Emissions Update

[SasSi]

I decided to go early for the emissions test because I was curious- and curiosity killed the cat. I called the MVA yesterday & the stupid bitch I talked to on the phone told me all I had to do was go into the office before the test & tell the guy that my car was OBDI, not OBDII, & they would test it like that. WRONG!

The guy in the office was old & a TOTAL ASSHOLE. I knew the second I saw him that I was making a mistake by telling him, but I did it anyway because the woman on the phone had assured me. He totally treated me like shit & like I was stupid. To make a long story short, I told the guy to just hook it up & we'll see what happens.

OBDII test results
MIL Engine Off: pass
MIL Engine On: pass
DLC Tampering: pass
OBDII Communications: FAIL

The guy was an "office guy", but he made sure he was out there while the guy was testing my car, just to be an ass. I watched the computer screen from the waiting room. "OBDII trying to communicate".... "Failed". They retried & failed again. I sat there with a grin on my face thinking "I told you so".

I had to go back in the office to talk to the old asshole & he was like "It couldn't communicate". I felt like telling him that it could be his computer's fault, not mine, but I bit my tongue. So, it's extended until March 2004, & by that time I have to try to get it to pass. I told him unless I put a new motor in the car it would never pass. He said that I have to spend $450 dollars to try to "fix" it so it will pass & if it fails again, then I get a waiver if I show them receipts.

But let me tell you what he did next.... he made me pop my hood so he could see that all my emissions equipment was hooked up. Like he knew what the fuck he was looking at!!! Then he got down on the ground & looked underneath my car, probably to check the O2 sensors & catalytic converter. I felt like beating the shit out of him while he was laying on the ground. He was so pissed off & disappointed when he got up- he couldn't find anything out of place. I just smiled at him, shut my hood, & said "Thanks!"

I know there's got to be a way around it. If I plug in my OBDII computer, it will read, but it will also show an engine code. But it's ok. I have until March & the car will be sold by then.

I'm a little angry about the way things are done for the simple fact that I know if they hooked a sniffer up to my car it would pass. I mean what's more important- being factory OBDII or not polluting the air? It doesn't make any sense- I thought the point of emissions inspection was to prove that your car is under a certain ammount of pollution, not that it's factory. But whatever... fuck it.

 

[phunky.buddha]

I think we should just have to pass the sniffer and a visual inspection... nothing else. As long as it's all hooked up and passes the sniffer, there shouldn't be any fuss.

 

[jiahanhao]

There shouldn't be a visual inspection, if what's coming out of the tailpipe is clean, why should they care about anything else?

SasSi- when you sell the car it's your responsibility to provide a smog check that passes, so there's no getting out of this.

 

[phunky.buddha]

Originally posted by jiahanhao@Nov 21 2003, 06:33 PM
There shouldn't be a visual inspection, if what's coming out of the tailpipe is clean, why should they care about anything else?

SasSi- when you sell the car it's your responsibility to provide a smog check that passes, so there's no getting out of this.

Visual to make sure that you don't have emissions coming from other places- like breather filters and catch cans. You can't always assume that all the emissions are only coming from the tail pipe.

Legally no, but if the buyer takes the car as is and has a signed bill of sale, it's sold.

 

[SasSi]

Originally posted by jiahanhao@Nov 21 2003, 06:33 PM
SasSi- when you sell the car it's your responsibility to provide a smog check that passes, so there's no getting out of this.

That's not true. Every state, and sometimes each county, has different emissions standards, so even if it passes in MD, that doesn't matter for any other state.

The car has to be inspected, which is different from emissions, but again that goes state by state. The car has to be inspected in the state in which it's going to be registered. The only waiver may be when buying from a dealership.

 

[jiahanhao]

Originally posted by SasSi+Nov 21 2003, 07:04 PM-->

jiahanhao

@Nov 21 2003, 06:33 PM
SasSi- when you sell the car it's your responsibility to provide a smog check that passes, so there's no getting out of this.

That's not true. Every state, and sometimes each county, has different emissions standards, so even if it passes in MD, that doesn't matter for any other state.

The car has to be inspected, which is different from emissions, but again that goes state by state. The car has to be inspected in the state in which it's going to be registered. The only waiver may be when buying from a dealership.

Sorry I was going by California rules, I forgot that you aren't in Cali...