I don't think I ever failed one though have failed the safty test. Is it worht all of the trouble? And cost

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Sounds like your car will:
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I haven't had that happen in VA, but that did happen once in a different state. You need to find a garage that will adjust your vehicle in order to pass the test...usually resulting in your car running pretty rough. Once it passes, the garage can adjust it back.

Yes, it is cheating. But if you don't want to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars, it is worth it.

replace the spark plugs, gap them correctly, and, replace the Oxygen sensors

And drive the car at highway speeds for half an hour or so before the test, I was told that may help throw you over the borderline.

I'm sure plenty of people have failed the emissions test. If the vehicle's "CHECK ENGINE SOON" light is on, it's an automatic fail.

pgens Wrote:
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> And drive the car at highway speeds for half an
> hour or so before the test, I was told that may
> help throw you over the borderline.

I'm not sure that actually works, and even if it did, you'd then have to find an emissions station with no line that you could drive into immediately.

boredom Wrote:
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> pgens Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > And drive the car at highway speeds for half an
> > hour or so before the test, I was told that may
> > help throw you over the borderline.
>
> I'm not sure that actually works, and even if it
> did, you'd then have to find an emissions station
> with no line that you could drive into
> immediately.

If it's in the middle of a month in the middle of the day on a weekday, you aren't going to find much of a line. But anyway, Googling the practice turns up others giving that advice, dunno.

If you're concerned about whether or not it'll pass emissions, I've heard that it's not a bad idea to drive you car pretty hard for about a half hour before you get it tested. Taking it out on the Beltway or 66 is not a bad idea just to "clean it out" so to speak.

On the other hand if you're unfortunate enough to have a POS Ford like myself that has had the 'check engine' light on for the past 30,000 miles, you need to find yourself a trustworthy mechanic. The guy I know plugs my truck into his computer and erases/resets the codes out of my truck's computer and the light shuts off for about 2 days, just long enough for me to pass an emissions test and then the fucker lights up again.

Could I pay a few hundred bucks to replace the O2 sensor and fix the emissions problem? Sure. Am I going to put that kind of money into a Ford? Hell no.

Yeah, basically +1 on what boredom said.

I meant pgen. What he said.

Mechanic once told me to put a bottle of rubbing alcohol in a full gas tank. Apparently it helps the engine burn a little hotter, drive it for 30 mins. To be honest, never tried the alcohol method. Don't think I ever will.

The driving for 30 mins before emissions does help. It gets the exhaust heated up and some of the extra carbon and other crap out. Don't worry about waiting in line, just get the 30 mins at highway speeds done before the test.

THe whole 30-minute drive is now a moot point for many people. If your vehicle is OBD-II equipped (typically anything 1996 and later), the test no longer includes an exhaust probe. All they do is hook up to the car's computer, and check for any emissions related problem codes that might be set.

Damn. Now that you mention it I do remember hearing about the "1996 and after" problem.

If you're not lucky enough to personally know a trustworthy mechanic who also enjoys stickin' it to The Man, I suggest you show up at a garage with a frosty 12 pack of quality brew and be ready to bargain.

i just failed... got the call 2 hours ago.

engine is a POS and gets 14mpg when it should get like 24... so... no brainer. but i had my hopes.

oh, also it sat for 7+ months and is the same gas in there...

i'm gonna re-register it w/out emissions which will get me stickers valid for 1 month and then drive it a lot and try again.


i've also heard about the alcohol thing and believe it stands a chance.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/2009 12:32PM by bdimag.

WashingTone Locian Wrote:
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> Yes, it is cheating. But if you don't want to
> spend hundreds or thousands of dollars, it is
> worth it.


spend $700 trying to fix the issue and they'll waive it (has to be a valid emissions shop though)

Wait! Lemme guess! Ford, right?!

I failed emissions last month because my odb2 connector didn't work... I jiggled it and it came back. It's easy to fail.

Spend $700 + fix = Valid

I'm not that good at math, but to me that just doesn't add up.

not a ford, but close ;) as close as you can be when it's from a diff country LOL

1991, no obd2; CEL was on, but he didn't mention it when he explained why it failed (like i said, it runs extremely rich)... i'll reset that or take the bulb out for the next one just as a little insurance...

and the inspector said basically if you spend around $700 TRYING to fix it, without actually fixing it... they'll waive emissions as sort of a mercy thing i guess...

-SBS-- Wrote:
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> I'm sure plenty of people have failed the
> emissions test. If the vehicle's "CHECK ENGINE
> SOON" light is on, it's an automatic fail.


I know your dad failed his emissions test on numerous occasions (lucky for world).

ITRADE Wrote:
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> -SBS-- Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I'm sure plenty of people have failed the
> > emissions test. If the vehicle's "CHECK ENGINE
> > SOON" light is on, it's an automatic fail.
>
>
> I know your dad failed his emissions test on
> numerous occasions (lucky for world).

Trolling again, are we?