My apologies if this has been discussed before -- but what's this about?

Timeline

I haven't owned a car more recent than '08 -- are the manufacturers bypassing us and our local repair shops and sending important information directly to themselves? Or is it overblown, and an independent shop can buy a scanner that reads all that, if they're willing to shell out some cash?

Urb

 

There's no longer a service manual you can buy for the GK like previous generations. They've now switched to a subscription model to access the repair manual.

My local library gives you access to the Chilton's for free so I use that for the shade tree mechanic work I'm comfortable doing.