The Smog Story:

Art's Automotive is not a licensed smog station. We can not perform smog inspections or repair smog failures.

Many of our customers are finding this hard to believe, especially with misinformation being handed out at smog stations and the DMV. We are hoping to clear the confusion with the following excerpt from the Repair Reporter. The Repair Reporter is a newsletter published by the Bureau of Automotive Repair. The Bureau of Automotive Repair is agency that licenses and disciplines all automotive repair shops in California, including ours.

 

Smog License Required When Repairing Smog Failures

By George Adelsperger, BAR Staff

Automotive repair dealers are reminded that it is illegal to conduct Smog Check related repairs on vehicles that have failed a Smog Check inspection, unless the station is licensed as a Smog Check Test and Repair Station, and employ a licensed Smog Check technician.

Health and Safety Code sections 44014.5 and 44032 and California Code of Regulation section 3340.10 (f) clearly require Smog Check station and technician licenses to perform a diagnosis, or conduct repairs on a vehicle that has failed a Smog Check inspection.

We have read Health and Safety Code sections 44014.5 and 44032 and California Code 3340.10 (f) and they do indeed prohibit us from repairing cars that have failed the smog check, much to our chagrin. If you don't like this law, write your congressman... please.

Update 08-02-2003 -- Don't bother writing your congressman (at least not on this issue). Now that the Bay Area is an enhanced area, smog repairs really should be done by mechanics in the smog program. Without a dyno (a piece of equipment required for the new test) a mechanic really has no business trying to repair an NOx related failure. (It's unlikely that a mechanic would invest $25,000 in a dyno and a BAR 97 machine if they were not a licensed smog station)

Update 08-02-2003 -- The Bay Area is now an Enhanced Area, which means there will be tougher emission tests and some new rules. You can click on this link for more information. http://www.smogcheck.ca.gov/ftp/pdfdocs/bay_area_qa.pdf I've also added updates in lighter colored text where needed throughout this page.

Update 08-27-2003 -- Here's an interesting article in the Chronicle about auto repair shops reactions to the new style smog tests. The article says it better than I could, so click here to read it.

If the above links have gone stale, click here for the California Code of Regulations site, and here for the California Law site, then do a search for the above sections (or for any law you are interested in).

If you would prefer that we do any smog work your car might need, it's best to bring the car to us before it fails a state test so we can check for potential issues. Alternatively you can go to an official smog test station, but have a "pre-smog" done before the real test. Once your car fails a real smog check we can not knowingly repair that smog failure.

Update 08-02-2003 -- Because the Bay area is becoming an enhanced area, Art's Automotive will not be doing any smog preparation or pre-test failure whatsoever. This does not mean we can't do a service or fix a "check engine" light before you go for a smog. It does mean that we do not have the equipment to measure your car's emissions in the same way they will be measured during the actual smog check. It would be wrong (and illegal) for us to charge customers for smog repairs we can not verify.

We may be gearing up to become a Repair Only smog station, but we have not made the final decision yet. There are several issues surrounding becoming a smog station. Our current 4 gas machine is not Bar 90 certified. We donated our Bar 90 machine to the College Of Alameda when we exited the smog program in '94. In order to become a smog station again we would need to invest in a new Bar 90 machine. A Bar 90 machine is not terribly expensive as far a business expenses go, but it may turn out to be money wasted. Currently there is talk of making the Bay Area an enhanced area, which would mean that smog stations would need to invest in an expensive and unbearably loud dyno to perform smog checks or pre-tests. If we do become an enhanced area, we probably will not be doing any smog work at all.

Update 08-02-2003 -- The Bay Area is Definitely becoming an enhanced area. In other words, all smog stations will need to have BAR 97 equipment and a dyno. Therefore, any repair shop wanting to repair smog failures will need to have a smog license and a dyno. We've made the decision not to buy a dyno or to reapply for the license.

The following is information to help you to understand some of the basics of smog and emissions.

What is smog? Smog is airborne pollution. The type of smog that we're most concerned about in the automotive industry is ground level ozone. Ground level ozone is caused by Nitric oxides and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Nitric oxides are produced by your engine and gasoline is a VOC. Ground level ozone causes health problems such as asthma, immune system dysfunction, and cancer. It also is responsible for the orange haze you see in Los Angeles and we're beginning to see more often in the Bay Area.

What are emissions? Emissions are the gasses that come out of your tailpipe. There are five automotive tailpipe emissions: Hydrocarbons, also known as HC, which is unburned gas, a contributor to ground level ozone. Carbon Monoxide, also known as CO, which is a byproduct of combustion (kind of like soot). Carbon Dioxide, also known as CO2, is a greenhouse gas which contributes to global warming. Nitric Oxides, also known as NOx, is a contributor to ground level ozone. Oxygen, also known as O2, is not bad for you or the environment. Unfortunately, only 1% of what comes out of the tailpipe is oxygen. We check the oxygen levels for diagnostic purposes.

