I really hate to burst your collective bubbles. But I have bad news for you. My 2005 required a smog test to be reviewed d this year. The first year ever. A quick Google search reveals that the Prius exemption is no longer in effect in our great state. Apparently new equipment had to be distributed in order to enable hybrid testing.that roll out has been completed. The good news is that my Prissy passed with flying colors. YMMV
When I lived in California -- decades ago -- that whole smog check thing was a real PIA! Pretty much any shyster in town set up a testing station and the $14.95 fee almost always seemed to escalate quickly.
Just purchased a 2005 and they wouldn't transfer title unless I did smog. How am I supposed to smog without the certificate? So I had to line up to pay the fees. Then get the certificate to do smog. Then pay the crook/shop/brilliant owners $80 within walking distance from the DMV to smog. Then back to the line at DMV. Luckily, got a pass to go back to the front of the line to finally get the title. What else am I supposed to do find a cheaper smog station offsite and take another day off work or risk DMV never receiving the smog papers through the mail? Why is none of this electronic?
New equipment for hybrid testing my nice person. Smog tech pulled my car into their bay, popped the hood open, hooked their computer up to my car and walked away to look at a couple of other cars. 5 minutes later came back looked, at the engine bay, disconnected their computer and pulled my car back out into the parking lot and charged me $65 for it. Its complete bullshit. The only real thing that they check is to make sure that there aren't any modifications to the exhaust system and that the car isn't throwing DTCs. I bet its even more ridiculous for pure electrics like Teslas or Leafs.
Just one of a whole lot of reasons I would never live in CA. I've resided temporarily there three times for a total of about 15 months and I'm really glad it was temporary. And, @CharlesJ, we pay nothing for them here in FL. In fact, we don't do them at all.
From FORUM - How Much Does A Smog Check Cost? - SmogTips.com™ "The average smog inspection price will vary shop to shop. It will normally range anywhere between $29.95 to $89.95 depending on the county you live in and the type of smog inspection your vehicle requires. This price may or may not include the State's Certificate Fee of $8.25, which is charged only and if your vehicle passes the test. There may also be an EFT (Electronic Transmission) fee which a station owner may charge to make up for the toll cost they pay as the smog machine is transmitting your vehicle's information via a dedicated phone line. This fee is usually between $1-$3, and is charged regardless of whether your vehicle passes or fails the smog inspection. The State of California does not regulate the actual cost of the inspection because it is a privately owned industry, however they do require the certificate fee which you pay at the smog station, but ends up at the State. Some parts of the State where smog inspections are not so common, shops may choose to charge more per inspection to make up the cost of maintenance. For more information and to get a smog check coupon for reputable smog service center in your area by simply typing in your zip code in the smog station search box." The site also has a search box for coupons. They can be for discounts or fixed prices. In my area a quick check showed some places with $20 off coupons and one with a coupon for a fixed price of $26,95. Hopefully this can help alleviate the pain for a few of you.
You would think air pollution would be really bad here since the traffic lights are timed to make you re-accellerate at every light. But it doesn't seem to be a problem. And I have NO issues with people not moving here. The traffic is already horrible. I life here because of family, church, and work. Otherwise, I'd probably be in Wyoming.
It probably has to do with geography. You don't have the inversion layer and the mountains to trap the pollutants like we do here in southern California. When I was in grade school in the 60s the smog was so bad here we couldn't see the mountains 7 miles away from our house, our eyes were burning all the time and we coughed often. While we've always been ridiculed by other parts of the country for our pollution standards going back to the beginning, they have made a huge positive influence on our environment and health here. I admit they have gone overboard on some issues, though.
I'm sure that's 99% of it. We had the same problems when we lived in Denver in the late 70's. Also, I don't think we have the population density of So. Calif. even though we do have a lot of people overall.
I want to follow up on the pricing angle. Today I got my wife's Yaris smogged in Upland, CA. With the $26.95 coupon I printed from the shop's website the total price out the door including state certificate was $35.00. I asked about how much to do the Prius since it's due in two months. He assured me that the price will be exactly the same with the coupon either shown to him on my phone or printed out from the computer. Just browsing around on the internet I think you are allowing yourself to get ripped off if you pay more than $50 anywhere in southern California.
You guys realize you're complaining about a good thing. Smog checks as they are isn't a perfect system but it's better for us overall for air quality. Complaining that it costs too much for the few minutes to hook up and getting the certificate is like paying your doctor $500 for a 10 minute checkup to tell you, you are perfectly healthy. Would you rather receive bad news? When nothing is wrong with your vehicle, it is supposed to go swiftly. Would you rather it take an hour to tell you, you're car passed? I once took a day off work to line up at the city housing authority to apply for permits to change the windows in my house. I paid $200 for that privilege and when it came time for inspections, I had to take another day off to have the inspector look at my windows for 5 seconds and stamp my permit. Now that's a rip off. At least the smog check has something connected to the exhaust and the ECU and I can schedule the check on my time, not between the hours of 8 and 12 whenever we feel like it.
I have no problem with the price for the amount of time or even the test on hybrids if the powers that be were really addressing the pollution issues in any order of priority. I'm convinced any pollution they might be preventing by catching relatively few Prii out of compliance pales in comparison to to the increase in pollution soon to be created by the heavy equipment used to build the governor's high speed rail that is designed to carry legislators and lobbyists to Sacramento instead of where it's really needed by us: between L.A. and San Francisco. The horrible trend to change HOV lanes to toll lanes where single occupancy vehicles can use them for a price certainly doesn't encourage those people to find others to carpool with, thereby reducing their auto emissions. They're going after lower priority targets for the money and not out of a real concern for the environment any more.
We're talking about a car that puts out such a small amount of pollutants that the only way it could be devastating to the environment is if it caught on fire and burned to the ground without being put out. Having to smog a hybrid is total bullshit.
