Wait how many days before going to emission inspection right after car fix ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Adonis N
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Adonis N

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I have a Nissan Maxima, and I recently fixed the problems that caused Check Engine light to come up. I was told that I need to wait three days and drive at least 80 miles in order to pass the emission inspection test.
Can anybody tell me this issue in more detail ? (How many days, how many miles, and so on....)
 
SOUNDS LIKE YOU AREADY GOT TOLD YOU SAID THEY TOLD YOU TO WAIT 3 DAYS AND GO 80 MILES WHY NOT TRY THAT. YOU NEED TO DRIVE IT SOME SO THE COMPUTER RELEARNS MILES NOT DAYS WOULD MATTER.
 
The answer isn't as simple as you might think. You need to take your car through a driving cycle, which is different for every car manufacturer/model/engine type/etc.

Basically, your emission system monitors the status of your various emissions-related components (catalytic converter, O2 sensors, etc). When something is repaired, and the system is reset, it needs time to monitor these different parts (driving cycle) to make sure they are all functioning properly.

A service manual for your particular car (or sometimes a helpful technician at your dealership) could tell you what's involved in putting your car through a complete cycle - it's not just hours or distance driven.

For example, on my 97 honda: maintaining a speed of 45mph for 60 seconds is one of the steps needed to be checked off, another is a cold start and idle. There can be only several, or many depending on how complicated your particular system is.

The tech likely told you 3 days and 80 miles because during that time, your normal driving is likely to meet all the requirements of the testing cycle.

You can always get an autozone or similar place to test it for free, and make sure all your monitors are set to "ready" - this indicates that all the components have been tested.

Hope that helps!
 
I'm from Maryland and every state has different codes. What's the same is those cars, 96 and above are checked with an OBD II reader. If there are no codes on the car, it passes. Sounds about the same as you. So if the problems were actually fixed, you'll pass inspection.
 
RUNNING AN OBDII DRIVE CYCLE
The purpose of completing an OBD II drive cycle is to force the vehicle to run its onboard diagnostics. Some form of a drive cycle needs to be performed after DTCs have been erased from the PCM’s memory or after the battery has been disconnected. Running through a vehicle’s complete drive cycle will “set” the readiness monitors so that future faults can be detected (and potentially to pass the NYVIP re-inspection). Drive cycles vary depending on the vehicle and the monitor that needs to be re-set. Whenever possible, follow the drive trace prescribed for the specific vehicle/monitor in question. Some vehicle-specific drive cycles can be found in the vehicle’s Owner’s Manual.
The following “universal” drive cycle can be used as a guide to assist with re-setting monitors when a vehicle specific drive cycle cannot be located. This generic OBDII drive cycle begins with a cold start (coolant temperature below 122 degrees F and the coolant and air temperature sensors within 11 degrees of one another). This condition can be achieved by allowing the vehicle to “sit” overnight, and then by beginning the drive cycle the next day. Most drive cycles will be difficult to follow exactly under normal driving conditions, so the driver should exercise caution, road safety, and courtesy to others.
• Start the engine. Idle the engine in drive for two and a half minutes with the A/C and rear defroster on.
• Turn the A/C and rear defrost off, and accelerate to 55 mph at half throttle.
• Hold at a steady speed of 55 mph for three minutes.
• Decelerate (coast down) to 20 mph without braking or depressing the clutch.
• Accelerate back to 55 to 60 mph at ¾ throttle.
• Hold at a steady speed of 55 to 60 mph for five minutes.
• Decelerate (coast down) to a stop without braking.

This will work at reseting the computer's the emission readiness status as long as there is not any more malfunctioning parts in the emission system.
You can even retest the emission at this point, even the same day.
 
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