National Automotive Service Task Force Meeting November 5, 2003 Draft Minutes The National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF) held its regular semi-annual meeting in Las Vegas on November 5, 2003 in conjunction with the Automotive Service Association (ASA) Congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) and the Automotive Aftermarket Product Exposition (AAPEX). Approximately 95 people attended. The attendance list and meeting agenda are attached. John Cabaniss (Association of International Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM)), NASTF chairman, chaired the meeting. Mr. Cabaniss called the meeting to order and reviewed the agenda for the meeting, asking for additional agenda items. No additions or changes to the agenda were made. Regulatory Update The first agenda item was a review of regulatory activities. Ms. Holly Pugliese of EPA reported that the EPA service information final rule was published in the Federal Register in late June 2003 and would go into full effect in late December 2003. She reported that EPA is in process of reviewing the access pricing information which was recently submitted by the auto manufacturers. No one was present from the California Air Resources Board. Mr. Cabaniss noted that CARB was making some minor changes in its service information rules which were announced in the summer and were expected to go before the CARB Board in January 2004. Service Information Committee Report Steve Douglas, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (Alliance), one of the co-chairs of this committee, provided the committee report. Mr. Douglas reported that the committee held a meeting via conference call on October 9, 2003. The latest update of the NASTF OEM service information matrix was posted in mid October 2003. The matrix will be updated again in January on the regular quarterly schedule. One topic discussed during the conference call was Canadian website access. It was explained that foreign divisions of automakers operate as separate entities as do foreign governments. EPA reported during the conference call that Canadian officials might be considering service information regulations similar to EPA s. Regarding OEM service websites, all OEMs have submitted pricing information to EPA for approval, which should be forthcoming in December 2003. It was also noted that
PWR Training was conducting an independent evaluation of the OEM service websites. See PWR report below. During the conference call, Mark Warren of PWR Training noted that technician awareness of OEM service websites was still a problem with only about 30% of training class participants being aware of the OEM sites. Other problems include lack of Internet access at many shops, lack of shop owner policies for website implementation, and the lack of computer equipment and high speed connections at many shops. Mr. Douglas also reported that interest in continuing on various aspects of the immobilizer issues. Regarding vehicle service, both the EPA and CARB regulations address re-initialization of immobilizer systems following service. In most cases, manufacturers are in full compliance with the regulatory requirements. Technicians with concerns or problems should bring them to NASTF through the normal complaint process. Another immobilizer issue involves rebuilders of electronic control units (ECUs). The ECU rebuilders have requested that automakers redesign systems to simplify bench testing at the rebuilder facilities. Automakers oppose any requirement to do so since such a redesign would provide no benefits to automakers, service technicians, customers, or the environment. Nevertheless, automakers are working with ECU rebuilders to assist them in setting up test benches to handle quality assurance testing. A third immobilizer issue involves locksmiths being able to replace lost keys for customers. There is an increasing number of vehicles which use computer coded keys, some of which present problems for locksmiths. This issue was first raised to NASTF at the March 2003 meeting by the Associated Locksmiths of America (ALOA). Since then automakers have been working with ALOA to try to identify the extent of the problem and potential solutions. This dialogue is continuing. Mr. Cabaniss noted that he had met with ALOA representatives on the morning of November 5, 2003, and that further efforts were to be followed up over the next few months. Several parties in attendance expressed a desire to be involved in the locksmith discussions. Bill Haas of ASA is the other co-chair of the committee. He reported on the latest statistics regarding NASTF complaints. Mr. Haas is responsible for receiving complaints, forwarding them to OEMs, and then monitoring responses. He reported that from January 1, 2002 through March 31, 2003, 35 complaints were received with manufacturers responding to 34 of the 35. The missing response is not expected due to ongoing litigation between the parties. From April 1, 2003 to October 31, 2003, 17 additional complaints were received with manufacturers responding to 13 of the 17. Mr. Haas noted that most manufacturers make the investigation and resolution of NASTF complaints a high priority, and responses are forthcoming within a few days. However, a few manufacturers do not appear to give NASTF complaints the same priority. He noted that recently several smaller manufacturers have taken several weeks to respond to complaints, including Jaguar, Porsche, and Volvo.
