Car Inspection Nightmare

[mso489]

One car battery replaced in my carport by AAA before which the computer went completely off track. Four trips to the nearby auto inspection station so I could send in my plate renewal and property tax on the car, all to no avail because the computer wasn't rebooted. One trip to DMV to discover they only do the necessary waivers from 8 to 10 p.m. Meantime, hours spent running the car around on longer than necessary errands to try to get the computer rebooted. While juggling medical appointments and situations for my wife and I. What a nightmare. Are Mazda computers particularly poor, or is this standard? When I jumper cabled the other car, a Toyota, a few days of errands had it passing inspection. Tomorrow back to DMV on the early shift. Does this have to be this difficult?

 

[alaskanpiper]

Of course it does. It's a car. Cars are always a pain in the ass. Hope tomorrow goes better for you!

 

[prndl]

Keep pluggin', mso.

Besides, the only difference between the DMV and a car is that you can always get another car.

 

[redglow]

Of course it does. It's the government. Making you do things that you shouldn't have to do and pay for them too.

 

[balkisobrains]

Disconnecting the battery will clear the "Ready" state of the ECU of
OBD2 cars (Post 1995), which then take about 30 miles of fault-code-free driving to re-set the readiness state to "Ready".
Then you can pass inspection.

 

[ssjones]

Correct, but if you clear it, then go in for inspection, it won't have enough history in the computer to pass. At least that is the way it works in Maryland. I had a pesky Catalytic convertor code on my Lincoln and a ODBII reader with phone app for pulling and clearing engine codes. I reset before our my emissions inspection. They told me to come back in a week and asked if I had reset the computer recently. I guess with the prevalence of cheap code readers (my was $20 via Amazon), they are wise to that trick.

Good luck tomorrow!

Disconnecting the battery will clear the "Ready" state of the ECU of
OBD2 cars (Post 1995), which then take about 30 miles of fault-code-free driving to re-set the readiness state to "Ready".
Then you can pass inspection.

 

[Casual]

Thank god we put computers in everything! They’re not fragile or temperamental at all. I’m a computer programmer, and I’m tired of my compatriots turning previously robust and simple machines into complex and fragile ones with crappy computerization.

Some days I wish a solar flare would just make us start over again.

 

[seanv]

Why do you need your car inspected?

 

[balkisobrains]

Correct, but if you clear it, then go in for inspection, it won't have enough history in the computer to pass. At least that is the way it works in Maryland. I had a pesky Catalytic convertor code on my Lincoln and a ODBII reader with phone app for pulling and clearing engine codes. I reset before our my emissions inspection. They told me to come back in a week and asked if I had reset the computer recently. I guess with the prevalence of cheap code readers (my was $20 via Amazon), they are wise to that trick.

Good luck tomorrow!

That's what I said. Driving (generally) at least 30 miles after clearing the ECUs state of "Ready" will set it back to "Ready". If you scan before then, even if the car is not going to throw any fault codes, you will fail the readiness check. This prevents people from clearing sporadic fault codes by wiping the ecu, & then quickly passing inspection before any fault codes come back.

 

[3rdguy]

Why do you need your car inspected?

Some states require it. When I lived in Oklahoma you just had to go to the right shop to get the sticker
I had a sports car when I lived there with directional tires, 3 of which were going the wrong way (I was not aware as I was buying it), it still got a pass.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

Im old enough to remember going for the exhaust inspections with my mom.
I always thought it was curious when theyd jam that long pole up into all the cars tail pipes.

Its a good thing they stopped all that in Kentucky.
I havent run cats on my car for several years.

 

[seanv]

I understand the logic but that's a real pain in the ass

 

[ssjones]

Parts of Maryland get the emissions testing, all but the most rural counties. They used to run the car on a dyno and physically sniff the exhaust. Now, they just plug into the OBD II computer and check for any codes. Every two years here. I always write on the check "Bullshit Inspection" (because they don't do diesel trucks, not all counties, etc.). That always gets a grin from the attendant.

 

[unkleyoda]

Good god, I'm glad they don't do that here.

 

[balkisobrains]

It's basically just a racket to drum up revenue for whoever ends up getting it.

 

[philobeddoe]

Indiana stopped annual car inspections statewide back in the late 70’s. Inspections are still required in a few counties that border Chicago though. No vehicle inspections around here, these country boys roll coal on a regular basis!

 

[prndl]

They stopped doing "official" inspections here years ago. The "unofficial" inspections only recently.

By the book (official), a licensed mechanic had to pull the tires, check the brakes w/calipers meas., run a front end alignment, a headlight alignment plus an emissions test and turn signals check , among others. For this, they were paid $5.00 per (of which, $2.00 per went to the state).

The "unofficial" inspection consisted of removing the old sticker and placing a new one on. Both "official" and "unofficial" had become a running joke for years.

 

[mso489]

Wishful thinking is that the computer glitches will move my state toward eliminating inspections, but I'm not holding my breath. Don't even ask about our ABC liquor sales. Odd because much of the state has a self-image of rugged independence. I hope my tax/registration/waiver package goes through without more DMV visits. I sure spent weeks on it in the midst of other life situations.