CA smog test

You must contact the DMV within 10 days. You may have to pay a registration fee. There is no smog test required for a Prius yet--they don't even have the ability to!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(yoyoman @ Jun 28 2007, 10:00 PM) [snapback]469812[/snapback]</div>

It's based on the value of the car. You tell them it's a 2005 Prius. You may or may not have to declare the mileage on it. Then they set the value. They probably use Kelly Blue Book which is fine as it's probably lower than what you could really get for it. Every year when you renew the fees will go down as the value of the car goes down.

 

The following hybrid vehicles have been exempted from initial, biennial and change-of-ownership Smog Check inspections until January 1, 2010:
Ford Escape Hybrid
Honda Accord, Civic, and Insight Hybrids
Lexus RX 400h, GS 450h, and LS 600h Hybrids
Mercury Mariner Hybrid
Nissan Altima Hybrid
Saturn Vue Hybrid
Toyota Camry, Highlander, and Prius Hybrids
Note that some models also come in non-hybrid vehicles (e.g. Camry, Civic, Escape). Only hybrid models are exempt from a Smog Check inspection.

Technicians: Do not conduct a Smog Check inspection on these vehicles whether directed by DMV or for change of ownership. Have the motorist contact a DMV field office if they have been directed by a DMV registration notice to obtain a Smog Check.

Hybrid-Electric vehicles (HEVs) represent an innovative clean-air and fuel-efficient technology. BAR intends to encourage the use of vehicles that will have a smaller detrimental impact on the environment.

HEV emissions performance cannot be appropriately determined by current Smog Check inspection procedures. BAR plans to create new testing procedures that are specifically applicable to HEVs and will be used beginning in 2010.

 

All you need to know:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/newvehicle.htm

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(KTPhil @ Jun 28 2007, 07:58 PM) [snapback]469811[/snapback]</div>

Incorrect, sorta. I'm not sure about California regulations, but with Nevada, my 02 Prius was only exempted for the first 3 years. On the 4th year, I had to get it smogged. The procedure is the same as any other 1997 or higher car. They just plug into the OBDII port, take a few readings, send the report off to the DMV (electronically in my state) and you're done.

[edit: replied to the wrong person, oops]

 

I checked the link I posted and it says fees must be paid within 20 days to avoid penalties. It used to be 10, which was pretty lame given all one is usually dealing with when moving. 20 is still pretty onerous.

Rigormortis' citation is directly from the Cali regs, so we are indeed off the hook for a few more years. The problem is for them to generate a standardized procedure that warms the car up and puts it in gas-engine mode. It's not as easy as it sounds. It's not enough to put in diagnostic mode and run a test, since the ECU changes the ICE load based on battery state (which is not directly controllable), which will in turn affect emission levels.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fo0bar @ Jun 29 2007, 09:56 AM) [snapback]470098[/snapback]</div>

The last time that I checked, Nevada laws and regulations did not apply to California.

State of California DMV - Does my vehicle qualify for a smog exemption?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ Jun 29 2007, 01:19 PM) [snapback]470244[/snapback]</div>

The last time I checked, Miss Manners frowns upon selective quoting for the purpose of being a smart***. Here is the full quote, with emphasis added.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fo0bar @ Jun 29 2007, 09:56 AM) [snapback]470098[/snapback]</div>

Incorrect, sorta. I'm not sure about California regulations, but with Nevada, my 02 Prius was only exempted for the first 3 years. On the 4th year, I had to get it smogged. The procedure is the same as any other 1997 or higher car. They just plug into the OBDII port, take a few readings, send the report off to the DMV (electronically in my state) and you're done.

[edit: replied to the wrong person, oops]
[/b][/quote]

Cheers!

 

Sorry you feel that isrAmericanPrius was being a wise guy, but he's right.

The California DMV says the Prius is exempt from smog check, period.

No printed smog-test requirement on the registration renewal. No hooking up to the ODBII, because you don't take the car to any shop.

As for using the OBDII data as a valid smog test, this is a fairly weak way to test the emissions. The OBDII depends on the car's sensors to provide information. What if one or more of the sensors is faulty? In California, they stick a probe into the exhaust and test the actual exhaust gases. If the exhaust exceeds standards for that model year, the car needs repair---no matter what the OBDII thinks the engine is doing.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rick Auricchio @ Jul 1 2007, 11:38 AM) [snapback]471036[/snapback]</div>

This has changed since I bought my car. When I bought it in April 2005 I was only exempt for several years. I think 2010 might have been the year given. I didn't look at the registratin this year or the DMV site lately so I had no idea that it had changed. That's nice. Now I can renew online forever. No smog needed. And I can gloat some more.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fo0bar @ Jun 30 2007, 06:29 PM) [snapback]470818[/snapback]</div>

Sorry, I was not trying to be a smart Alec. However, you are still wrong. Not only is the Prius exempt from smog tests in California, the California smog test procedures are different than what you have described.

Rick Auricchio is correct. The car must be run on a dynamometer and a probe inserted in the exhaust pipe to test the actual exhaust gasses in order to perform a smog test in California.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ Jul 1 2007, 12:07 PM) [snapback]471105[/snapback]</div>

I'm sorry for overreacting. Still, something doesn't sound right here...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rick Auricchio @ Jul 1 2007, 09:38 AM) [snapback]471036[/snapback]</div>

Isn't the whole point of OBDII to eliminate the need for dynamometer/exhaust tests? I lived in California for a few years, but back then I had a 1993 car so it was an exhaust output test when I got it smogged. Though I'm pretty sure if you were to take, say, an Escalade to a CA smog station, they would just hook up to the OBDII port under the dash and run the diagnostic program. I thought the point of the OBDII system was that it was capable of detecting both emissions problems and self-malfunctions.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(yoyoman @ Jun 28 2007, 10:57 PM) [snapback]469810[/snapback]</div>

I don't 'do' dmv law ( but my best law school buddy was a tax specialist for the CA BOE for over a decade 'till he went to the public defender's office) but my source says that you don't have to pay use tax on your used out of state car if you've owned it out of state for over 6 months (old rule ended about a year ago, where you only had to own / have it registered out of state for 90 days). NO smog test required. Next question.

 

Way back when I last had my Camry smogged (pre-Prius), it was run on a dynamometer, as are all cars in California. I don't know if they also do a scan test, but they DEFINITELY did an actual exhaust test

 

"Isn't the whole point of OBDII to eliminate the need for dynamometer/exhaust tests?"

No, it isn't. OBDII was instituted for several reasons, none of which is dyno test elimination. It is self-diagnostic for failures on the road, it is less prone to test center fraud, and it gives independent shops the ability to perform most emission-related diagnosis and repairs. In Cali, the only relevance of OBD-II in smog testing is that if you are showing a check engine light, they will refuse to even test it.

 

I'm not sure whether there is a "tax" when bringing the car into the state, but perhaps it is being confused with the fact that part of your Cali DMV registration fee is calculated as a percentage of the car's value, and part is fixed.