Trying to pass smog check to re-register

Tiny
JULIACINI
  • MEMBER
  • 2003 SUBARU BAJA
  • 110,000 MILES
I took my vehicle to Instant Smog it didn’t pass. They said to go to the dealer and have it checked. I did it said there’s nothing wrong physically with my vehicle, I just need to put more miles on it. I have been doing short in town stop and goes and couple times on the interstate and it still wouldn’t pass. They just said it needs more miles on it. Can you advise me on doing whatever to pass?
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022 AT 3:17 PM

2 Replies

Tiny
SQM
  • MECHANIC
  • 6,383 POSTS
Hello,

You are required to drive between 100-200 miles over the course of a week in order to complete the 'drive cycle' test.
This should allow you to pass the smog check.

Take a look at this helpful guide, it covers the typical smog test issues/failures:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/smog-test-inspection-information

Please let me know of any questions.
Thank you.
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Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022 AT 6:54 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,452 POSTS
What they mean is that you have some of the system monitor PIDs that are not set to complete status, IE there are some system tests that have not run. There are 3 different drive cycles that set the various monitors.
A quick version is as follows - Start from a cold engine with 1/2 tank of fuel. Ambient temperature between 40 and 112 F. Drive the car for more than 15 minutes at a speed of 55 but not over 70MPH to ensure proper warm-up of the engine and complete many of the tests. Avoid sudden acceleration, hard braking, and sudden lane change during the drive and don't use the cruise or A/C during this part. Let off and coast to under 15MPH without braking or shifting gears. Stop and let the engine idle for at least 10 minutes. During this idle time turn the Air Conditioning on for 1 minute and back off. Now use a scan tool to check if the monitors have run. The EVAP test will likely be the hard one to set. If you can find out which monitors were not set it might take a pinpoint type of drive cycle to set it.
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Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022 AT 9:13 PM

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