Ford transmission tech: why mechanics are quitting
A Ford transmission tech who says 'I just put my 2 weeks notice in' frames a widening crisis: modern cars are being engineered to be harder to repair, pay and business rules reward dealers and OEMs, and the physical and mental toll is burning technicians out. The speaker (a 'Ford transmission tech for 12 years' and 'senior master tech since 2018') and numerous commenters give concrete examples: vehicles with '40 computers' or a G wagon with 'seven computers' turn routine fixes into long, expensive diagnostic hunts; a heater-core example pays 8.3 hours to a customer but only 4.9 hours to the tech when Ford sets the rate; brake-pad work on a new truck required either a proprietary diagnostic computer that cost '$6,000' or $2,000 in hardware plus a '$60 a week' software subscription and a business license that blocked DIY access.
Economic pressures are explicit: dealers bill customers '$140 an hour' or '$200 an hour' while mechanics report wages as low as '$19 an hour' and career totals like '$60,000' a year after spending '20-50 thousand dollars in tools' or 'bringing $15,000 worth of tools.' Commenters note alternatives (FedEx paying '70 to 100k') and ownership frustration (CEOs paid '$25 million' contrasted with mechanic pay).
Policy and market mechanics compound the problem: manufacturers and scan-tool vendors limit access to modules, prompting calls for a 'national right to repair law' (cited by Lewis Rossman in the transcript) and sparking proposals that could bar independent shops and DIYers from key systems. The result: thousands of open dealer bays, 'a million openings' for technicians, and a likely long-term shortage unless pay, repair access, and business models change.
The speaker's conclusion is direct: complexity + equipment cost + low pay + restricted repair access + burnout make a multi-decade career in automotive repair unattractive. Two explicit remedies named in the discussion are stronger right-to-repair protections and consumer pressure (e.g., 'stop buying new vehicles'); absent change, many technicians will keep quitting and independent shops will continue to struggle.