FTC and Five States Force John Deere to Open Repair Software Access to Farmers
A new 10-year antitrust settlement requires John Deere to give farmers and independent repair shops the same diagnostic and repair tools it provides authorized dealers.
Companies: John Deere
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Settlement Terms
The Federal Trade Commission and five states announced a settlement of their antitrust case against John Deere around July 8, 2026. Under the 10-year agreement, Deere must provide farmers and independent repair shops access to capabilities previously reserved for authorized dealers, including:
- Reading, clearing, and resetting fault codes
- Reprogramming electronic components and pairing new parts
- Resetting emissions-related "limp mode" shutdowns
- Full technical manuals, troubleshooting guides, and diagnostic information
The settlement also includes a rollout provision: if Deere makes a new repair capability available to more than half of its dealer network, it must extend that same capability to all customers. Dealers are barred from retaliating against or penalizing customers who choose to repair their own equipment.
Reaction and Context
iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens welcomed the settlement, framing it as confirmation that equipment owners should be able to repair what they've purchased without needing a federal lawsuit to secure that right. Willie Cade of the Repair Association called the order a source of real hope for farmers, while cautioning that written commitments must translate into actual tools and manuals in farmers' hands, and said his organization would monitor Deere's implementation closely.
The settlement follows more than a decade of right-to-repair advocacy targeting agricultural equipment. In 2015, iFixit won a legal exemption allowing farmers to bypass software locks on their own tractors, but sharing information about how to do so remained restricted, and Deere's tiered service software continued to limit farmers' practical ability to complete repairs.
The article accompanying the settlement announcement also notes that Deere has continued violating Colorado's 2024 agricultural Right to Repair law — the first of its kind in the country — and currently charges $1,763.07 for a repair manual for its X9 combine.
Originally reported by ifixit_rss, August 8, 2026.
This article was analyzed and rewritten by an AI system from publicly available reporting. See original source above for the full story.