CaliforniaJed

Yep, this issue has been discussed before on the forum. I want to share my experience, which had a reasonably happy ending.

Long story short, I bought a new 2016 z51 in Texas and shipped it to California. While new cars purchased in California do not need to be smog tested for several years, California requires that new cars purchased out of state must pass a smog test before being registered. Like all new Corvettes, the emissions are certified for all 50 states, so I presumed this would not be a problem. I was wrong.

I tried to have it tested twice, but both times (one at 100 miles or so, the other at 200 miles or so on the odometer) the tester said that the O2 sensor (and I believe one other) was not "ready", and that I should drive it some more. I then checked the owner's manual and found the reference I attached to this post.(See Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Programs.)

Unhappy about having to drive hundred of miles, perhaps more, just to have a new car smogged, I contacted Chevy. The representative who helped me knew nothing of this problem. I then went to a local dealer, and the tech printed a GM bulletin for me, #15-NA-010, that detailed the exact problem I was having. It suggested that the Inspection/Maintenance System Check for certain HO2S diagnostics may not be ready for 1000 miles or more! BUT, the bulletin also suggested calling the California Automobile Repair Board Referee Scheduling Cener to ask for help with the problem in the form of a waiver, which I did.

This was the absolute best experience I have ever had with a California State agency. I called the number provided in the bulletin (800-622-7733), I got a live human on the phone in less than 2 minutes, and she got me schedule with a referee for first thing in the morning the next day. I showed up, he hooked up his scanner, saw the problem, called his boss and got approved to administer the smog test anyway, which of course the car passed. :-). Even better, it only cost me $8.25! I am now a happy camper.

FYI, the other thing you have to do when you buy a new car out of state and bring it into California is get the VIN verified by the DMV. I was dreading this, but it turned out there was a drive-in line at the DMV labeled for VIN verification. The whole thing took 20 minutes, and I never even had to get out of my car.

I hope this helps someone

Jed



This is a 50 state emissions label on a 2016 C7 Z51. It looks a little different than previous years because the standard in California changed.



Here's what the Owner's Manual says about this issue.

Patches

Excellent info! Thanks for taking the time to detail this as many of us Kalifornians buy out of state due to pricing advantages.

redshift1

Thanks, I live in CA and this will help a lot.

Rooster OG

I've read quite a few threads here about people struggling to get their cars passed. Thanks for the info!

BOBSZ06

When I received my courtesy delivery Z06 that shipped from Bowling Green (purchased from Kerbeck), I did have to drive the car about 600 miles before getting the smog test approved. Needed to get several "emission monitors" checked off first.
I used an OBDLinkMX to view the status on my phone...worked great!

Never told about any waivers available...good to know.
I live in an area that does not need annual/bi smog testing....probably only time it will be tested in CA.

CaliforniaJed

I was definitely surprised to hear about the Referee program, and even more surprised when they actually granted me a waiver. Coincidentally, after I showed the referee the GM bulletin, he said he had received an email from someone above him in the state with a copy of the same bulletin. I may have been the cause of that because I had called and spoken with a California-specific customer service person at GM -- not sure.

As silly as it is to have to smog a brand new 50 state car, I was glad they at least stepped up and waived a requirement that was going to force me to put a bunch of miles on the car just to pass.

Jed

bearphoto

Jed, this same California BS has been going on for many years and has been reported on dozens of times so your experience is not a new one. The vin verifications is another BS way for the dmv to check for your emissions sticker . Whats even more bs is that all of the emissions equipment for the US corvettes is the SAME. What is different is that Kali wants a sticker specific for CA that says its emissions compliant and this is an order form option for the ordering dealer to check.

When I was a CA resident I bought all 5 of my corvettes out of state. The deals are much better than any cali dealer can or will ever offer as they think their cars are worth their weight in gold.

So, great job, glad to see you are also shopping around for better deals. Its a bit of a hassle to get a vin inspection (which can also be done at AAA) and the emissions sticker check along with the emissions test. I am surprised to hear you had a good experience with a State CARB employee at generally they are one of the most incompetent state agencies out there.

CaliforniaJed

Thanks, man. Incidentally, AAA told me they are not authorized by DMV to do the Vin Verification on new cars, only on used. That's why I ended up going to DMV for it. There are a handful of companies who are authorized, but they all charge a hefty fee for the convenience of coming to you to do it.

