Fortunately I live outside the area that this is required. I guess California members deal with worse then this. Someone needs to explain to me why the EPA is changing over to a test that's only 40% accurate and you can pay $450.00 for a waiver if your vehicle fails. Is the switch to computer testing another form of taxation? I don't understand the $450 waiver.
The computer emissions test is apparently going nationwide. Republicans, the party that is supposed to stand for less government intrusion are running the EPA. What's up with that?
Jeff
Computer testing of emissions could make drivers pay
By Shane Graber
Post-Dispatch
12/29/2003
Some Metro East-area drivers could start the new year by paying hundreds of dollars in unnecessary car repairs after a change in required emissions testing begins Friday, critics of the new requirement say.
The free mandatory procedure will test a vehicle's computer system rather than actual emissions coming out of the exhaust pipe.
"We're fearful, in fact we know, that there are situations where people are going to be paying significant amounts of money for basically nothing," said Mike Right, a spokesman for AAA. "It's going to fall most heavily on those least able to pay."
The new Illinois rules, which also apply to vehicles in the greater Chicago area, target areas where pollution levels are higher than what federal standards allow.
A system similar to Illinois' will take effect in St. Louis, as well as St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin counties, in 2005.
The Environmental Protection Agency is phasing out the exhaust tests nationwide because they're not as strict as the computer tests, said Kim Kuntzman, a spokeswoman for the Illinois EPA's Bureau of Air.
Before 2004, an Illinois vehicle owner who failed the computer test could request an exhaust test. That will no longer be an option beginning Friday.
The owner must either fix what the computer considers to be a problem, or spend at least $450 on emission-related repairs, which then makes the vehicle eligible for a waiver.
"The problem with this is going to be that people are going to be ping-ponged between the testing place and the repairer," Right said.
The new rules apply to 1996 and newer vehicles with onboard diagnostics systems, or OBDIIs, which monitor engine, transmission and emissions controls.
Tests for vehicles older than 1996 will stay the same. Models older than 1968 and newer than four years old are exempt.
A 2001 study sponsored by the EPA said that computer testing needs a closer look.
The report, published by the National Research Council of the National Academies, said that although computers can alert motorists to potential emission problems, "these systems do not actually measure emissions, instead relying on the computer to indicate whether any emissions-related malfunctions exist."
From October 2002 to March 2003 in Illinois, 422,948 vehicles underwent emissions testing, according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. About 7.6 percent - or 32,144 vehicles - failed the computer tests. Of those vehicles, 30,787 took the option of taking the exhaust test, and 90 percent - or 27,735 - then passed.
Those who failed the computer test and didn't opt for the exhaust test paid an average of $238 in repairs. Those who failed the exhaust test paid an average of $403.
John Guzy is a master auto technician who is certified in Missouri to make emission repairs. He said the computer testing is about 40 percent reliable.
"On the tailpipe test, you're 100 percent because you know exactly what's coming out the back," he said.
Although the computerized tests have been known to fail vehicles that should have passed, the system has helped alert owners to small problems before they worsened, Kuntzman said.
"In many ways, it provides more in-depth information to motorists," she said. "If they're failing, it's certainly an indication that problems are developing with their emission control system. ... It can save the motorists a great deal of money in the long run."
There are several glitches in the computer systems, Right said. AAA's Web site lists vehicles that the U.S. EPA determined to have problems passing a computer test even though the vehicle had no emissions problems. All Volkswagens and Audis from 1997 to 2002, for instance, will likely fail a computer test if an after-market stereo was installed.
There are scores of other problems, Right said. A loose gas cap can cause the "check engine" light to go off. A blown fuse can lead to false trouble codes.
Even repairs can cause inaccurate readings. When a mechanic erases a computer's codes or disconnects a battery, the readiness codes are erased, too, and can only be reset by driving the vehicle. But the distance of driving required to reset the codes varies among vehicles. If those codes aren't reset before another emissions test, the vehicle will fail again.
"We've been dealing with that quite a bit," Kuntzman said of the computer errors. "We understand there are concerns with possible false failures, but generally speaking, they do accurately indicate when there is a problem."
If a vehicle's computer system is clearly giving false readings, the exhaust test will be made available, she said.
The Illinois EPA has been working to make sure the automotive industry is getting the training it needs so that misdiagnoses happen less often, Kuntzman said.
Once the new rules hit areas of Missouri, motorists will have to spend whatever is necessary so their vehicles pass the computer inspection. The $450 waiver in Illinois will not be available on the other side of the Mississippi River.
