There is some talk about Pa, and neighboring states dropping emissions testing
 

I don't know all the details just yet, but from what I gather, something like 98% of cars pass, and they found the whole program largely ineffective
My father shuttled a car down to another shop for me this morning, and the station owner was filling my dad in
Here it is all just obd2. No check engine light, and gas cap is good= pass.
Check engine light on= fail
I was seriously thinking about taking in emissions testing, even though I am in a non emissions county, we are close to the line, and a good deal of our clients need it . My assurance officer that works for the state, always talks me out of it, and has been telling me for years, that they will eventually drop the whole program .

Emissions testing was phased out a couple of years ago here in WA, no complaints from me!

We've never had emissions testing in Michigan.

If it will roll down the street...it's plateable.

They might still keep the visual inspection part. IDK.
No good reason to do the rollers test on later OBD cars.
If the computer is happy then the State is happy.

I have been going to an independant here in NJ for years, much easier then the state inspection and friendlier. All he cares about is no check engine light. Then he tests the gas cap. If that is good he does the state inspection. In and out five minutes $40.

Yep, as far as I am concerned, no check engine light, visual inspection and gas cap tests good, that car is running clean .

Here in NJ, any vehicle older than 1993, does not require any type of inspection. Newer than '93 requires an emissions inspection. Which makes absolutely no sense. ( not that I'm complaining...)

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Sorry to be "one of those grammar people", but 1995(Canada)1996(USA) OBD2 is probably called MIL: Malfunction Indicator Lamp.
(aka motherinlaw)
(That was what I was taught)

The basic idea of cleaner vehicles is essential for basic standards of public health. Even more so in condensed and congested areas. Traffic flow engineering and availability of public transportation plays an immense part in local emissions plus quality of life. I have often found them to be very counter-productive. I still notice that one stinky diesel delivery truck a block ahead despite my diminished smell. But the implementation of reasonable and consistent policy has often been counter-productive.

I get the point. Years ago, it probably made a difference, pre-OBDII, you could have cars that barely ran and rolled coal (despite NOT being a diesel). It also wasn't uncommon to see cars that look like they'd been run until they had run off their last legs and then had those legs wired back on.

I can imagine, especially up north with the snow/salt, cars might not last long enough to get that bad.

The county where I live now, there's no emissions inspection which surprised me when I found out. I guess that's a benefit of living in the country.

For the past 25 years, the inspections (safety and emissions) have been sniffer (until OBDII). Since then, it's CEL, gas cap, wipers, lights, tires, horn, and E-brake.

haha, you would be correct . Mechanics don't need no grammar lessons
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How is the state going to make money off it if there is no emissions testing?

I am confident they will find a way to continue to fleece us in some way or another to make up for the loss of revenue

In Portland OR, emissions testing is simply sniffer in the tailpipe, takes 5 minutes every 2 years.

If there was no testing, I think some people would start abusing it - pulling catalytic convertors etc.

In Texas, if you're car is pre-OBDII, then you get the sniffer (they may not test cars older than 25 years or maybe it's a certain date). If you have a car with OBDII (everyone except Glenn) then if you have no CEL (really, they connect a OBDII scanner to see if your ECU reports "READY") then they don't bother with the sniffer. I think the theory is that if your ECU says "READY" then everything is working as expected and you should be running clean.

You can't just turn off the CEL if you've got one and then go test, because you have to go through a fairly long driving cycle before your ECU goes to "READY" after you turn the light off. I assume the theory is that if you have a problem, then the light will come back on before you complete the required cycle of driving.

That pretty much mimics our program .

In Texas the state doesn't make money off testing, just the service station doing the testing.

Back in the day, headlight adjustment was part of the inspection. Too many stations failed almost everyone so they could charge $10-15 more to adjust the headlights. That's gone now.

On a side note: Texas gas stations in nonattainment counties (big cities) had to have gas vapor capture devices on all gas pumps. These were the accordion hoses around the fuel nozzle. They went away a few years ago when the cars started doing that themselves. It's much easier to gas up in Houston now.

It's free in NJ if you use the state drive-through facility. Since NJ switched to emissions-only testing, it's a quick no muss no fuss process.

(at least 20 years ago):

Drive Cycle completion results were specific to each manufacturer.
(drive at WOT x many times, cruise at x mph at x rpm for x minutes, ec)

And all cycles must be completed to pass OBD2 smog.
Only insiders knew what actually tripped them.

Separate and additional paid software was required for the scanner to scan manufacturer codes..
But only if that scanner was "certified".

Really?

I remember a while back (10y?) when the inspections were $38.95 paid to the gas station. I don't remember the exact cost now, but I think it's $12-18, but then when you pay for your yearly registration, haven't they added $20-30 to our yearly registration?

When I last lived in FL, they had state inspection stations if I remember correctly. In TX, there aren't any that I'm aware of. It's mostly service stations and oil change places.

MCs here haven't been inspected at all since 2010. Might cars be next?

We had emissions testing up here from 1999 until 2019 give or take. At the beginning the cars were tested on dynamometers, later on the vehicles were plugged into the obd port.
It used to be around $35, later on until the end of the program there was no fee.

They dont charge for the sticker? We pay 10 bucks a piece for the stickers directly to the great Commonwealth of Pa . We are small potatoes, and write about 500 a year

Steve (Masraum) has Texas almost right. I'm not going to go through the fine points, too tired.

His inspection is now $7.50 per year. Tires, wipers, lights, brakes, horn, the essentials. Mine too.

