Fordnatics List Archive

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Mail From: (email redacted) (George Chang)

Hi Eli,
I would like to thank you for posting this in rec.autos.driving.
I was wondering what Sacramento had in store for us. I would be very
much interested in seeing the rest of the announcement. I suspect that
many other car enthusiasts would, also.
I am taking the liberty of forwarding your posting to the MOPAR
Mailing List and the Fordnatics Mailing List. Many members have been
asking about the new sniffer laws. (by the way, if you are welcome to
join either or both lists if you have the interest and mailer capacity.
Each list averages about 100 letters a day.).

Best regards,
George
.....................................................................

From: (email redacted) (Eli Caul)

I work a a local repair shop in Napa, CA- we are also a Smog Check
station. I have finally found some definitive info about the new
Smog Check program, and thought I'dshare the highlights.

(All from the California Bureau of Automotive Repair Reporter,
Nov. 1994)

Jan. 1, 1995 - First stage of Smog Check II Implemented

Primarily, this will change the way cost-exeedance limitations work.
Under the current program,vehicles that fail their smog check are
assigned a repair cost limit, based on the model year ofthe car.
Cost limits vary from $50-$300, and vehicles beyond economical repair
can berepaired, or estimated (i.e. if your cost limit is $175, and it
will take a $2000 engine overhaul to bring you within emission limits,
you can present that estimate as evidence) into the referee program.

The referee program was designed for those without the funds to repair
their old (and already dying) vehicles into compliance. Under this
program, motorists could avoid the high cost of repairs by spending a
day at a referee station, and getting their certificate of
non-compliance (provided that the vehicles smog equipment had NOT been
tampered with, or removed, there never has been a cost limit on tampered
vehicles), so that they could use the old junker to get to work.

UNDER THE NEW PROGRAM, EFFECTIVE JAN 1, 1995

Cost limits for untampered vehicles will rise to $450, regardless if
the car in question is a 1966 or 1994 model year.

Now, the repair structure is even scarier. Remember, your actual
tailpipe readings are only a part of the test- You could have perfect
tailpipe readings out of your car, but if some poorly-designed &
expensive smog device fails, IT MUST BE REPAIRED BACK TO FACTORY SPEC,
REGARDLESS OF THE AGE, OR THE ACTUAL POLLUTANTS COMING OUT OF YOUR
VEHICLE.

Example.

Let's say you have a 1980 Chevy Citation with a bad EGR valve, no
vacuum signal to the EGR due to a bad thermovalve, and with an
acceptable tailpipe reading. (100ppm HC, 1.0% CO limit)

Under the old program, the station would fail you, on the functional
portion of the test (not tailpipe emissions, the whole reason this
program is here), and write you an estimate for repairs.
For the sake of arguement, lets say a new EGR valve costs $400
on the car, and a new thermovalve is $200. Under the old program, that
estimate alone, and your failed smog documentation, would be enough for
a referee appointment, and a cert of non-compliance. If your car still
failed a functional test 2 years later, you would still have the option
of repairing it, or going back to the referee for another cert of
non-compliance. Going to the referee is inconvienient, but it presents
lots of options for the classic Citation owner: 70 year old ladies who
NEED their car, and use it three times a week for shopping trips, etc.
Under the new program, that same classic Citation owner MUST:
Repair both items, at a cost of $600. Why? because neither of the
repairs come in over the new cost-exceedance limits, and both repairs
must be done regardless of their effect on actual tail-pipe readings
during the test. Estimates are no longer acceptable: Only repairs can
get you to the referee.
Even if your car requires repairs above and beyond the $450
cost limit, you must spend at least that getting emissions repairs
done, even if it is pointless. I.E., Car needs $2000 engine overhaul,
pollutes like mad, but also has a bad EGR valve. EGR valve gets
repaired at a cost of $450.01, but the car still pollutes like mad.
At this point, the car gets referee'd, but only once.
Under Smog Check II, cars cannot visit the referee
consecutively. Second time around, you gotta fix, or junk the car.
The Repair Reporter cites about 5 different examples, by way
of explanation, but I don't want to post them here- If I get enough
feedback, I'll post the entire 12 page booklet of all to see.
This new program bothers me, as a smog station employee- It
seems so pointless. Under the old program, we would take old, tired
vehicles (with poor owners), spend some time trying to lower the
tail-pipe reading (and succeeding in many cases- that's why smog
mechanics are there!) , and referee them if we couldn't bring them to
full compliance within their budget.
Under this new program, we are expected just to spend money,
however pointless the repair, and then tell the owner that they have
only two years left on the road in that vehicle before they must fully
repair, or abandon the car.
I believe this new program will have little to do with clean air,
but plenty to do with un-registered, un-insured motorists running around
on California roads. We have plenty already, but the new requirements
will only make this worse... I see the state of the motoring publics
economy every day, and let me tell you- California's drivers can't afford
Smog Check II!

I am (email redacted)- Please direct mail, comments, etc to me
regarding this post. There is more information that needs attention, but
hopefully this is a start.