An Illinois bill filed earlier this month would require repairs be completed in compliance with OEM directives but does not require OEM parts or OEM advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) calibration tools. 

The bill, HB2472, was filed by Rep. Jacki Haas (R-79) Feb. 4 and was referred to the Rules Committee. 

The bill proposes to amend both the Illinois Insurance Code, directing that insurance companies shall not specify the use of repair procedures that are not in compliance with original equipment manufacturer directives, and also amend the Automotive Collision Repair Act, directing that collision repair facility estimates provided to consumers shall include the use of repair procedures and replacement parts that are in compliance with original equipment manufacturer directives for those parts, and shall not use repair procedures that are not in compliance with OEM directives.

“No insurer shall specify the use of repair procedures that are not in compliance with original equipment manufacturer directives for those parts in the repair of an insured’s motor vehicle, nor shall any repair facility or installer use repair procedures that are not in compliance with original equipment manufacturer directives for those parts to repair a vehicle,” the bill says. 

It adds that the subsection does not require the use of OEM repair parts or OEM ADAS calibration tools that may be recommended in the OEM manufacturer directive if the repair parts or calibration tools used are “at least equal in like kind and quality and otherwise conform” to OEM directives. The language fails to define what constitutes equal quality.

In July, GEICO notified repair facilities on their ARX program with an agreement between GEICO and Repairify to use their Rules Engine. “The Rules Engine uses data from tens of thousands of scans to determine when a remote OEM scan is needed or when a local OEM-compatible scan can be used, which has been verified to yield equivalent results to that of an OEM tool,” their email stated.

However on a November radio show, Chris Chesney, Repairify vice president of training and organizational development, clarified that OEM compatible is a marketing term that asTech “fought over internally for probably half a year.”

This proposed language in Illinois could impact that conversation if the statute were to not better define how the state views “equal to” vs. how private companies might view “equal to.”

Mike Randazzo, Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Illinois (AASPI) Legislative Committee chairman, said Haas filed the bill after being contacted by a constituent. He said it wasn’t a bill pushed forward by AASPI. 

AASPI reached out to Haas regarding concerns with the language in the bill in regard to the exception for the calibration tools. 

“The OEMS are what we have to pay attention to, that’s the bottom line,” Randazzo said. 

Even if a bill is passed, it wouldn’t change a shop’s liability risks, he said. 

“If a bill like that was to turn into law it still doesn’t stop you from needing to do the right thing,” Randazzo said. “It is not can you, but should you. This whole thing is about safety. You cannot compromise on safety.” 

Randazzo said Haas has been receptive to AASPI’s suggestions and is currently working on amending the bill. 

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Featured image of the Illinois capital building courtesy of tacojim/iStock