about consumers being faced with repair deserts and situations where if it’s a vehicle for a family and they need it and it’s the only vehicle in the family, this is going to be very difficult for people. I can tell you in some of my own personal experiences, I’ve had two cars that have had to go back to the dealerships for recall notices over the past year. Both those instances, it took over a month to even get into the shop to get that repair done.

07:04
And the second time, as I’m sitting in there waiting on it to be done, people are calling in to get an oil change and they were telling them it was over three weeks to get an appointment for an oil change. I mean, I could go to my local mechanic across the street today and probably get one without even an appointment.

07:21
So brutal. Well, I mean, I was just talking from just recent experience of a friend of mine that was talking about whether he would use just a mobile tire service, mobile oil change. He said absolutely, he said the last time. But he had to go to the dealer because he’s still under warranty. So he was there, but he said the headache of going to a dealer is excruciating. And he just. He said, you know, it’s. It’s so frustrating. And to think that they’re wanting more business, it doesn’t. It’s. It doesn’t equate. There’s no way that this can work out. And he’s in the. He’s in the business per se.

07:56
And what is happening, Mike, is consumers are getting trapped. And after the vehicle is bought and they make you sign all those papers, one of those papers is an agreement hidden very deep in the language that all the repair data can now be sent back to that dealership. So consumers are getting alerted with. In cabin messaging, emails, text saying, bring your vehicle back to the dealership for service. Schedule your appointment here. And then it almost tricks the consumer into thinking they have to bring it back to that dealership or it’s not going to be done correctly.

08:33
Oh, trust me, I went through this personally. So I’ll explain this story to our guests or our listeners, but this is 10 years ago. Had a Nissan Pathfinder, and it was relatively new. And anyway, it had a problem, so I take it into the shop anyway, but it was out of warranty. But I ended up taking in the dealer that is the Nissan dealer. And next thing you know, I get this estimate on my. On the countertop for 3,500 bucks. Dude, I was just going in for, like, an oil change and maybe check my brakes out. That was it, you know? And I’m like, whoa, do I need all this? You know, I’m like, are you sure? Well, yeah, it’s a. These are recommended. Blah, blah. So I’m like, you got to give me a minute. I said, and I’ll go outside.

09:15
And I pull out my cell phone, I call my local independent tire dealer I’m friends with. I said, hey, you want to take a look at this vehicle I got? He goes, yeah, just bring me the list. He goes, more than likely, it’s recommendations, whatever. So I take it down there. Turns out I needed some brake work. Like, I suspected oil change and whatnot. Got out of there from under 500 bucks. But, I mean, he was just like, yeah, no, you don’t need any of that other stuff. I mean. He goes, yeah, I mean, you. They could recommend it. I get it. But no, I know what you’re looking for. You want to keep your vehicle maintained. It’s not like you’re trying to reinvest in it.

09:47
Like you’re they’re trying to get you to do anyway, it’s just always something you feel like from the dealerships that are like that they’ve sold you the car, now they want more from you and it’s just constant. But you know, to go in there and it’s not like I’m a complete idiot about cars. I mean, I know enough, you know, I’ve been around them enough and I know when I’ve got a problem, I usually know what my problems are. I didn’t have any check engine lights on or anything like that. But yeah, get the $3,500 shell shock, you know, and then, and to think that they could be in more control of your vehicles and that we don’t have more independence. I mean I’m of the mindset, hey, competition is great for consumers. Right? Let the market compete. Yeah, but there shouldn’t.

10:29
The other thing that bothers me about this whole thing and I get it’s a money grab, but you and I don’t we have a personal right over our vehicle. Like if, let’s say I am a knowledgeable mechanic, shouldn’t I have the right to fix my own vehicle?

10:44
Absolutely. Absolutely.

10:46
Or do I? It’s kind of like having a horse in the 1800s. So I got to take it back to your stable to be fed. I can’t feed my own horse.

10:51
Yeah. I mean this is an American pastime. You know, consumers have worked on their own vehicles for decades and they absolutely have the right to do that.

11:00
Yeah, I mean it’s, it’s one of the biggest hobbies in the country. I mean, go to the SEMA show and you’ll see some of the most creative cars ever created.

11:07
Yep, absolutely. Yeah, that’s what this industry is all about.

11:11
So where do you think we are today? I mean, you know, compared to a couple years ago on this issue? I know that, you know, we’re going to talk about Maine, the state of Maine, but I know Tim Winkler with vip, Tyron Sir Auto. He, he’s been fighting this up there and they’ve gotten some good legislation passed, haven’t they?

11:33
Absolutely. Yeah. Up in Maine there’s been some real progress and that was a dealer led effort by vip and we certainly commend them for that. And they got about 80,000 signatures to get that on the ballot. And despite all the money that was spent on ads and everything like that, it still passed by over 80% of the vote.

11:53
Wow.

