Hey Guys,

Up here in Canada they are rolling out (Jan 1,2013) a new way of emissions testing. The lovely government has thrown out the old testing wasy, of which they tested what was coming out the tailpipes of cars. Now the new way has been revamped to a new system connecting directly to the the car computer system and getting readings from the ECM. From what I'm hearing from my mechanics, that 8 out of 10 cars are failing on this new way. If you have a service engine light it will fail the test, with this new way it is bound to cost the consumer alot of money. As we know diagnostic machines only tell you a what sensor is failing but it will not tell you exactly where to look at, and if it is not that spot, it is more time, labour and parts for your mechanic to search and repair!

I'm just curious on how the USA guys, i'm sure not all of you do emissions testing but those who do what are the way testing are being done ?
For us, if you don't pass the test your plates (sticker) will not be renewed.
I'm kinda worried on how mods ie air intake, Y-pipes, and full catback exhaust are going to effect this.

 

Thats how it is in PA light on the dash, fail

My lights on but I get by, legally

 

I think its been like this here in Maryland for a long time, unless you really have an old car but once I had an issue with a 03 civic and had a check engine light yet had no money to fix it so I disconnected the battery for a few minutes before I went and passed the test lol

 

here in WA all cars 97 and up use the OBD II reader...been that way for a decade. Older than 97 use the sniffer test.

 

....also new cars 09' and later no longer require a WA state emission test as they all have to meet CARB requirements to be sold in this state. One thing I don't miss with owning my 2010!!!

 

oh yeah that's right..I forgot about that! So you can mess with anything you want to, since you don't get tsted

 

Yep, still have 2 of the 3 CATS onboard and would still probably pass ET if I had to as no CEL has activated.

 

Pulling your battery to reset the CEL (or forcing a reset with an ODBC reader) doesn't work anymore. If they get a reading that says essentially "blank" before the computer has had time to register an 'ok' code, the DMV will fail the car. I tried that clever tactic and wound up with the big, fat red FAIL sticker.

Even the private garages that can do re-inspection for a fee won't generally take a blind eye because they have to transmit the readings to the state and would get busted, fined, etc. It ain't easy these days.

On the plus side, in this state, new cars get a 4 year sticker, so I'll likely never set foot at an inspection station ever again if keep leasing.

Worst time I had was having a dead battery in my old car one day. Had it replaced and then had to get to inspection a couple of days later to make the deadline, and they failed me for no codes, even though no CEL was on.

 

Thats how I pass I clear the computer you just have to know how long you have to drive the car for it to pass right before the light comes back on

 

Exactly.

If you go back too soon after disconnecting the battery (to clear CEL), in Massachusetts, you will get a rejection sticker. The diagnostic instrument used by inspectors will register something like 'ECU not ready.' They will tell you to drive around for a couple of days then come back. There is a small window of time that you have when the ECU is reset but before the CEL comes back on.

 

OBD2 in CT as well. You can't put black tape over the CEL light anymore
New cars are exempt for 4 years. Then retest every 2 years.
If you fail on first try, you have opportunity to fix whatever is wrong and bring for a retest for FREE, but I believe only one free retest is included.

 

I see the point they MTO is trying to do up here, as there are alot of cars in the past was passed with doing tricks and sorts, but then again it is a money grab for the mechanics. With this new procedure it will make it even more worse for everyone that has an issues, even if there is a no "service engine light" it may not mean things are ok.

In Ontario, Canada you can only renew your plate for a min of 2yrs. I wish it was 4yrs as you other guys have said but heck it is the government. Some other provinces do not even have any emissions laws..

 

In PA it's every damn year I hate big governments....