Maybe stupid question, will Prius pass smog with red triangle?

i don't think it will pass if there are any codes.

options include dealer, luscious garage, other hybrid mechs, and lots of aftermarket new and rebuilt batteries like 'newpriusbatteries', greenbean, greentec, etc.

 

In California, you are not allowed to have any codes of the "check engine" variety during a smog test.

There are several businesses dedicated to working on Prius in the bay area. Luscious Garage is one of them that has a good reputation.

 

I don't think in any state you will pass with the dash lit up with codes.

Also many reports of battery module failures when consistently driving with the RTOD. Bang and smoke. RTOD is a fatal error.

 

I haven't seen any trouble codes in this thread yet. Has anyone pulled them yet?

The Master Warning Light, which too often gets called the "red triangle of death", is a generic warning light that comes on whenever the hybrid-vehicle ECU has any trouble codes to report. There are around two hundred of those, and they cover a whole range of things from traction battery issues to minor wiring or communication faults, with a range of costs to fix from zero dollars to thousands.

For that reason, the best course when the Master Warning Light comes on is simply to keep breathing and find out what the trouble codes are.

 

I am a smog technician in California. The only codes we are looking for are “check engine”codes. As ChapmanF Said he didn’t see any codes posted on this thread yet. You should be fine if the check engine light is off. However with that being said if it is a 2010 and newer it could have what’s called “permanent codes” in the system and the light does not have to be on for those.
What it boils down to if the check engine light is not on and drive cycles are met. It will pass. Figuring the car is a generation two or a generation one Prius ( before 2010).

 

To add just a bit here, two main conditions need to be met for passing emission testing in CA. 1) No permanent codes that relate to emissions, which is just about anything in the engine or catalyst systems and 2) It must achieve readiness state for testing meaning the drive cycles have completed to test the various engine emission systems. You can't just erase codes and get it to pass. The exception to this is the evap system. If there are no permanent codes for evap systems, but it is still pending, that will be given a pass since it generally takes multiple days to complete the cold drive/hot drive cycles needed to complete the tests to eliminate the pending status. Of course, the vehicle has to pass visual inspection also for the shops that actually do that. They are supposed to, but you know how that goes. Be aware that all data collected from ODBII is passed directly to the state and that means if you failed once you will be required for the next test in 2 years, to go to a Star testing facility that generally will be more stringent in their testing and inspection process and are certified by the state to do emissions related work on the vehicles. Star testing shops are monitored closely by the state, secret shoppers, etc. Testing only shops can't do emission system repairs. There is also a functional check to make sure the check engine light comes on before starting the vehicle.

Also, my gen 2 has shown a permanent code for P0420 without the check engine light on and that will fail testing as well. That might be an edge case since my downstream O2 was tampered with and would work sometimes and other times not work. The check engine light would go out, but a permanent code for the low cat efficiency was still stored (Gen 2 do have permanent codes). Maybe the permanent code would have gone away eventually if the O2 worked for long enough, not sure and it never stayed off long enough to complete the drive cycles necessary and the check engine light would come back on, but I can confirm that a permanent code can exist in a gen 2 without the check engine light on and I'm certain it would not have passed emissions testing with a permanent P0420 code.

I did a lot of research into testing when I thought I was going to need a new very expensive cat, but fortunately the issue was easily resolved in my vehicle. This is just the knowledge I gained during my research into CA emissions testing.

 

Perfect Drone3 !! Your permit codes on your GEN two they are only checking permit codes for 2010 and after. Although in the future they may change the regulation to include 08 and newer.

 

You're absolutely correct about PDTCs being only for 2010 and above. I just learned something so thanks.

For those that want to know the reason why 2010? Gen 2 Prius does store permanent codes but starting with 2010 vehicles the PDTCs are now stored in NV Ram so disconnecting the 12v battery or using a scantool to erase them doesn't work. Only a successful drive cycle test that doesn't end with a code will clear the PDTCs. Sure makes it hard to game the system. Not sure why the distinction with 2010 forward TBH since my 07 does store permanent codes and if I erase them I have to complete a drive cycle test to achieve readiness or it's an automatic fail anyway. But since I have an 07 I'm good with that.

 

I'm not sure about some scan tools not showing it. On a scan tool that does show it, it usually looks like any other code display, but has the label 'permanent' instead of 'current'.