The Three Series was on a driveway in Sandy, ABS light on for three weeks. The owner's previous garage had told him there was nothing more they could do without BMW's own diagnostic software. That is a sentence I have heard in various forms across fourteen years of working on British driveways.
The right to repair argument, when it gets discussed in policy settings, tends to focus on agricultural machinery or consumer electronics. From where I work, it has always been about the moment a diagnostic interface connects to an ABS module and hits a manufacturer gateway. That gateway decides what data you are allowed to see, and it is not there for safety reasons.
On the BMW in Sandy, the scan tool I use, which carries BMW-specific protocol access, pulled a C2109 alongside two network communication codes. The C2109 pointed at the steering angle sensor. The communication codes were the DSC module losing synchronisation with the steering column. The previous garage had gone as far as their interface allowed, which was further than most people realise independent access extends and still not far enough.
The live data showed the steering angle sensor reading correctly and consistently. It was not the sensor. The synchronisation codes were appearing because the DSC module had lost its calibration reference after a battery change the previous garage had done as a first step. The module needed its reference point restored, not replacing.
Restoring that calibration reference on a BMW DSC module requires software access that sits behind a manufacturer login. An independent garage without that access faces a choice: tell the customer to go to the dealer or find another route. That choice happens every week across independent workshops throughout this country. The right to repair movement exists because that choice should not have to be made.
The recent right to repair ruling strengthens the legal standing of independent mechanics to demand access to manufacturer repair data, including diagnostic software and calibration procedures. This does not open every door immediately. What it does is shift the argument from asking for access to requiring it.
The calibration procedures for ABS modules, brake-by-wire systems, and DSC units are not hidden because they are complex. They are hidden because complexity has been used as the justification for keeping independent mechanics out of that work. The access argument is the same one that existed around engine management software twenty years ago. Independent mechanics won that one over time and the sky did not fall.
Brake system software is the next and most significant frontier. As vehicles move toward brake-by-wire and EVs where the ABS module manages regen-to-friction transitions, the software controlling those transitions becomes the brake system in a meaningful way. If that software is manufacturer-locked, an independent mechanic attending an EV with an ABS fault cannot fully diagnose or reset the system without OEM access. That is not a theoretical problem.
I know how common the access issue is from what appears in the comments on videos involving cars with proprietary software restrictions. People describe being sent back to the dealer for a calibration reset that costs more than the diagnostic work that identified the fault. The repair is done, but the completion step is locked behind a paywall with a manufacturer's logo on it.
The person on the other side of this argument is always the customer. When an independent mechanic has to send a car to the dealer for a software step, the customer pays twice. Once for the independent diagnosis that found the fault, and once for the access that was always controlled elsewhere. The right to repair ruling reduces the number of those conversations, not immediately and not completely, but in a direction that has been too long coming.
Manufacturer data restrictions on safety systems are not about protecting the driver. They are about protecting the dealer network's share of repair revenue on safety-critical work. A brake system requiring dealer software for a calibration reset routes revenue to a specific channel every time a pad or module is replaced. Framing that as a safety measure is something I find difficult to take seriously.
The BMW in Sandy drove away with its calibration restored through a third-party route that took longer than it should have and cost the owner more than it needed to. The right to repair argument is moving in the right direction, but it is moving through legislation while independent mechanics on British driveways are working around the problem today. Fourteen years of this work has made me patient about slow progress. The BMW in Sandy made me slightly less so.
Jimmy O’Riley is a UK-based mobile mechanic and automotive diagnostic specialist operating out of Bedfordshire, England. He founded O’Rileys Autos in 2011 with a focus on bringing professional vehicle repairs directly to customers at their homes and workplaces.
With over a decade of hands-on experience, Jimmy specializes in ABS diagnostics, brake system repairs, diesel emissions faults, and DPF cleaning. He is recognized across the UK and Ireland as one of the leading specialists in vehicle braking and emissions systems, earning the title “The DPF King” from his growing online audience.
Jimmy documents real-world automotive repairs through his YouTube channel, which has accumulated over 97,000 subscribers and nearly 2,000 published repair videos. His content covers ABS fault diagnosis, wheel speed sensor testing, brake module replacement, and roadside repair procedures across a wide range of vehicle makes and models.
He is active on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook under O’Rileys Autos.