The Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from several states have secured a right-to-repair settlement with Deere & Co., commonly known as John Deere. This settlement requires the company to let farmers and independent shops fix their own equipment.
Background
John Deere has faced complaints for years for withholding the software needed for repairs and forcing customers to use authorized dealers instead of independent ones. The Illinois-based manufacturer has reached its second right-to-repair settlement this year, following a separate $99 million class-action settlement with farmers in April.
The FTC and attorneys general from Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin brought the antitrust lawsuit in January 2025, arguing that Deere had illegally restricted farmers and independent shops from repairing farm equipment such as tractors. Under the order filed in Illinois, Deere will now be required to make diagnostic and repair tools available to equipment owners and independent repair shops, not only its own network of authorized dealers.
Deere must pay $1 million collectively to the five states for antitrust enforcement costs and will be subject to strict compliance oversight for the next 10 years. The company maintained its commitment to independent repair in a statement, adding that the agreement with the FTC reinforces its innovation of more flexible repair options.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
