Trump Says Ford and GM Asked Him for a Bill to Stop You From Fixing Your Own Car
right to – At an Oval Office event on June 4, President Trump said executives from General Motors and Ford—along with Penske Chairman Roger Penske—asked him to back legislation that would limit consumers’ ability to repair their own vehicles. Ford later confirmed that An
When people buy a car, they often don’t see themselves as passengers. They see themselves as owners. And for a lot of drivers and independent mechanics, ownership includes one simple belief: if the car is yours, the work you do under the hood should be your choice.
But on June 4, President Trump used an Oval Office moment meant to focus on upgrades to coal-fired power plants to steer the conversation into something far more personal: repairs.
In remarks during the event. Trump claimed that executives from General Motors and Ford asked him to move forward with legislation that would limit the ability of consumers to fix their own cars. He also said the meeting involved Penske Corporation Chairman Roger Penske. In Trump’s telling. he reacted to the idea by telling the executives he had never heard of such a thing and that it struck him as strange.
The key detail—what the legislation actually would do—has stayed out of reach. Neither the White House nor the automakers have publicly identified a specific proposal. Right now, the public is left with a description of a private meeting and a set of unanswered questions.
Still, the claim landed in a place where the car world is already tense.
The fight Trump touched is part of the broader right-to-repair debate that has been simmering across the industry for years. Vehicle owners are already legally allowed to repair their own cars. so the dispute isn’t about whether owners are permitted to work on their vehicles in theory. The complication is technology.
As cars become more digitized. actually repairing them can mean interacting with software and systems that are not as straightforward as mechanical access. Automakers argue that giving independent repairers or owners access to vehicle-generated data. software systems. and diagnostic information can create security and privacy risks—risks. they say. that owners might not even see coming.
Independent shops and consumer advocacy groups see the issue from the opposite end. They argue that broader access to vehicle data is necessary to keep repairs possible and to keep costs down. Their concern is simple: when only the dealer can access the systems, owners lose leverage and bills can rise.
Trump’s remarks, with their suggestion of a bill restricting repairs, feed directly into that concern. The alarm bells are loud because the idea—on its face—cuts against the values of a community that believes once you have the keys, the car is yours to understand and service.
During the same remarks. Trump added another claim that raised eyebrows: he said someone received a seven-year prison sentence for repairing his own vehicle. He did not offer clarity on what legal case he was describing. and no specifics were provided to support the figure. With no case identified, the statement sits as something the public cannot verify from the information available.
The murkiness only deepened when one automaker confirmed a slice of Trump’s account.
Ford has confirmed that Andrew Frick. who leads Ford Blue and Ford Model e. attended a White House meeting on vehicle repair issues on June 3. That confirmation is the only concrete detail Ford has provided so far. Beyond acknowledging Frick’s presence. Ford did not share additional information about what was discussed or what position the company took.
For drivers and owners, that lack of detail matters. When a major automaker confirms an executive was in the room but declines to explain what was argued—or what was requested—it leaves the public trying to reconstruct the missing pieces. And with the subject being rights to repair, those missing pieces don’t feel neutral.
For people who actually own vehicles, the stakes are direct: legislation that narrows the right to repair would hit owners and independent shops while handing more control to manufacturers and their dealer networks.
Right now, the situation has a frustrating shape. There is no bill text. No named proposal. No confirmation from automakers that matches Trump’s description beyond Ford’s acknowledgment that Andrew Frick attended a June 3 meeting. What is clear is the claim itself: a president telling the public that General Motors and Ford executives—plus Penske Corporation Chairman Roger Penske—asked him to restrict how people fix their own cars.
Whether that claim becomes policy or fades after another Oval Office moment, car owners are being pushed toward the same question—one they know all too well from the right-to-repair fight: who gets access to the tools, the data, and the power to decide what repairs are possible, and at what cost.
For a community that values the ability to turn its own wrenches, the message lands as a challenge—and a warning to watch what happens next.
Trump Ford General Motors right to repair vehicle repair legislation Andrew Frick Roger Penske Oval Office vehicle data access