I could conceptually understand smog checks 30 years ago.

But with modern cars and few older cars on the road, it seems that smog checks shouldn't really be necessary anymore - just do them for cars older than 35 years or something.

The only time I've ever failed a smog check was a long time ago w/ a carbureted engine. I've never come even close to failing since 1990.

The webz says that the failure rate in 2024 is about 8%. Seems like we should get rid of that test and infrastructure - obsolete and unnecessary.

Or is it just a money grab from the state?

I would love for the smog checks to go away, as my car is modified to the point that it wouldn’t pass smog. It’s a hassle to revert the car to do the test, then redo the mods.

Since it’ll never go away, I do wish they’d modify it so that cars would be exempt after, say, 25 years. It’s pretty difficult to maintain an engine that old to meet smog certification, and would allow more people the ability to mod their cars without hindrance.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Or is it just a money grab from the state?

Yeah, it is something like that.

Closed loop fuel injection was widely available in 1981.

OBD II hit the streets in 1987 and became mandatory in '95.

Seems little tricks being played for the system (VW) are the excuse that most testing stations use to keep their doors (and lobbyists) open throughout the year.

quote:

Or is it just a money grab from the state?

^^^^ THIS!!

If so, be nice if DOGE could shut it down.

In VA, cars that are eligible for antique status are exempt from emissions checks even if they are not registered as antiques. In fact, most of the non-urban areas of the Commonwealth have no emission check requirement at all.

Seems like all modern cars just read the on-board sensors rather than doing actual tailpipe sniffing.

There are also drive-by emissions checks on many highways (mostly on the on/off ramps on Interstates) that preclude having to go to a checking facility (still have to pay the same fee). I don't know if these actually measure pollutants while you drive by them or somehow read the car's sensors remotely.

And, the VW emissionsgate scandal was way overblown by the media (what a surprise!). It was limited to a few diesel engine models and very likely made no difference at all to generation/propogation of actual pollutants.

The only smog check I have done in Illinois and Missouri in the past 30 years is hooking up to the one port in your car. If there’s no codes you pass.

I had a highly modified Mustang years ago that would have never passed a smog test but for $35 you could buy MIL eliminators which made the OBD reading look clean because it turned off anything that would trip an exhaust check light.

Basically a smog check of this type has been useless for as long as they have been around.

Smog checks make the tree huggers feel good. Oh yea, and the revenue to the state.

Only required in the 4 [IIRC] metro counties [Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio], and those that border them, here in TX.

My parents are 2 counties removed, so they only pay registration, starting this year. TX dropped the safety portion for inspections.

Smog checks were obsolete the moment they started. They're also an unfair burden on the poor, and a money grab for the state and the shops that perform them. Thankfully I live in a state that doesn't have them.

Not required in Kentucky

The ones that fail you (with OBD-II) for an engine light on and any trouble codes in memory are the worst. Not all codes, whether or not they trigger the money light, are even emissions related. Don't bother clearing the code(s) and racing over to the test center before it comes back on - they check to see if all of the "monitors" have "run." My own car wouldn't pass if there were any here. T could understand it more if they actually did some good.

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:
I would love for the smog checks to go away, as my car is modified to the point that it wouldn’t pass smog. It’s a hassle to revert the car to do the test, then redo the mods.

Since it’ll never go away, I do wish they’d modify it so that cars would be exempt after, say, 25 years. It’s pretty difficult to maintain an engine that old to meet smog certification, and would allow more people the ability to mod their cars without hindrance.

Them going away would make my day also.

Had a 2003 Mercedes C-230 Kompressor (supercharged) that drove fine, but had an idiot light that wouldn't go off...so it wouldn't pass...but it sure liked to fly down the highway. It was especially happy running between Sacramento and Richmond for Action Pistol matches

It was so much fun to drive that I kept after it for a while. It turned out to be the O2 sensor...who knew it had two of them

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
If so, be nice if DOGE could shut it down.

SMOG Checks have NOTHING to do w/ the Federal Gov't, they are a gift from your state government. DOGE can't be of any help if you live 'in the gilded cage'!
On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are 14 Twenty-One states that do NOT require ANY vehicle inspections at all. Live Free or Die!

Edited for accuracy

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:

SMOG Checks have NOTHING to do w/ the Federal Gov't...They are a gift from your state government!
On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are 14 states that do NOT require ANY vehicle inspections at all. Live Free or Die!

Yep. No smog test in WV but we had the damn yearly inspections for lights, brakes, etc. Thankfully they have now extended those to every 2 years.

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
...On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are 14 states that do NOT require ANY vehicle inspections at all...

Iowa is one of them!

Yes, obsolete. Smog is certainly a problem still, like in the Salt Lake area. The area has become quite populated in the last 30 years, and with a winter temperature inversion all of the pollution stays trapped. But it isn't because cars are putting out too much hydrocarbon (unburnt fuel).

I actually favor getting altogether rid of inspections. Failed brakes or a missing headlamp are not causing accidents. Distracted, drunk, and stoned drivers are causing accidents. The cars that are falling apart are frequently not registered, not insured, not getting inspected, and many times driven by illegal aliens.

Its been so long since we had any inspections here I can’t remember when they did away with them.

^^ Correction, 21 states do NOT require ANY vehicle inspections at all.

1. Alabama
2. Alaska
3. Arkansas
4. Florida
5. Idaho
6. Iowa
7. Kansas
8. Kentucky
9. Michigan
10. Minnesota
11. Mississippi
12. Montana
13. Nebraska
14. New Hampshire
15. North Dakota
16. Oklahoma
17. South Carolina
18. South Dakota
19. Tennessee
20. Washington
21. Wyoming

We have them here in WI only in the four county area around Milwaukee. If I lived five miles west in the next county over, I'd never have to deal with it. Do they prevent residents of that county or any other from driving in Milwaukee? Yeah, so why do we even have the law? Idiocy in its finest form.