11:54
That, you know, that was great to see. But to give you a little update as to what’s going on there now, that law was supposed to take effect January 5th of this year. And as was the case in Massachusetts, that is now looking like it’s going to be held up by a federal lawsuit. There’s been a challenge by the alliance of Automotive Innovation, which is the group that represents the car manufacturers up in that area. They are challenging this under the argument that they have no means of complying. Now that, that just seems crazy to me because all this law really wants you to do is the car dealers must notify the buyers that they have the right to access their mechanical data. Seems pretty simple enough.

12:44
Yeah.

12:44
And make it available, you know, so for them to say that they can’t comply is just another attempt at them dragging their feet, you know, on the situation. You know, we can touch on Massachusetts as well. Up in New England, that bill has faced a five year legal delay since it passed in 2020. Up there, you know, once again passed by over 80% of the vote. The same alliance group challenged the law. A federal judge upheld it for five years. And then this year we actually had a little bit of progress that. On February 12, the judge finally decided to dismiss the lawsuit. But it’s a very fluid situation up there how it’s going to be enforced and implemented.

13:34
Now there’s already threats of an appeal to this, of course, and the OEMs are making threats that they can’t sell certain vehicles in the state. Now they’re going to disable telematics systems. So they are once again just dragging their feet. Even though consumers understand the, this issue in the, in these states, they voted it in over 80%. It’s the will of the people.

14:00
But you know, that’s a large, large margin. I don’t know if people understand. I mean that’s like a, that’s a, basically it’s as big a slam dunk in voting as you can get.

14:12
Yeah. I mean really unheard of. Really unheard of for something to be that high.

14:16
Yeah. And, but for the ability of one group to sue and hold these things up, man, it’s just, it’s frustrating. So where’s our victories in the future? Do you see anything coming for us that’s of, you know, we could feel good about.

14:34
Well, you know, we’re going to continue to push these state efforts. We also had bills in Maryland and in Virginia. In Maryland we had a bill two years In a row where we’ve gotten a lot of local dealers to come out in support. The only last bill, 32 local dealers came out in support. Only two people testified in opposition. Both worked for the alliance of Automotive Innovation.

14:58
Go figure.

14:59
And it was never pulled for a vote. So you can see, you know, how the money works in some of these systems here. But I think where our victory is hopefully going to be, Mike, is going to be with a federal bill.

15:12
Okay.

15:12
And that is where we’re hoping to support the Repair Act. It has been introduced in this Congress. This is now the third Congress in a row that we’ve had it introduced. But in Congress, it takes on average about eight years for a bill to pass. So this is pretty typical. It’s a slow moving situation on the federal level where in states like Maryland, it’s a 90 day session, things move.

15:38
So do we have allies on both sides of the aisle?

15:43
Yes, we do. On the federal level, this is very bipartisan. Last year the bill had 56 co sponsors split bipartisan directly down the middle.

15:53
That’s fabulous.

15:54
And so far this year, we’re up to 26 co sponsors directly down the middle. So it’s very important to us that we keep it bipartisan. Every time a Republican joins, we try to get a Democrat to join and vice versa.

16:08
Yeah.

16:08
Just to show that this is not a partisan issue.

16:11
Not at all. I mean, we’re all driving cars. So if we have a large dealer listening audience, what would you like them to do today to help if they want to be involved?

16:25
Well, what we need to do is really have this as a wake up call. You know, this needs to be a call to action. And what that’s going to take is grassroots efforts. Because unless we start putting up some big checks ourselves, that’s really what, what we’re up against in Washington. And I can go down there as hired help and say all the stories I want about how big this issue is, but you have to talk to your congressional members as well as a business owner, let them know what you’re facing. Let them know the impact this has on your community or customers, your business, all of that, because it means a lot more when it’s coming from them than when it’s coming from me.

17:02
So we really need to ignite those grassroots efforts, you know, and then let people know what’s going on with these issues. You know, we at TIA have started a database now. You can go to our website and report your Issue. So when you’re working in the shop and you’re like, hey, I can’t work on this car. I think this is a right to repair issue. I’m being blocked out. Let us know about it so we can put it in our database so we can use it in our collection of examples.

17:31
And tell them your Website Again, please.

17:33
TireIndustry.org and if you click on the advocacy link at the top, it’s right on the top, right to repair. Report your issue. And what we’re going to do is soon as well, Mike, we’re going to have an announcement about this because we’ve had some feedback about this. We’re going to turn that into a QR code. So if guys are in the shop, oh, what’s that website? Well, you know, everything else, then they can scan it. So we’re going to start blasting that QR code out, get some printable posters people can put in the shops things.

18:02
It’s fantastic. So listen, guys listening audience out there, please contact your national, federal, state or senators and congress people, but also contact your state ones as well. Your local, the ones that come in your shops, I mean, they’re coming in your shops getting their tires for their families, etc. You got to talk to them about this issue. Right. To repair. You can find out more about it there at the website tireindustry.org and there’s a lot of information, if I remember correctly, on that site.

