F4 Phantom

Is this right?

Blackdevil77

Please, elaborate a bit. You went for a California state inspection and they failed you? What happened exactly?

mpuzach

Ah, er, I'll take a guess and say, "No, it's wrong."

Fore58

Because of headers?

F4 Phantom

Tested in Sport Mode. "Failed OBD System Checks"

slief

I agree. I went through the same thing a month ago when getting my smog test done. The first place I took it to which was my buddies shop couldn't pass it. I then went down the street to another smog place that was able to pass it but encountered the same issue. They speculated it was either their software or the fact that the car was CAN bus and needed to be smogged as such. I'm no expert on this so I can't confirm the validity of their hypothesis but there were able to pass me.

George,
Please let me know if they are able to help you. I will give them a call and let them know you are coming.

Groovepusher Sly

Did you drive it for awhile before you took in for the test? It's best to get your car good and warmed up before emissions testing.
Happened to me once. After I told them the car had been sitting for a while, and that I had just driven from the garage to the testing facility, they gave me an opportunity to drive around for a bit and come back for a retest, passed with no problems.

Sly

Sin City

Most likely the codes they have in the test station are out of date. Tell them time for a software update.

This car will pass EASILY unless you've modified it.

slief

That is not the issue with these cars. I suppose it could be in some cases but in my case, I drove the car plenty that morning before taking it to the shop. When it failed, I put another 30 miles on it between freeway and street driving and we hooked it back up and it failed again. This was with over 300 miles on the odometer.

I strongly believe this is a case of a software incompatibility issue between the smog stations and the 2014's. That was what the second smog station suggested too. In most cases there would be no reason for a 2014 to require a smog test in Ca. As such, I could understand why the smog station software may not be compatible or up to date for this new model.

George,
I called Chatsworth Smog Center and let them know you would be coming. They will get you squared away. Please let me know how it goes.

F4 Phantom

Yes.

Groovepusher Sly

That's interesting, I'll be keeping my ears open on this one.

Sly

wu6fiend

There is absolutely no logical reason a brand new 2014 vehicle should be required to be tested. Just another government tax grab, keeping a bunch of superfluous employees working, for no practical purpose.

We have a similarly useless program here (its called "AirCare"). Fortunately, it is in its last year, and will be gone by 2015. The union argued for its renewal, but the government ignored them.

Our two primary vehicles are too new to require testing, but the Trans Am (1999) is still required to be tested every second year (which costs me $48).

They plug into the OBDII port, see that there are no codes, and take my money.

As the majority of vehicles on the roads are now too new (and exempt), the AirCare stations are mostly deserted, with the workers spending their days drinking coffee and standing around.

Good work if you can get it I guess.

adamsocb

That usually means the car has not cycled (warm-up, drive, cool-down) enough times to complete the onboard system checks.
With a brand new car it can take up to 10 days of daily driving to complete all of the system checks.
I drove mine home from BG, and then drove it for another two weeks before the smog check. Passed the first try.

It could also be the test station. Are you going to a "Test Only" station? They tend to have newer software and know more about the rules and codes since Smog Check is all they do.

Last, where are you in California? This is the station in Upland I used to test my 2014:

http://www.fqsmog.com/

HalfMoon

It's because he bought the car out of state. California.gov = Huge Charlie Foxtrot.

Had he purchased the car in-state he would have been exempt from smog tests for 6 years. Unfortunately for many out of state is the best option to get a car since the dealers here that are good and get allocation are limited. Just about the only good one is the forum dealer (luckily I live very close), the others that do have any cars are selling them at $10k markup and people are paying it.

Varmit

New cars in Cali are not required to submit to an emissions test until it is 5 years old. Does it have the sticker on it that states 50 states emissions legal AND CALI?????? What do you mean it failed smog?????????????????

Varmit

No the car lobbist did this to prevent people from buy new cars out of state and bringing them to Cali.

slief

The only reason our cars had to be smogged is because they were both out of state cars without the California option code. Had we ordered them locally or ordered them from an out of state dealer and arranged a courtesy delivery, we wouldn't have to deal with this. They are still 50 state legal cars but without the California option code, we are required to jump through the smog test hoop as well as the California DMV vin verification inspection which is free. Call it a money grab or whatever but I think the only people making any real money in this case is the smog station.

Limey25

Also, I may well be wrong, but I think there's a difference if you do a courtesy delivery rather than ship directly from an out of state dealer.

Like I said, may well be wrong on this (wouldn't even be the first time today I was wrong )

adamsocb

Sorry, but I have to respond to this.
I agree it is ridiculous to require a smog check on a brand new vehicle. This is an artifact in the Motor Vehicle Code left over from when cars made for sale outside of CA had higher emissions. The rule only applies to brand new cars if they have been registered in another state. New cars sold and registered as new in CA do not require a smog check until they are six years old.

As for it being a tax grab, not so, the Smog Test Stations in CA are private businesses and are very competitive. They typically only make $20-$30 per test and each test takes about 15-20 minutes. No one is getting rich making $60-$100 per hour gross in a business. The certificate does cost $8.75 which goes to the state to cover the cost of administering the program.

I can tell you the program as a whole is worth it. I have lived in the Los Angeles basin since I was one year old (over 50 years) and the air here used to be downright unhealthful. Now we almost never have the eye-burning throat-choking air I remember from when I was young.

In fact the car in front of me in line last month (a 90's vintage Asian compact car) had the telltale smell of a failed pollution control system. It smelled like a noxious combination of raw gas and rotten eggs. I asked the technician if it failed and he said yes.

I believe there should be exemptions for antique and limited production specialty vehicles (which there are), but the masses who don't bother maintaining their stock cars have to be checked so those cars either get fixed or taken off the road. This is not politics, it is simply the price we have to pay for high population density.

slief

See my post above regarding the 50 state issue.
As for failed smog, they did just that. It didn't pass the emissions test. Not because of the sniffer but because of the electronic scan. Either because we don't have enough cycles on our car with them being so new or because of software compatibility between the smog station and the car. In my case, at close to 400 miles, my O2 sensor wasn't providing the information to the smog stations computer. I suspect George had the same issue. The second smog station suggested it was their software and passed me.