JWell

Hey guys I got my car smogged yesterday. First time in my 31 years that I have ever had to smog a vehicle. (I moved here from out of state) Anyway I thought with the new law they wouldn't do a tailpipe test but they did. My car is a 2010. This was a STAR certified test only station. The guy was pretty thorough, pulled the FRC off to look for emissions related stuff like the air injection and pcv systems, he tried to look under the car for the cats but it was too low. He also hooked up some OBDII type device under the dash and checked for codes. 40 bucks out the door. Hopefully this is the last time I have to deal with it....I seriously want to move somewhere with no smog law and no front plate law.

Mattie Num Nums

Every 3 years

bearphoto

The OBD II only testing has not started yet but I don't recall when it does. I'm sure someone out there can chime in or you can google it. The testing is not so bad other than just being a pain in the azz and unnecessary most of the time.

ZedO6

What year is your car?

AB 2289 - New Smog Check Law

Set to begin January 01, 2013; Model year 2000 and newer vehicles will no longer require the tailpipe emissions test portion of the smog check process. AB 2289 will require late model vehicles be administered the smog check's visual and functional tests only.

The implementation of AB 2289 is expected to reduce the time and cost of the smog check. The program will now take better advantage of a vehicle's OBD II technology by eliminating tailpipe testing and instead using the vehicle's own OBD II emissions monitoring system.

This new smog test system is already in place in 22 other states. "This new and improved program will have the same result as taking 800,000 old cars off the road, also resulting in a more cost effective program for California motorists." said ARB Chairman, Mary D. Nichols.

Currently California's smog check procedure requires all vehicles undergo a tailpipe emissions inspection to measure harmful pollutant output from the tailpipe, a visual inspection for present and properly installed emissions components, a functional test to insure the proper operation of various emission components; and as part of the functional test, an OBD II computer diagnostic check.

Under AB 2289, the tailpipe emissions portion of the smog inspection will be eliminated for 2000 model and newer cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs.

Background on the OBD II system - All vehicles imported into the United States as of 1996 have had to be equipped with an On Board Diagnostics system referred to as OBD II. The OBD II diagnostic system is designed to monitor all aspects of your engine's emission conditions and report this information to a central database within it's computer. This information is processed and checked against the computers pre-determined values for various input levels and performance patterns.

If any problems are found, the computer will determine whether to alert the driver or not. If a decision has been made to alert the driver of an emissions problem, the "Check Engine" or "Engine Malfunction" light will illuminate on the vehicle's dashboard. In more serious emission conditions the computer may even begin to rapidly flash the "Check Engine/Malfunction" light indicating to the driver, that the vehicle needs immediate diagnosis/repair attention.

AB 2289 now requires the smog test inspection to rely on data from a vehicle's own on board emissions computer to determine the vehicle's harmful emissions production as opposed to using a smog machine to sample the vehicle's emissions output from the tailpipe. This design is expected to reduce the cost of equipment at the smog station, reduce the amount of time it takes to smog check a vehicle, and reduce the cost of the smog inspection to the consumer.

Mattie Num Nums

Damn I have a 1999 same damn thing as a 2000 pretty much

RanBurVette

I live in Tuolumne County and have no smog laws. I have a 98 C5 with many mods and
its only 25 miles to Yosemite. Love it!

Z06ster

Tail pipe test or now the new OBDII test... doesn't matter, the visual inspection still is performed and my observation has been they are way more stricter than they have ever been. The OP's experience illustrates this.

ZedO6

The OP's post does confirm the same lazy inspections...."he tried to look under the car for the cats but it was too low"...didn't even do a visual on the cats? C'mon...how many cars have had the post cat O2's tuned out of the system or are running sims and don't throw codes? Not checking for cats is huge. I've seen many shops with mirrors on the floor for this very purpose.

Jerry Roubos

Two questions for someone out there:
Does CA have historic license plates?
Does the smog test apply to cars registered with historic plates?
I recently bought a winter place in southern CA. My car is still in Michigan. I plan to move to Southern CA full time in two years and have been dreading the whole smog test issue for my 86 which is currently licensed as a historic vehicle in Michigan.

ZedO6

Yes, we have them. Restricted use for parades and car shows, how they check that is beyond me. No other advantages.

All cars since 1976 I believe must get smogged and pre MY 2000 as noted above will require a ride on the rollers and a tailpipe sniffer

Keep the MI plates on your 86 and try to keep your MI drivers license. If you get pulled over, say you have dual residences and you drove the 86 out here two days ago...you get the idea. Just don't get pulled over by the same cop next time. Worked for me for years...Welcome to Kalifornia.

azc62006

smog check are different by counties in ca.... where i live i only smog once thats it

twalace

Whole smog check game in CA just puts $ in the states pockets. Any of today's modern FI cars blow clean with well over a 100k on the clock if maintained.

Jerry Roubos

My place is in Riverside county

NORTY

Riverside Co is like Michigan, except for the stoopid cold and mosquitos...

PLRX

Welcome to the Republic of California

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/home/dmv.htm

Vehicle must be 25 years or older.


http://apps.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg17a.pdf

Jerry Roubos

Thank you PLRX. The links that you attached were a great help answering some of my questions.

heavymetals

The state made a big thing about how AB2289 was gonna "streamline" the process and then THEY DON"T SAY A GD THING when they don't implement it.

They could have at least put a notice in the renewal letter.

So, don't think you can bolt your non- CARB stuff on, get plugged in and that's it.

ILLUSHN

Has anyone with a tuned C6 had the new smog test? Do the tuning changes cause you to fail even if the car runs clean?

HellaciousA

The OBDII only testing won't be rolled out until August. The new DAD (data acquistion device) is still in development. There are rumors that it will be checking calibration IDs and cross referencing those back to what GM's factory IDs are and if it is different that equals a fail. Again, that's just a rumor, and we won't know anything until a tuned car gets scanned with the new device from the state.

bearphoto

Had one of my newer vettes smogged this morning and was talking to the tech about the new testing. Yes it was supposed to start Jan. 1 but the state was not ready at that time to implement it so they are still doing the tailpipe, obdII and the visual. He did not say when the state would get off their azz but he said it was typical Ca s#$t that they announce a start date and then are not prepared when that date rolls around.