Cautionary Tale for Montero Owners Who Need To SMOG Their Car

[TheMole]

Looks like following the o2 sensor steps late Saturday night set all but one of the readiness monitors! I didn't drive my car at all on Sunday, but just checked when I got home from work today and it showed the below. Only the catalyst is still showing incomplete, but I remember the smog guy saying that 1 incomplete was ok for my car.

Page 2 of the guide summarizes how many incomplete monitors are allowed:
https://www.bar.ca.gov/pdf/Smog_Check_OBD_Reference_Lite_Version.pdf

 

[mike5]

That's a great document. Looks like this came after they passed the rules. But yes looks like you're fine and ready to smog. If they don't penalize shops for testing and passing cars with one monitor set then you're good to go. Just check readiness prior to testing to ensure there still set.

 

[mike5]

So did you go back? The cat test is the hardest to get to run but I got it passed without having it set.

 

[TheMole]

So did you go back? The cat test is the hardest to get to run but I got it passed without having it set.

Yea went back and passed just fine. The smog guy insisted that it would fail because the cat monitor wasn't ready, but I went ahead with it because of the reference guide stating that 96-99 can have any one of the monitors not ready. He was surprised when it passed and acknowledged that it was news to him as well. I would think the sniffer test would show if a cat is going bad anyways. Just glad I don't have to deal with it for another 2 years.

edit: Also wanted to note for anyone using the torque app that the monitors do not update in real-time even though it does they may be complete. As mentioned previously, I went through the drive cycles several times with the app connected, but it didn't change at all. It wasn't until the next time I turned my car on to check the monitors that they showed as complete.

 

[Salonika]

Does Cali allow you to stop smogging once the vehicle hits a certain age?

 

[Clem]

Does Cali allow you to stop smogging once the vehicle hits a certain age?

No...Gas engine vehicles need SMOG every other year unless model year 1975 or older.

Clem

 

[mike5]

Just updated the first post with my 2017 smog results, as well as scans from 2015 and 2017 for comparison. A new CA BAR link also added.

 

[Dima1127]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this but i just wanted this info to be out there.
Today (1/12/2018) i stopped by a star smog station and asked how many incomplete monitors i could have and pass smog.
The answer was pre 2000 you can one incomplete BUT IT COULD BE ANY OF THE MONITORS.
2000 and up you may only have EVAP incomplete.

p.s. OP maybe add this to the original post?

 

[mike5]

This was going to be a 2 minute reply. But I've since put an hour into gathering relevant information.

Dima,

Thanks for the reply. You're correct, sort of. Per the BAR linked document in my original post for 2017 (document was updated today 1/12/18), any one monitor can be not set (which is what you said). However, the issue I also rain into was that at the time the standards changed, shops were afraid to smog pre 2000 cars where a monitor was not set due to a normalization (averaging) process where shops are compared to one another to determine if a shop is smoging more cars than average with a monitor not set. There were fears of penalties based on the folks I spoke to. Based on more recent conversations it sounds like some of that has been worked out by the state.

The program in question is called STAR. Per their FAQ here station performance is assessed by comparing them to each other. And if I have it right, the STAR program really is euphemism to say that in order to continue providing SMOG services you have to be part of STAR. You can thank the state legislature under AB289 apparently. Also per the FAQ, there are non-STAR stations, but they're limited to what they can do. PLUS the state gets to tell the consumer if they HAVE to go to a STAR station. It basically says that unless its an ownership change that forced the SMOG, you have to go to STAR

It was a cluster of a rollout because when they changed the rules and implemented a system of averaging shops and looking for outliers, fear was created amongst various shops along with confusion over existing documentation (Appendix J for instance). So there was a period where shops did not want to frankly touch anything pre 2000 that did not have a monitor set.

Just for kicks, I took another look at this topic. I've linked a 2016 document below. Read from slide 10. You'll note that BAR identified vehicles of interest where there were readiness monitor issues. It lists that in some cases they worked with OEMs and in other cases issued guidance. But that was over a year AFTER the rules changed.