Mr. Haas reported that progress is continuing on developing an NASTF evaluation form to replace the current complaint form. The evaluation form will enable individuals to provide input and suggestions as well as report problems. The IATN has designed a system to post the evaluation forms to allow interested parties to monitor the communications between the parties submitting the form and those responding. The new system is expected to be operational in early 2004. Mr. Haas also provided a summary of the complaints received by manufacturer. Altogether, complaints have involved 19 automakers during 2002 and 2003. Tool & Equipment Committee Report Charlie Gorman of the Equipment & Tool Institute (ETI) chairs this committee and provided the report. He began by reporting that five auto manufacturers have not yet provided scan tool information, two of which have virtually no market share, Daewoo, which is now defunct in the U.S., and Aston Martin. Altogether these companies represent less than 2% of the U.S. market. Discussions are continuing with all of these companies, and information is expected soon. Mr.Gorman reported that the NASTF tool matrix summary is up to date on the NASTF website. The individual OEM matrices need some updating, and Mr. Gorman requested each OEM to make sure it updates its matrix whenever information changes, for example, when new models or model years come out. The committee has developed a new reprogramming matrix. A blank version is available at www.etools.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=2048. Manufacturers are requested to complete this matrix and submit it to the committee by January 5, 2004. Mr. Gorman provided some additional instructions which are in the attached committee report. Holly Pugliese of EPA provided an update on J2534. She began by pointing out that the purpose of the SAE J2534 task force efforts is to develop one device for pass-through reprogramming for all vehicles. The first version of J2534 was released in February 2002, and since then automakers and interface manufacturers have been working together to make compatible applications and hardware. Nevertheless, there is currently no tool or interface available that is 100% compliant. The J2534 task force is continuing to work on revisions and the next version of J2534 is expected to be balloted in December 2003. EPA expects that this version will address the open issues. Training Committee Report Wayne Juchno, SAE International, co-chairs the training committee along with John Ball. Mr. Juchno reported that the training committee had held no meetings since the March 2003 NASTF meeting. However, the committee had worked with the automakers to update the NASTF Training Matrix which has been posted to the NASTF website.
One discussion item was the availability of OEM support for training instructors. After some discussion, it was agreed that the best approach was for the committee to have a follow up conference call on this topic. A committee conference call was held on November 24, 2003. A report will be forthcoming. Communications Committee Report Mr. Cabaniss co-chairs the communications committee along with Stan Stephenson of Aftermarket Research Institute. Mr. Cabaniss reported that the committee met via conference call on October 8, 2003. The committee is focused on maintaining a dialogue through all means available with the service industry to distribute information about NASTF, its activities, and progress being made, and to receive information from technicians and shop owners about issues that need to be addressed. The committee agreed that the primary tools used by the committee should remain the same, including 1. Distributing information through NASTF participant newsletters and other channels; 2. Issuing NASTF press releases, as appropriate, to announce NASTF activities or actions; 3. Requesting that trainers distribute the one-page NASTF flyer in all training classes; 4. Requesting that NASTF participants distribute the NASTF flyer in all business or chapter meetings of associations; 5. Working with the trade press to get NASTF related stories or interviews in publications. Some specific examples include 1. a recent NASTF article that appeared in the ASE newsletter, which is distributed to all of ASE s certified technicians; and 2. ETI requested that the NASTF flyer be distributed at many of the tool company displays at AAPEX. Mr. Cabaniss also reported that he recently met Tom Willis, president of Matco Tools, and talked to him about the possibility of Matco tool vans distributing the NASTF flyer when they visit shops. He plans to follow up with Mr. Willis and will contact other tool companies about the same approach. Other Business Mark Warren of PWR Training provided a quick summary of PWR s recent independent evaluation of OEM websites. He began by stating that all automakers now have service websites, which is vast improvement in itself. He reported that the PWR evaluations were continuing with about three-quarters of the websites having been reviewed already. He stated that nearly all websites can be easily navigated and searched; however, each website is different and requires some effort and time to master. He reported that a more detailed review would be provided on November 6 at a separate meeting and invited all to attend. Once the evaluations have been completed, each OEM will be provided an opportunity to review the PWR evaluation and make comments. After this comment
process is complete, PWR will post the evaluations on its website at www.pwrtraining.com. Mr. Cabaniss requested that all NASTF participants please review the committee rosters and provide changes. The next NASTF meeting will be held in conjunction with the SAE Congress and STS annual meeting in Detroit in March 2004. Specifics about the meeting will be distributed later. Attendance List: Dave Lanspeary John Zacheis Marc Pomerantz Bill Neff, PSP, CML Tom Seroogy Paul Kanitra David Lowell, CML, CMST Brad Tyler Gary Goms Rod Boyes Garret Miller Aaron Lowe Jeffrey Masterman James Alvarez Dennis Delaney Alex Morales Lewis Thompson David Parker Mike Bell David K. Williamson Danté Williams Colin Proctor David Wobst B J Kim Scott Stewart Marty Simons Ken Roberts Mike Noirot Dave Heinzen Bill Craven Jerry Smith Bob Redding Denny Kahler Judell Anderson Robert Ayers George Albrecht Larry C. Moore Dan Dryke Scott Brown Brent Black Vinny D Auria Frank Boylan Mark Jackson Peter Stuyck William Baker Douglass Kirchdorfer Rolf Werner Bill Filley Eddie Ehlert Curt Marsh Dave Scaler Michele Winn Ron Turner Bob Everett Jim O Neill Shinsi Hino Rich Burns Bill Cannon Jeff Baltz Lucyna Rurek John Trajnowski Larry Mooney Chuck Roberts Jessica Levy David Seidel John Ball Mark Saxonberg Tom Trisdale G. Truglia Craig Van Batenburg Tom Nash Holly Pugliese Steve Douglas Wayne Juchno Bill Haas Charlie Gorman John Cabaniss Frank Krich Kurt Kurata Ken Sasaki Tom Butkiewicz Chris Chesney Bill Moss Jennifer Zins Charles Burke Jim Lawrence Ron Garrett Mark Warren Bob Pattengill Keith Kreft Jon Rieggle Zeno Ladas?? Don Vidoli Greg Potter