Smog Inspection 2006 Prius California

It's all they want to do, no check engine light, you basically passed and hand over your $40

 

What a crock. Next thing you know Cali is gonna be smogging pure electrics too.

 

Did they even know how to keep the engine running while they did the test, or did it shut off?

 

Well all the cars in CA with bad catalytic converters won't be able to keep driving anymore. So it really does do something.......even if it's just a little something

 

They don't require the engine to be running. They simply attach an OBDII reader to the car's OBD port, check for codes and if there are no codes, you're good to go.

The OP pretty well said as much.

 

This is some more good news about this car! Smog checks used to be worse than a visit to the DMV. That is, until me and the family purchased Toyota's. Don't asked what always happened with, Ford, Chevy, GMC, Chrysler cars. There was always a code wrong, and the end result was hundreds of dollars in fixing a "sensor".

 

Yeah I just smogged my 2005 Prius last Friday. It's easy enough to get done, but overpriced I think.

 

If all they are gonna do is hook up and see if you got codes, then I would go cheapest possible.

 

They do the same thing here in Texas too. Along with hooking up to the ODB port, they also check to see all of the lights are working and that the wiper blades are good. They do drive the car a short distance also.

$25.50 is the current charge. In order to get your license plates for the year, you have to have the inspection done first. Once it passes you get a certificate to take with you to get your plates or windshield sticker.

In Texas we now have one sticker on the windshield instead of two. In the old days had a inspection sticker and a license plate sticker. Now just the license plate sticker.

It gets real interesting if your plates expire and you let your inspection and insurance lapse.

 

Hi all new to the board
To inform some about the smog check program. when performing a inspection on any 2000 and up gas and 1998 and diesel, all that is required for us to do is a visual inspection of the the listed equipement for your car to make sure it has not been tampered or removed, a OBD ll connections made and the system is read for codes and to make sure the monitors have run. The state did away with tail pipe emission on all types of cars and trucks listed above. I think it is a bunch of bs because they are no longer thinking of clean air. As a smog tech for 26 years this is a joke. Yes it is about the money but not for the shop. The state gets $8.25 for every smog and SGS gets $1.90 for every car, the shop has to buy and maintain the equipment of there investment of $80,000 they spent to become an inspection station if you have both machines. Having a smog license takes allot of work and time. Having to be recertified every 2 years and maintain a Ase certification every 7 years. For what it is worth most of our Prius would not pass the tail pipe inspection because they run alittle dirty out the pipe. I would encourage you to contact your State and complain about the present system. I will only become worse in time. So in retrospect making $10-$20 dollars per car after paying the tech is really not a good deal to be in it is only a connivance to our customers. So paying $50 every 2 years seems cheap to me.

 

If this wasn't a good deal for the shops, there wouldn't be so many around

 

you don't make money on the smog all you can hope for is a repair if it fails and for the most part it is about trying to retain your customer as a client to provide their needs. If I don't have the equipment to repair their car they will go someplace else so I buy most of the things I need to repair them. Sometime it is not cost effective and they understand.

 

Three questions:
1. All of my cars 2001 and newer have always had their tailpipes sniffed, at different test locations. Have my cars been discriminated? Do I live in the wrong zip code?

2. When you said, "For what it is worth most of our Prius would not pass the tail pipe inspection because they run a little dirty out the pipe." What do you mean by "dirty"? High HC, CO, CO2, NOx?