Some non-attainment counties used to run pre OBD2 cars on a treadmill. They did my LandCruiser when I lived in Dallas County, but he only put it on the treadmill because he saw I had yanked the front driveshaft, otherwise he could not have, full time 4WD. Normally, the test would have been a TSI, or Two Speed Idle test. Austin, Travis County is a non-attainment county, but no treadmill, TSI.

Anyway, Texas has been talking about dumping the program for many years. I have $7.50, and don't care what they do.

Living in South Carolina, the last 21 years, we’ve never had any type of inspection.🙌🏽

Fortunately they no longer do that in Florida. I remember, it was country by county and I moved into a county that didn't have it. I was driving my VW Rabbit Diesel truck to see my girlfriend, who lived in a county with testing. So I am cruising along and I get pulled over, the officer ask me for my emissions papers, I tell him I don't have any, because I live in Clay County. He then points out that they have emissions testing here, and I seemed to have a lot of smoke from my truck, I then pointed out that it was a Diesel :D, and it even had a Diesel badge on the tailgate.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1634870081.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1634870081.jpg
You would think the plate would give it away
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1634870360.jpg

RIGHT. Because the average 99.99% of people are are going to cut the emissions control systems off their car because they no longer have to do emissions testing. Its a 100% BS TAX.

I took the boxster to get inspected in Columbus the beginning of Aug. The old guy running the place said "You can pull that around, I don't want to drive it." Then once I got around, they checked the lights and wipers and horn said "you're good to go" which was a huge relief because I probably needed new rear tires. I was super confused, then it dawned on me that there's no emissions inspection out here. I grinned and laughed the whole way home.

A bunch of people driving mustangs, camaros, SRT-whatever, big diesel trucks, little rice burners that are tricked out, etc... very well may pull their cats whether it would be for more noise or performance or whatever they think it would get them. "Straight pipe" is not that uncommon.

The low lifes will sell their cats for drug money.
The lower income will not replace their cats after they are stolen by the low lifes.
The street racers will pull their cats for straight pipes.
The indifferent will not bother to repair their emissions systems.

That’s more than 0.01%.

Sounds unlikely? As I drive around Portland, it seems like every day I see more cars with expired plates, out of state and expired plates, and no plates at all. It’s a common sight. I also see more cars that are beater trashboxes, broken windows, missing body panels, maybe lived in, full of crap and trash and sometimes little orange plastic caps. Also a common sight.

What I never see is cops pulling over these obviously illegal cars. In fact, I never see cops pulling anyone over.

I also see donut marks in intersections, more and more. We’ve been having street racing and burnout fest, dozens of cars and hundreds of people closing off streets and intersections at night and going wild. Only recently have the cops started trying to shut this down.

So, yeah, people will pop off their cats, and advertising that its all fine with no enforcement is going to be like when our previous mayor told everyone it was fine to camp on public streets - and we have a growing air pollution problem here.

My 2004 BMW is, of course, OBDII. Colorado emissions testing would plug it in and see if it's thrown a code. Easy pass.

My last emissions test they put it on the rolling road/dyno and put the sniffer in the tail pipe. They said all 2004 and older. What's the purpose? I thought that was the whole reason for OBDII come smog check time. I think Colorado wants to mimic California and make it harder for everybody.

I've been looking for a VW since I sold my daily back in July.
Seems like a good 60%-70% of the ones I look at on FB Marketplace have a cat-delete downpipe installed. I suppose since they're VWs the light is on anyway, what's the difference? I always thought VWs should have a at least two digit counter next to the light.

No testing in my part of WI, I think they have it around Milwaukee and Madison but I could be wrong.

Every Chrysler minivan over about 5 years old would be off the road if they tested here.

Similar in the Chicago area. If there is no OBD outlet, no test. I have an 1983 944 and I haven't been required to test it in many years.

There are pro and cons to keep the testing in place. I haven't formed an opinion on it as yet.

Sounds like emissions testing is the least of your city’s problems.

Id bet the number of people who would tamper, and defeat emissions devices would be very small and insignificant .
I am required to do a visual emissions inspection as part of the safety inspection even though we are a non emissions county .
It is a fairly rare occurrence when I find a cat removed, or egr's plugged etc.
The diesel guys do it , and I see the occasional turbo tuner car without a cat , but it is actually pretty rare .
I think the worry of the masses defeating their emissions devices if there is no more testing is honestly not a valid worry.

My '20 Taco doesn't need to be inspected until '25. Yes, I can be trusted to keep it in proper condition but 5 years is a bit of time.

That is very true.

In California, my '03 M3 just has to undergo the OBD-II diag check - no dyno testing for it anymore. That's the only car I own that's in the window for smog testing.

IIRC from twenty years ago California used a moving 25yr exemption system.

"Enhanced testing " i.e. real-world dyno equipped facilities using the 16-pin OBD2 port connected directly to the government was the trend starting from the SF Bay Area and LA and working outwards.

The talk then was about people buying the diesel Buick Regals which were replaced with gasoline engines. Whatever.

The wrong brand new cat or air cleaner would fail California smog even if the tailpipe blew clean as a whistle.
"Gold Star" "Test Only" stations would be the next step before direct DMV testing and paperwork.

I had a car at one of those Gold Star facilities fail my car because of a single kinked vacuum line.
I questioned further. All the print-outs were in spec.
They wanted $400 to fix the problem...
I mentioned I was a MM student almost smog-certified and that my night teacher worked directly with CARB.
And then all of a sudden it was a $50 problem...a little correction fixed it all..
Faith in the system is what I lost that day.

Inspections used to be all about vehicle safety.

They couldn't care less now...


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