Emissons Inspection Process Explained

By Brian Klaubert

Happy New Year! We hope you had a great holiday season. With a new year, we begin to hear questions again about, “When does my car need to be inspected?”

Newer vehicles do not need to be inspected. The three most current model years are exempt. Since we have just entered 2004, model year 2004, 2003, and 2002 vehicles do not need an inspection. When you bought the vehicle has no bearing on whether it needs to be inspected. The official model year is the determining factor.

There are two special exemptions. Vehicles older than 25 years do not need an inspection, that is model year 1979 or older. Senior citizens can apply for a permanent exemption, provided they meet all three criteria. The registered owner must be 65 or older, the vehicle must not be driven more than 5,000 miles per year, and the vehicle is 10 model years old or older (1994 or older).

Otherwise, your vehicle must pass the state emissions inspection test prior to renewing your vehicle registration. The registration date is the birth date of the listed owner of the vehicle. You cannot renew your registration until you pass the emission inspection. Many people wait until the day of, or the day before, their birthday to get the inspection. If they fail, they likely will not be able to complete the repair and pass a reinspection before their birthday. However, the penalty for missing the deadline is only $20.

If you fail the inspection, your vehicle must be repaired and retested. The following is quoted directly from the official state inspection web site, “After your vehicle fails the initial test, the first step is to receive a comprehensive diagnostic analysis, which is required to identify what is wrong with your emission control system or your engine before a repair recommendation can be made. Your emissions test is not a diagnostic analysis.  You can expect to be charged for the diagnostic analysis. Keep in mind that repairing one problem may reveal additional problems that were previously hidden. Sometimes a series of repairs are needed to pass the reinspection. This is less likely to happen if your vehicle is properly maintained.” There is much other information available from this website. It can be found at www.cleanairforce.com.

The vehicle’s on-board computer will be reset as a necessary part of the repair process. The computer must see a pre-determined number of conditions and events after it is reset before it is ready to be re-tested. This is called a “drive cycle”. Each manufacturer has a different drive cycle. The official state pamphlet advises you to drive your vehicle for two weeks after the repair in order to complete the drive cycle. In actuality there is much variability to the drive cycle. The European vehicles have the hardest drive cycles to complete. American and Asian vehicles will generally complete the drive cycle in about 2 days of normal driving, including both city and highway segments.

If your vehicle cannot pass the inspection there is a waiver process. You must have spent $658, or more, specifically on emissions related repairs, and you must have made an improvement in each category that the vehicle failed. The waiver is only good for one year. The waiver is available only at state waiver stations. The closest waiver station in this area is in Norcross.

Brian Klaubert owns Christian Brothers Automotive–Hamilton Mill, on Hwy 124 in Dacula.