Subaru of America has disabled its Starlink telematics subscription service on all new 2022 vehicles sold or housed in Massachusetts so it doesn't violate an amended right-to-repair law that is the subject of a dispute in federal court between the state and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
Dominick Infante, director of communications for Subaru of America, confirmed to Automotive News that the decision to disable Starlink in Massachusetts was implemented before those new vehicles began arriving in the state's 21 Subaru dealerships, which are served by distributor Subaru of New England.
"This was not to comply with the law — compliance with the law at this time is impossible — but rather to avoid violating it," Infante said in a written statement last week. "The reason for this action is simple: The data platform that the new law requires to provide the data does not exist and will not exist any time soon. Until such a time as that platform can be developed, and Subaru can redesign its telematics hardware and software to comply with the new law's requirements, we feel that this is our only option."