John Deere Owners Win Right to Repair Their Own Equipment in Federal Settlement

Federal Settlement Breaks John Deere’s Repair Monopoly

The Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from five states secured a landmark right-to-repair settlement Wednesday with agriculture equipment giant Deere & Co., commonly known as John Deere. The settlement requires the company to let farmers and independent shops fix their own equipment. The Illinois-based manufacturer has faced complaints for years for withholding the software needed for repairs and forcing customers to use authorized dealers instead of independent ones. This marks the second right-to-repair settlement Deere has reached this year, following a separate $99 million class-action settlement with farmers in April.

The FTC’s settlement differs from the earlier class-action agreement by requiring Deere to make its repair services available to equipment owners and independent shops rather than simply compensating consumers. 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. Deere also manufactures engines and equipment for forestry, landscaping and construction.

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. The order also prevents Deere dealers from retaliating against equipment owners or repair shops who choose to fix their own equipment instead of paying for Deere’s services. Judge Iain D. Johnston will review the order for approval.

Arizona Attorney General Highlights Farmer Struggles

“For too long, Arizona farmers and independent mechanics have been at the mercy of Deere’s monopoly over repair tools, forced to wait – and pay – for authorized dealers just to fix broken tractors and other equipment,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement Wednesday.

The complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois sought to stop what the FTC characterized as “anticompetitive conduct” on the part of John Deere. The FTC argued that Deere provides a service software tool to authorized dealers but does not provide the full version to equipment owners or independent shops. According to the FTC order, the defendant neither admits nor denies any of the allegations in the complaint, though Deere admits the facts necessary to establish jurisdiction for purposes of this action only.

The FTC order defines repair resources to include Deere’s Operations Center PRO Service. Deere must make available to every owner and independent repair shop on fair and reasonable terms, on a license, subscription, or purchase basis, repair resources equivalent to those Deere makes available to Deere dealers. This requirement becomes contingent when the company grants access at more than 50% of Deere dealer locations.

Comprehensive Repair Tools Required by Year End

Among the tools to come, the company will be required to make available the full suite of product improvement programs, or PIPs, by December 31, 2026. This provision carries significant weight because the settlement covers both the mandatory PIPs, as well as the “fix as fail” category that Deere previously kept more restricted. PIP information has largely been available only through Deere dealers, but the settlement requires anyone who performs their own repairs to have full PIP access.

The settlement mandates that Deere provide equipment owners and independent mechanics with the ability to view diagnostic trouble codes. The company must also grant access to program and reprogram software, as well as to install embedded software including electronic control units. Additionally, Deere will enable users to disable and reset electronic locks, immobilizers or security-related functions to allow for repairs. The company must also provide the ability to calibrate all equipment settings to factory specifications.

Further technical capabilities include the ability to replace engines and ECU controllers, view live and stored equipment data, and access DTAC Solutions, Deere’s technical support database. Equipment owners will receive Deere Machine Health Insights and gain the ability to make emissions inducement overrides. These comprehensive repair resources represent a fundamental shift in how Deere equipment can be serviced across the agricultural industry.

Settlement Opens Nationwide Repair Ecosystem

The settlement reached with the Federal Trade Commission and five states requires the company to make repair resources available to independent repair shops nationwide, according to an FTC order filed in a federal court on Wednesday. The order puts in place a permanent injunction requiring the company to open its repair ecosystem. The lawsuit originally filed in January 2025 represented a coordinated effort among multiple states to challenge what they viewed as monopolistic practices in the agricultural equipment repair market.

The right-to-repair movement has gained momentum across multiple industries in recent years, achieving a significant victory with this settlement. Farmers have long argued that they should be able to fix their own expensive equipment without being forced to use authorized dealers, especially during critical planting and harvest seasons when delays can cost thousands of dollars. The settlement addresses these concerns by removing artificial barriers that prevented equipment owners from accessing the diagnostic tools and software they need.

Impact on Agricultural Equipment Industry

The settlement establishes a new standard for how agricultural equipment manufacturers must treat repair access. Independent repair shops that service farmers will now have access to the same resources that authorized Deere dealers possess, creating greater competition in the repair market. This competition could lead to lower repair costs and faster service times for farmers who need their equipment operational during critical farming periods. The settlement also protects equipment owners from retaliation by Deere dealers if they choose to perform their own repairs or use independent shops.

The broader implications of this settlement extend beyond John Deere and the agricultural sector. Other equipment manufacturers may face similar scrutiny if they maintain restrictive repair policies that limit consumer choice. The coordinated action by the FTC and multiple state attorneys general demonstrates that right-to-repair issues have become a priority for consumer protection agencies. This enforcement action signals that companies cannot use proprietary software and diagnostic tools as a means to control repair markets and eliminate competition from independent service providers.