Reporter Shane Graber
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 314-340-8207
The computer emissions test is apparently going nationwide. Republicans, the party that is supposed to stand for less government intrusion are running the EPA. What's up with that?
Jeff
Computer testing of emissions could make drivers pay
By Shane Graber
Post-Dispatch
12/29/2003
Some Metro East-area drivers could start the new year by paying hundreds of dollars in unnecessary car repairs after a change in required emissions testing begins Friday, critics of the new requirement say.
The free mandatory procedure will test a vehicle's computer system rather than actual emissions coming out of the exhaust pipe.
"We're fearful, in fact we know, that there are situations where people are going to be paying significant amounts of money for basically nothing," said Mike Right, a spokesman for AAA. "It's going to fall most heavily on those least able to pay."
The new Illinois rules, which also apply to vehicles in the greater Chicago area, target areas where pollution levels are higher than what federal standards allow.
A system similar to Illinois' will take effect in St. Louis, as well as St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin counties, in 2005.
The Environmental Protection Agency is phasing out the exhaust tests nationwide because they're not as strict as the computer tests, said Kim Kuntzman, a spokeswoman for the Illinois EPA's Bureau of Air.
Before 2004, an Illinois vehicle owner who failed the computer test could request an exhaust test. That will no longer be an option beginning Friday.
The owner must either fix what the computer considers to be a problem, or spend at least $450 on emission-related repairs, which then makes the vehicle eligible for a waiver.
"The problem with this is going to be that people are going to be ping-ponged between the testing place and the repairer," Right said.
The new rules apply to 1996 and newer vehicles with onboard diagnostics systems, or OBDIIs, which monitor engine, transmission and emissions controls.
Tests for vehicles older than 1996 will stay the same. Models older than 1968 and newer than four years old are exempt.
A 2001 study sponsored by the EPA said that computer testing needs a closer look.
The report, published by the National Research Council of the National Academies, said that although computers can alert motorists to potential emission problems, "these systems do not actually measure emissions, instead relying on the computer to indicate whether any emissions-related malfunctions exist."
From October 2002 to March 2003 in Illinois, 422,948 vehicles underwent emissions testing, according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. About 7.6 percent - or 32,144 vehicles - failed the computer tests. Of those vehicles, 30,787 took the option of taking the exhaust test, and 90 percent - or 27,735 - then passed.
Those who failed the computer test and didn't opt for the exhaust test paid an average of $238 in repairs. Those who failed the exhaust test paid an average of $403.
John Guzy is a master auto technician who is certified in Missouri to make emission repairs. He said the computer testing is about 40 percent reliable.
"On the tailpipe test, you're 100 percent because you know exactly what's coming out the back," he said.
Although the computerized tests have been known to fail vehicles that should have passed, the system has helped alert owners to small problems before they worsened, Kuntzman said.
"In many ways, it provides more in-depth information to motorists," she said. "If they're failing, it's certainly an indication that problems are developing with their emission control system. ... It can save the motorists a great deal of money in the long run."
There are several glitches in the computer systems, Right said. AAA's Web site lists vehicles that the U.S. EPA determined to have problems passing a computer test even though the vehicle had no emissions problems. All Volkswagens and Audis from 1997 to 2002, for instance, will likely fail a computer test if an after-market stereo was installed.
There are scores of other problems, Right said. A loose gas cap can cause the "check engine" light to go off. A blown fuse can lead to false trouble codes.
Even repairs can cause inaccurate readings. When a mechanic erases a computer's codes or disconnects a battery, the readiness codes are erased, too, and can only be reset by driving the vehicle. But the distance of driving required to reset the codes varies among vehicles. If those codes aren't reset before another emissions test, the vehicle will fail again.
"We've been dealing with that quite a bit," Kuntzman said of the computer errors. "We understand there are concerns with possible false failures, but generally speaking, they do accurately indicate when there is a problem."
If a vehicle's computer system is clearly giving false readings, the exhaust test will be made available, she said.
The Illinois EPA has been working to make sure the automotive industry is getting the training it needs so that misdiagnoses happen less often, Kuntzman said.
Once the new rules hit areas of Missouri, motorists will have to spend whatever is necessary so their vehicles pass the computer inspection. The $450 waiver in Illinois will not be available on the other side of the Mississippi River.
Reporter Shane Graber
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 314-340-8207
