i had been looking towards this day with great glee. its been one year and my 04 prius had to get his clean air inspection. oh boy wait till i sit there in line waiting with the engine running but not running i said to mayself. ha, ha ill just blow his mind. its finally my turn i pull up the guy looks at me (smiling my snooty butt off) and looks at "smiley". no comment no smile, grim faced he opens the cap sticks the thing in. has me get out of the car plugs into the under dash receptical. comes back still no comment on the nonrunning running engine. hands me a piece of paper. it passed. he said."next!" boy was i deflated ! but then just as i was getting ready to drive off he gave me a huge conspiriatorial smile. all knowing. now HE had had me!!(and he knew it all the time)
I read here or on another Prius board that in Cali I don't even have to take it in--no smog checks ever! I guess I won't have that fun you had...
Quite true. Lucky us. At idle these vehicles don't put out emissions the way conventional cars do, so there's no point in making them have smog checks.
Oregon passed the same rule several years ago when they finally figured out that they couldn't figure out how to test a hybrid vehicle. I don't know what the situation is nowadays, but I doubt much has changed.
In Washington, you don't have to bring it in for emissions checks for the first 3 (5? 7?) years. (DaveInOlympia will know for sure.)
Of course in Florida there are no car inspections or emmisions checks at all. So, the Prius and the the 69 Pontiac burning a quart of oil every 30 miles are both on the road. Actually, that's not really the case in SE Florida...I don't think you can find a car older than 2004 on the roads and costing under $30...with most costing over $60K. Yes, it's a sick area.
So what would happen if you put it in park, still in ready, and held both the gas and the brake pedals? Even though the engine is under load, charging the battery, would it still pass the test? It doesn't seem fair -- a Prius derives all of its power from the ICE, so the ICE should be tested for emissions, not the whole car. The owner of a 1978 Buick Regal isn't allowed to pass his test with a smokey engine simply by reaching over and turning the key off while the machine is testing. The only difference with a Prius is, it's the computer turning the ICE off by itself, instead of a human turning the ICE off manually. If this loophole isn't closed, what's to stop a manufacturer from creating a high-performance "hybrid" sportscar with an engine that won't pass a smog test, which has an idle stop feature but no other hybrid advantages? Lots of what-if questions...sorry guys... and there are no emissions tests in Iowa that I'm aware of, so all of this is new to me. --Michael Spencer
If a manufacturer were to do that, it would not get the low emissions rating. I am sure different tests are done to get the rating, and not just a 'sensor in the pipe test while idling' test. Now there's nothing to stop an owner from making illegal modificatons undetected however.
Illinois won't test a car for emissions until you've had the (new) car for four years (less a few weeks to notify you). I don't know what they have planned for hybrids. They look at OBD II readings and this helps them get a good look at the car without stress testing it. One part of the test (of my 2001 Avalon) that I think was worthwhile was a double-check that my gas cap worked. They take off your cap and attach it to a device that pressurizes it (I don't know how or which way). If your cap leaks, you will be strongly urged to get it fixed.
California now mandates idle, cruise, and load at high RPM tests on a dyno. A clean idle no longer is a guarantee of a pass. One of my cars (the Prius) never needs smog, the other ('71 VW fastback) is too old to need it. No more smog tests whoopee!
Hey, jimofdg, looking at your posting photo (red with a white swirl on the side) I bet you aren't a Pepsi drinker!
Actually, I am. I do prefer red vehicles. The avatar belongs to texassalsa04 (everything is Coke in Texas). My dad had a red van that was previously a Coke truck. With his permission, I painted the white "ribbon device" back on the van. Took a while but looked great.