18:34
There’s a lot of issues that we are working on right now. A lot of things impacting the industry, a lot of state legislation that people should be aware of, and it’s all on that website.

18:43
Well, to let the audience know a little bit about you on a more personal level. Roy, before I let you go, what’s a mantra you live by? You got a code, a mission statement? Anything that kind of comes to mind?

18:53
Sure. You know, I think, you know, good one to live by is every person matters. And, you know, I actually have a good story that kind of goes along with that. You know, two weeks ago I had an opportunity to go to the White House to the executive office building for a meeting. And I was in there with about 15 other associations. And what really stood out to me from this meeting was when were going through introductions and there was the woman running the meeting from the Office of the Public Liaison, very powerful, strong woman running the meeting. And we all went around doing introductions and you know, another association had a young lady with them and she was the last one to introduce Herself. And so went around the room and she said, I’m so and so, and I’m just the Internet.

19:45
And the woman running the meeting stopped it and said, not just. And it was a very powerful moment because I think we need more of that in the world. Just people picking up each other. Every person matters. It was just nice to see someone in a position so powerful, acknowledging someone who thought they were in a position of insignificance. And, you know, I just think, you know, we need some more of that.

20:10
No, that’s awesome. I, I had a lot of respect for my. Well, there’s this guy in our hometown. He was just successful businessman and a. The cobbler in the town. The guy that would repair your shoes. He told me, he said this guy would come into the store and he said he treated me the same way he would treat the mayor of the town. If he was in a conversation with me. He didn’t break away from that conversation until it was finished. And then he would go talk to maybe the mayor or whoever else walked in and he was, he said that was always a characteristic he liked about this guy because it just told him everything. He treated everybody on the same level, gave everybody the same level of respect, you know.

20:52
And he said, so I was just a shoeshine kid at the time, he said, and this is in the 1950s, he said. But you know, he, it didn’t matter who it was, everybody he lifted up and was kind to everybody. And I thought, man, that’s the way to be remembered. And this is a story I heard maybe 15 years ago. So we’re talking about a 50 plus year old story at the time.

21:12
Yeah. Yeah, that’s a great one.

21:14
Yeah, yeah, no, I know. I appreciate you telling me. Everybody needs lifted up. I mean, that’s a fact. And you know, sometimes I’ve noticed this. Have you ever noticed this? Sometimes it’s just a smile.

21:25
That’s right.

21:26
I’ve even done the social experiment. You’d be in a major city or whatever and you just walk down the street and if you just smile at somebody, just see what happens. Yeah. Someone will look at you like you got a hole in your head. But some people are like, you know, they’ll just smile back, you know, because what are you supposed to do if someone’s being genuinely friendly, you know? And it does lift the air a little bit.

21:46
Yep.

21:48
You got any funny stories for us? Any, any memorable stories? Anything stand out? Maybe about, maybe about the father son tag team on tia?

22:00
Well, you know, that was always a great time. Just going around the hill with my dad and, you know, learned a lot from him and, you know, made a lot of connections, and, you know, just. Even as a kid, I was. I was going to political fundraisers and. And things like that, so I guess it was in my blood. I guess I, you know, I was meant to happen.

22:17
I love that, though. I mean, it’s. It’s really cool. I love seeing, you know, just like, shop owners. I love seeing sons father their dads in the business and then take that in the industry.

22:27
Yep.

22:28
Yeah. And, you know, it’s interesting when you could see a son take it to the next level, you know, like, hey, dad got it this far. Maybe I can go a little further, you know, and you see these shop owners, they’ll have, you know, a couple stores, and the next thing you know, the son gets involved and he springboards it to 15 or more, you know, and it’s just. It’s. But he couldn’t have done that without the platform that, you know, dad built, you know, and that’s what makes it great. And most of them all recognize that, man, I. I was fortunate I had that platform, but I was able to take it, you know, and they didn’t waste their opportunity. So I think it’s cool that you followed your dad’s footsteps.

23:00
But you.

23:01
I mean, you know, it’s. It’s one of those businesses like it. Like you mentioned earlier, it takes eight years to get a bill passed, so, man, that takes a lot of patience, negotiating, just time and pressure. Almost like geology. You just got to keep pressing.

23:17
That’s right.

23:18
Yeah. Well, listen, Roy, I’m glad you came on the Gain Traction podcast, and we need to have you back, get an update and sometime in the future.

23:27
Certainly happy to do it anytime, Mike.

23:29
All right, so to all our listeners out there, thank you for being part of the podcast. We are always grateful for you. If you would like to listen to more podcasts like this, you can always find us@Gaintraction Podcast.com until next time, have a great day. Thanks for listening to the Gain Traction podcast. We’ll see you again next time, and be sure to click subscribe to get future episodes.

Contents hide

1 In this episode…

1.1 Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

1.2 Resources mentioned in this episode:

1.2.1 Quotable Moments:

1.2.2 Action Steps: