Cautionary Tale for Montero Owners Who Need To SMOG Their Car

[mike5]

As usual a month ago I received the notice from the CA DMW to renew the registration on my 96 Montero SR 3.5 (OBD II). Part of the request was the semi-annual SMOG test. I know a bit about the process and the system and I've done this many times. No big deal I thought. So a week or two later I drove over to a local place to SMOG the car. The place said they only do 2000 and newer (never heard of this before). So I said no problem and drove down the street to a second place. The second place connected a handheld scanner first to check the readiness codes (readiness monitors). When he checked he noticed that the EVAP and CAT were set to Not Ready. He said he can't SMOG the car because all of the readiness monitors have to be set to Ready. I was a bit surprised as this has never been an issue before. After asking some questions he said the CA BAR has rolled out a new system (OIS) as part of the STAR program and the rules have changed. As a result he can't do it.

Not liking his answer I drove to the next town and went to another shop. Basically same story. Except this time EVAP was set to Ready. He said to go drive the car some more and see if the readiness monitor gets set. Long story short after much driving and more checking, CAT was still Not Ready. He did perform a sniff test (diagnostic only) and it failed (again not an official test, but on the machine). He said the CAT was bad. This was actually a possiblity because two years ago the numbers were a little high. So I went to a shop and had them replace the CAT with a univeral CAT made for my car that is CA legal. It was made by Catco.

I decided to drive the car some more to see if now the readiness monitor for the CAT would get set (although it isn't really related). It didn't. I decided to research and see what's going on. What I found from the CA BAR, Mitsubishi, and the EPA is that the 96 to 98 Mitsubishis have issues with setting the readiness monitors. As a result they can be tested without having the readiness codes set. The CA BAR OBD Clearinghouse also has a document from Mitsubhishi about the OBD II drive cycles for Mitsubishis. This document explains under what conditions readiness monitors are run (good read and reference info). If you look at the CAT test, it is almost impossible to perform in SoCal. And you may need to do it six times.

Being frustrated by the info and the SMOG stations, I called the CA BAR. Basically that was a waste of time as they were clueless to what I said. I ended up calling the CA BAR Smog Check Referee Program. I told them the scenario and they understood. I basically couldn't SMOG anywhere! They said the referee station can do it as they don't have to worry about getting in trouble if the readiness monitors aren't set. But the locations and times are limited. The good side is that its something like $8.

While I had some downtime I ended up changing the engine air filter and decided to give Seafoam a try. BTW the manifold vacuum line needed is really easy to get to. Basically as everyone says follow the vacuum line coming from the brake booster. The goes along the firewall to the passenger side. There you will see a fitting and hose. Disconnect from there and poor the stuff in (per instructions).

Prior to the referee visit I was driving around my workplace when I came up on a place that SMOGs locally (Best Buy Smog in Torrance/Gardena). I called them and they said they will SMOG no problem even if one readiness code is not set. Long story short, went there and SMOGed the car yesterday morning. Passed with flying colors.

I just want the folks in CA to be aware of these issues that folks with older cars are going to start to run into. If you don't know anything about the process and these OBD systems you could end up not being able to register/drive your car. This is a really bad deal.

2017 UPDATE

I had a long post, but it got lost. Short version: Went to smog, worried about CAT Not Ready monitor. Looked online and found new guidance from the state that says for 96-99, any one monitor can be not set and car and still pass (link below). Went to shop I had consulted with last time, and they said they'd smog no problem (last time they wouldn't touch it). Looks like shops have new guidance and are more comfortable doing it. Car passed.

2015 Results

2017 Results

Note some upper limits have gone up slightly.

2015 Links
BAR / EPA Document: http://www.bar.ca.gov/pdf/Appendix_J_5.22.14.pdf (no longer works)
OBD Clearinghouse: http://www.obdclearinghouse.com/documents/tsb0013005.pdf (no longer works)
Mitsubishi TSB on Drive Cycles: http://mitsupartsworld.com/Diamante TSB/tsb0313005.pdf
Best Buy SMOG: www.bestbuysmog.com


2017 Links
Smog Check OBD Reference Lite by CA BAR: https://www.bar.ca.gov/pdf/Smog_Check_OBD_Reference_Lite_Version.pdf
AA Auto Smog in Glendale: https://www.yelp.com/biz/aa-auto-smog-glendale

 

[TheMole]

Thanks good info here. I remember when I bought my 98 Montero I ran into similar issues. I didn't need to take it to a Star Station since it was to transfer ownership, but the first smog station couldn't smog it because some of the readiness monitors weren't ready. My local non-Star station was able to smog it after a driving it for a couple of weeks, but it was a pretty frustrating overall experience.

 

[mike5]

I believe you're correct in that a non-STAR station should be more likely to SMOG the car. But good luck finding them. I think I found one on a state search engine but the shop didn't even SMOG. But technically with the rules now I believe a pre-2000 car should be allowed to proceed with two readiness monitors set to NOT READY and 2000 and above should only have one monitor not set. But I did have one person says that only one can be NOT READY for pre 2000 and none for post 2000. Either way there is a lack of understanding on the part of the shops and a fear currently that STAR stations could be dinged.

 

[pugslyyy]

When I got my 110 it wouldn't smog in CA so I kept it registered in Texas.

 

[TheMole]

I believe you're correct in that a non-STAR station should be more likely to SMOG the car. But good luck finding them. I think I found one on a state search engine but the shop didn't even SMOG. But technically with the rules now I believe a pre-2000 car should be allowed to proceed with two readiness monitors set to NOT READY and 2000 and above should only have one monitor not set. But I did have one person says that only one can be NOT READY for pre 2000 and none for post 2000. Either way there is a lack of understanding on the part of the shops and a fear currently that STAR stations could be dinged.

Yea I do recall reading about having 2 monitors not ready being ok. I am definitely not looking forward to my next my next smog which should require me taking it to STAR smog station.

 

[IncorpoRatedX]

i wonder if this is why we recently picked up two 99 monteros for next to nothing in cali.

might have to start buying these things up and redistributing them to less nazi states.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

It's a fairly common issue, several including myself have posted threads about it and how to resolve it.

 

[IncorpoRatedX]

http://www.obdclearinghouse.com/documents/tsb0013005.pdf

 

[MonteroLTD]

Why werent your monitors ready? Did you clear a cel or disconnect the battery recently? The monitors should only take 1 drive cycle to become ready which is a day or two. Ontario recently adopted this system. All obd2 compliant vehicles are allowed just 1 not ready monitor.

 

[mike5]

The evap monitor sets to not ready when you turn the car off. But a short drive fixes that. Just don't turn the car off. For the cat monitor it is very difficult to set. Per the documentation I provided it's an almost impossible process. The government knows this and therefore says to ignore. But shops don't.

 

[TheMole]

Why werent your monitors ready? Did you clear a cel or disconnect the battery recently? The monitors should only take 1 drive cycle to become ready which is a day or two. Ontario recently adopted this system. All obd2 compliant vehicles are allowed just 1 not ready monitor.

In my situation, the previous owner must have cleared a cel (misfire). I drove it around for a week before taking it to a Star smog station, but they said some of the monitors weren't ready. I didn't want to take it back and forth to the smog place so I used the Torque app to show which monitors were ready. I believe there were 2 or 3 that were still not ready, but another non-Star smog station was able to test it just fine.

 

[CUCV GRV]

this pertains to CA only. If a smog station in California says you won't pass because your readiness monitors are not set, ask them to check appendix J or Smog Check OBD II Reference (Testability Issues)
(formerly known as APPENDIX J) tell them to scroll down to the mitsubishi sections. Listed is 96-98 all mitsubishi models for those years have difficulties in setting readiness monitors and to test without regard for readiness monitors. I had a terrible time with my 1997. I drove on the Dyno my own drive cycle I have used to get 98% of cars to run all but the Evap monitor and my montero wouldn't complete. At my wits end a lightbulb went of and my smog teacher Pete yells in my brain. Dude check appendix J. Ran the smog omitting the obd test as prompted by the smog machine. Anyone can read this official document. Go to smogcheck.ca.gov and just search appendix J. Hope this helps

 

[Clem]

Reviving an old thread due to not passing CA SMOG only because of the OBD II System Check failed.

My montero is a third vehicle (camping and carpool duties), so with school out and no camping trips yet she had sat for about three weeks and the battery died (I suspect the PO's aftermarket radio is draining the battery...project for another day). I got her started, went to fuel up and drove on the freeway for about ten minutes to get everything good and warm and I thought this would be enough to reset the readiness codes (I had previous read this thread and jeep-N-montero's thread). I read the document Smog Check OBD II Reference and it seems my 99 doesn't get the "pass" that 1996-1998 models enjoy.

Does anyone have a link to the reference for recommended drive cycles in the Mitsubishi Service Manual? Is it the same as the 98? Do the cheapo OBD II gadgets on Amazon show the readiness checks?

Thanks,

Clem

 

[mike5]

Hi Clem,

The cheap scanners will work. Just make sure it reads readiness monitors. Get one, scan it, then post which monitors are not set. Also post any pending or other error codes.

The drive cycle info can be found in a link at the bottom of my post.

 

[Clem]

The cheap scanners will work. Just make sure it reads readiness monitors.

Thanks, mike5. I'll likely order one.

The drive cycle info can be found in a link at the bottom of my post.

Are you referring to the OBD Clearinghouse link? That document states, For 1998-2001 models, refer to Group 13 in the appropriate service manual, under "OBD-II Drive Cycle." I don't have a 1999 service manual, so I was hoping someone could confirm that the procedures are not significantly different from the OBD Clearinghouse document.

Thanks again for the help,

Clem