BAR Study: https://www.bar.ca.gov/pdf/BAG_OBD_Monitors_10.21.16.pdf

Also, while looking at this topic again I found a cool site. You can see you SMOG history here: https://www.bar.ca.gov/pubwebquery/Vehicle/PubTstQry.aspx

 

[Funf]

First off, thank you for putting all this knowledge down on the thread.

I am trying to get my 96 SR ready for SMOG in California, and I cannot get any of the I/M codes after doing the drive cycles. I am scanning with a CarScan code reader after doing a drive/drive cycles and before turning off the engine. I have tried both the FSM drive cycle and the updated TSB drive cycles. No CEL, and have verified the light works.

The continuous monitors (Misfire, fuel system, and comprehensive component) all show Complete. However, all Five non-continuous monitors (catalyst, EVAP, Oxygen, Oxygen Heater, EGR) show incomplete. I would think that at least one or two monitors would be able to complete, and seems suspicious that none of the non-continuous will complete.

Has anyone had a similar issue or advice where to start? Could this be an ECU issue? Possible all sensors are bad? Am I just messing up the drive cycle?

 

[mike5]

First off, thank you for putting all this knowledge down on the thread.

I am trying to get my 96 SR ready for SMOG in California, and I cannot get any of the I/M codes after doing the drive cycles. I am scanning with a CarScan code reader after doing a drive/drive cycles and before turning off the engine. I have tried both the FSM drive cycle and the updated TSB drive cycles. No CEL, and have verified the light works.

The continuous monitors (Misfire, fuel system, and comprehensive component) all show Complete. However, all Five non-continuous monitors (catalyst, EVAP, Oxygen, Oxygen Heater, EGR) show incomplete. I would think that at least one or two monitors would be able to complete, and seems suspicious that none of the non-continuous will complete.

Has anyone had a similar issue or advice where to start? Could this be an ECU issue? Possible all sensors are bad? Am I just messing up the drive cycle?

On the first post, pull up the BAR document under the 2017 section (document updated 1/12/18). Look at table 5. It says 96-97 Mitsubishi’s have trouble setting readiness monitors. Print it out, take to your local SMOG station and see if that’s enough to get them to test. If it is, great. If not make an appointment with a Referee Station and have them test.

 

[Earlron]

Smog Check OBD Reference as of 1/12/18 - Page 31 - Table 5: EIS Vehicles of Interest (OBD)
Mitsubishi 1996-1997 - ALL MODELS - EIS ignores readiness status.

Just got my 1996 SR smog cert last month with 3 incomplete monitors (CEL off). I brought a copy with me just in case the shop hadn't seen this revision yet. At the shop (not a referee station) I told him up front that 3 monitors would not reset and he said it wouldn't pass. I showed him the document, he reviewed it and completed my inspection with no issue. Apparently the BAR doesn't automatically send out the revisions as he hadn't seen it. He thanked me for leaving him my copy.

 

[mike5]

Smog Check OBD Reference as of 1/12/18 - Page 31 - Table 5: EIS Vehicles of Interest (OBD)
Mitsubishi 1996-1997 - ALL MODELS - EIS ignores readiness status.

Just got my 1996 SR smog cert last month with 3 incomplete monitors (CEL off). I brought a copy with me just in case the shop hadn't seen this revision yet. At the shop (not a referee station) I told him up front that 3 monitors would not reset and he said it wouldn't pass. I showed him the document, he reviewed it and completed my inspection with no issue. Apparently the BAR doesn't automatically send out the revisions as he hadn't seen it. He thanked me for leaving him my copy.

Thanks you so much for that feedback. It gives me hope that others will be helped by this as well.

 

[Funf]

On the first post, pull up the BAR document under the 2017 section (document updated 1/12/18). Look at table 5. It says 96-97 Mitsubishi's have trouble setting readiness monitors. Print it out, take to your local SMOG station and see if that's enough to get them to test. If it is, great. If not make an appointment with a Referee Station and have them test.

Thanks Mike5! I did just that and the SMOG tech seemed cynical but said he'd give it a try and see what the machine said. A bit later he came out saying that it passed!

 

[mike5]

That's great news. There's nope for now in CA after all....