Jed

CaliforniaJed

So, I realize there is an option that can be ordered for CA for emissions, but are you sure it comes with some sort of sticker? I can tell you for sure that the emissions label on the hood is the same whether the car comes with or without the CA emissions option because I compared one at a local CA dealer to mine. Interestingly, the Chevy tech told me a car without the CA emissions option, which having the same hardware, may in fact have a more aggressive tune, but he was not sure.

Jed

C7Bill

Good info. I had the same issue. After 5 smog checks and almost 1100 miles mine passed. Stupid law I can't see any purpose in it. Take a new C7 from the dealer in California and have it checked and the results will be the same.

chuckie57

Excellent info Jed, I brought in a 2016 Z06 from PA , took it to local smog center and of course it failed (24 miles on it ) they told me the usual "just drive it" . drove another 100 miles and checked it on my scan tool , was down to just O2 sensor and evap. Stumble across your post . Called California Repair Board at 9 am they gave me a 2pm appointment the same day ( san diego) When I got there they came running out in awe of my car taking pictures saying "we been waiting for you" . Needless to say I was surprised as I didn't expect real car guys. They looked the car over ( same emission sticker as you posted) showed them the GM bulletin , they hooked up their scanner and verified O2 not ready and issued a waiver and charged me $8 !!!!! I then went to a local license agency and paid sales tax and was home by 5 with my california plates,
What a ripoff the local smog shops are, unfortunately you cannot go to the CARB places as they are referees and only do contested cases like ours. So only thing I would add to anyone going through this is just go get a smog right away from a local shop - which will probably fail and then schedule with the state referee.'

CaliforniaJed

Chuckie, congrats on the Z06! And thanks for posting. I am really glad to hear my post helped you get passed. And, yes, the $8.25 charge was sweet!

Jed

brettlid

You need at least 500 miles before the smog test.

CaliforniaJed

No, actually you don't. Not if you read my original post.

redshift1

Thanks again to CaliforniaJed for the information. Here's how it worked out for me.

Car delivered by Intercity on 9/27.

Appointment at Ca DMV for Vin verification and registration on 9/29.

Smog test failed as expected at local smog shop 9/30

Called California DMV referee agency and scheduled appointment for 8/2.

The only referee stations in my area are Fullerton or Huntington Beach.
I went to the Huntington Beach station which is on campus at Golden West College. The state technician re-smogged the car made a couple of calls to Sacramento and the was approved for registration.

Just a heads up the DMV was unaware of the referee program and the Ca referee agency was unaware of the GM Bulletin. They were happy to make the appointment though and everything went well.

All in all very smooth with a few extra hoops to jump through but expected when purchasing a vehicle out of state.

Anyone in the Socal area feel free to PM any questions regarding the above.


.

CaliforniaJed

Excellent news! Congrats on the new car!!

csriram45

wow! the right info I needed. I have been trying to get my car ready for smog after initial fail and trying to drive it on days when its not raining. Will be calling them tomorrow and hopefully this will be put to rest!

Mike's LS3

There are drive cycles that will replicate conditions needed to set the readiness codes. Do a search for the procedure. In CA, gas vehicles 2000 and newer are allowed to have the evaporation readiness code incomplete, all other readiness codes must be complete. Also, no DTC's can be present (MIL light turns off when engine is running).

Don't disconnect your battery or flash your ECM, it will cause the readiness codes to reset back to incomplete.

Finally, I bought a new car out of state and had it courtesy delivered to CA. I had to get a smog certificate and have the car visually inspected at DMV for the Emissions compliant sticker. Then pay the CA taxes in order to complete registration. Of course, the DMV charged a fee for the inspection. The state is always reaching in our pockets!

Saint_Spinner

Are you sure yours was "courtesy-delivered"? If you do courtesy delivery, you won't have to smog the car. Courtesty Delivery only works if you "order a car to be made factory made" from an out of state dealership and then that dealer ships it to a local dealer.

Non courtesy delivered is an out of state dealer that delivers a pre-existing car to a local dealer or direct to your place. THIS will require a smog.

csriram45

Update: just finished my referee appointment. He was initially confused and was saying that I should take it to dealer to fix it: I then mentioned that there is a GM bulletin that explains that car needs close to 1200 miles before it can even register numbers. He then realized what I was talking about. He then did some test for about 45 mins and then told me that this is the first time he has had to use the waiver on a new car but it was all good. Paid $8.25 for the certificate. I am at DMV and hope to get it all done today!.

i think this info should be made a sticky as so many folks buy out of state. Big thank you to OP!