Since the CalDMV screwed up my smog check date?

October 25, 2009 2:30 PM

California DMV Filter -- "Smog Check Needed" is NOT printed on my registration renewel form, although it should be. Should I get an emission check anyway?

It's not a new car, so every two years, and that's now.

Possible contributing factor, recent change of address.

posted by Rash to law & government (16 comments total)

Sounds like it would be better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 2:31 PM on October 25

If you got one, are you pretty confident you'd pass it?
posted by box at 2:32 PM on October 25

If it is not printed then why do it? I would just go ahead and pay the registration. Regardless of smog, they will still accept the payment. If a smog check is required, your registration will be conditional and they will notify you. If not, you'll just get a new registration in the mail. So I don't see any problem with just paying.

Also, I have found DMV customer support to be quite helpful. You can also give them a call next week.
posted by special-k at 2:37 PM on October 25

are you pretty confident you'd pass it?

Yes, except for my pesky Check Engine Light, which comes on and then stays off for long intervals, and my mechanic doesn't know why.
posted by Rash at 2:39 PM on October 25

If your CEL is on when you go in for the smog, it will not pass. So that would be a waste of $40+
posted by special-k at 2:40 PM on October 25 [1 favorite has favorites]

Do not go in for a "Smog" check, or any inspection that pulls OBD II codes within 200 miles of a Check Engine Light.
posted by SirStan at 2:48 PM on October 25

Every two years is not necessarily true. It can vary by area and the age of the car. From that page: "The registration renewal notice mailed to you by the department will indicate if a smog certification is required." Don't second-guess the form they sent you.
posted by sageleaf at 4:14 PM on October 25

I wouldn't second-guess them either. They tell you if you need a smog check, and they told you that you didn't. Their system isn't going to suddenly demand a smog check after your renewal notice said not to get one. Should all hell break loose later, you have good documentation, and a smog check isn't hard to come by, but for now, don't jump through hoops you're not being asked to jump through.
posted by zachlipton at 4:31 PM on October 25

Your address change isn't contributing to the lack of message, seeing as how the renewal notice found its way to you. Don't get the test to pass registration.
posted by davejay at 6:14 PM on October 25

If your CEL is on when you go in for the smog, it will not pass. So that would be a waste of $40+

I bought a CEL puller/clearer from CostCo last week . . . 30-odd bucks.
posted by mokuba at 6:41 PM on October 25

mokuba: I bought a CEL puller/clearer from CostCo last week . . . 30-odd bucks.

If California uses the a system similar to Air Check Texas--and I don't see why theirs wouldn't be more stringent than ours--then the system will fail the car for two or more "Not Ready" sensors. That's what the unit does when it clears the light; it sets all sensors to their not ready state, which makes the light go out because there's no trouble code logged. However, going from "Not Ready" to "Ready" takes a variable-length amount of vehicle operation before it will switch (that is, the sensor has to be tripped and re-read before it will switch).

Long answer made short: Unless only one sensor is at fault, and whatever test being used doesn't fail if even one sensor is "Not Ready," simply clearing the check engine code may not result in a pass.
posted by fireoyster at 7:14 PM on October 25 [1 favorite has favorites]

Nthing not to second guess the notice. If the DMV wants you to get your car smogged they will tell you.

I just moved out of the state, but I had my 1999 Toyota registered in California since I bought it in 2004. I had to get a smog check when it was first registered but never had to do it again after that. I got the notice for the 2010 renewal right before I moved and they still didn't ask for it. My boyfriend had to get his 1999 Ford smogged every two years, and it was always clearly marked on his renewal notice.
posted by apricot at 7:46 PM on October 25

The biennial smog check is only required in some counties in California. Was your address change to somewhere that doesn't require a smog check every two years?
posted by zombiedance at 8:58 PM on October 25

If it doesn't have a smog check request on the form, you don't need one. My previous car didn't need a smog check until it was 6 years old! I assume it depends on the fuel efficiency rating your model gets. Or perhaps just the whim of the DMV. Who knows, but anyway if my car went 6 years without requiring a smog check in CA, then yours may not need one either.
posted by Joh at 9:10 PM on October 25

Joh: Most new cars don't require a smog check until 6 years after the model year of the car (as per sageleaf's link). The premise, presumably, is that emissions controls generally last at least 6 years, and most people with new cars are getting them serviced regularly under warranty so any problems would be caught pretty quickly.

Also, hybrids apparently never need a smog check. Who knew?
posted by zachlipton at 12:18 AM on October 26

Was your address change to somewhere that doesn't require a smog check every two years?

Yes, they actually sent it to my parents' house in Maryland, where I had my mail forwarded, temporarily. So I think that must be why it doesn't say "Smog Check Required." But actually the car never left Santa Clara County, where it IS required, so I better get one.
posted by Rash at 9:12 AM on October 26