Emissions testing dyno and electronic stability... not a good combo.
 

I've got a Jetta TDI wagon that I bought to run on Ebay. We have to run everything through emissions testing, even if it was just done by the owner two weeks ago.

After I pull into the station the workers decend on the car looking at numbers, entering it into the computer etc. The woman who's going to operate the car climbs in, starts it up and gets it rolling on the dyno. I notice the cars it lurching in strange ways. The driver looks concerned. Finally it stalls. She restarts and tries again. There's more lurching and I notice the smell of hot brakes. I look inside and see a yellow light flashing on the dash. The electronic stability program system doesn't like the fact that the front wheels are turning and the back wheels are stopped. It's putting on the brakes!

After the car dies again I hop out of the little booth they stick you in and tell her to push the button to kill the ESP. She does and the car is more cooperative now, but the computer is messed up because of the first attempts. She turns off the engine so her coworkers can reset the systems. Ok.. restart and the lurching begins again. The ESP had reset itself. Eventually she figured out she had to hit the button again. After it was all over with she said, "That was really weird." I'm conviced she had no clue as to what was going on.

they have no idea...the tried to put the 924S onto the dyno with the front wheels. that wouldve been bad if my dad hadnt jumped out and stopped them.

When i went a few weeks ago for my Xterra and my moms lexus, the just hooked it up to the computer and didnt even have to run it on the dyno

Yet another example of why I do all my own maintenance.

The guys you're paying $100 an hour to are only a job change away from these fine examples of quality "experts". When I have to smog my cars, I go to a kind of sleazy looking shop, but with guys that have obviously been around cars a long time working there. I stand right next to them as they run their checks and they don't mind. For everything else (other than a warranty repair), I do it myself.

Here in AZ we had to go to state run testing facilities.

I had a euro SC a few years back that did not have a cat. I took it for emissions testing. I told them it was a euro car and did not have a cat. The emission "Tech" got pissed at me and showed me where my cat was and gave me the "you are an idiot" treatment.

The car had SSI's on it, in his mind it had two cats.........

Yep , I love emissions testing. It completes me......... :)

Cheers