What is checked as part of a smog inspection? There are 3 areas of inspection: first, a visual inspection is done to make sure all of the smog equipment that is supposed to be on the car is there and properly hooked up. Next, a functional check of the timing and the EGR systems, to make sure that they are working properly. Finally there is a check of the emissions at idle and 2500 RPM. Currently only 4 of the 5 emissions are checked in our area. NOx is left out of the inspection because it is more difficult to check. Instead of checking the NOx emissions, the systems that are likely to cause high NOx are inspected during the functional check.

Update 08-02-2003 -- Now that the Bay Area is an Enhanced Area, the NOx level is inspected with the smog check.

What causes high HC (hydrocarbon)? High HC is caused by incomplete combustion; in other words, the air and fuel that went in to the combustion chamber was not completely burned, now the unburned fuel has ended up in the tailpipe. Problems that can cause incomplete combustion include:

  • An ignition misfire. If a spark plug does not spark, the air/fuel mixture in the combustion chamber does not burn and then goes out the tailpipe.
  • Incorrect air fuel mixture. If there is not enough fuel in the combustion chamber to ignite, the fuel that is there goes out the tailpipe.
  • Low compression. If the compression is too low the air/fuel mixture will not ignite and the unburned fuel will go out the tailpipe.
  • A bad catalytic converter. The converter lives in the exhaust pipe and burns unburned gas as it passes through.

What causes high CO (carbon monoxide)? High CO is caused by a rich air/fuel mixture. The air fuel ratio should be 14.7 parts air to to 1 part fuel. Problems that can cause a rich mixture include:

  • Problems with the feedback system (the system that regulates the fuel being added to the engine based on the amount of oxygen in the exhaust).
  • Problems with a computer sensor such as the coolant temperature sensor, air flow meter, MAP sensor, etc..
  • Problems with the fuel pressure. Fuel pressure that is too high can cause a rich mixture.

What causes high CO2 (carbon dioxide)? High CO2 is the product of a good running engine. The better your engine runs, the more CO2 it produces. The only way to reduce CO2 emissions is to buy a fuel efficient car. The bigger your gas guzzler, the more CO2 it makes. This is what's so sad about the recent SUV trend. In addition to depleting the worlds oil reserves, and putting our country in a position where "we will go to war to protect our oil supply", the trend of building increasingly inefficient behemoths is making the planet a less hospitable place for our species (and others) by contributing to global warming.

What causes high O2 (oxygen)? High O2 can be caused by a lean air/fuel mixture, but most of the time, noticeably high O2 is caused by either a leak in the exhaust pipe allowing air to enter, or air injection pumping air into the exhaust (this is done on some cars to aid in the burning of HC). High O2 is not a problem unless the smog machine decides the exhaust sample is too diluted to use; in which case, the car may fail the smog test for dilution.

What causes high NOx (nitric oxide)? NOx is not measured in our area currently, but if your car is registered in an enhanced area (an area that requires testing of NOx), you may run into this problem. High NOx is caused by high combustion temperatures and pressures. Problems that can cause high NOx include:

  • An inoperative EGR system. The EGR system was designed specifically to reduce NOx; that's it's only function. The EGR, which stands for Exhaust Gas Recirculation, allows exhaust gas to enter the combustion chamber through the intake. The exhaust gas has a cooling effect on the combustion chamber.
  • Over advanced ignition timing. The more advanced the ignition timing, the higher the combustion chamber temperatures.
  • Overheating. If the engine temperature is too high the NOx emissions will go up.
  • Lean air/fuel mixture. If the air/fuel mixture is too lean the combustion temperature will go up.
  • Compression over specification. Normally when we think of engines aging we think of the compression going down. However, there are a couple of ways the compression can increase as the engine is used. One is carbon buildup on the tops of the pistons. When carbon forms on the tops of the pistons, the combustion chamber area decreases and the compression ratio increases. The carbon can be manually scraped off the tops of the piston to correct this problem, but that would require disassembling the engine. Click here for cheap alternatives.
  • Mysterious reasons. Sometimes NOx is too high and there's no obvious cause: the EGR works, the timing and advance work normally, the engine temperature is within range, the air fuel mixture is good, and the compression is within spec.. When this happens you can try a little tweaking. If there are two thermostats listed for the car, use the cooler one. If there are two spark plugs listed for the car, use the cooler one. Retard the timing 2 degrees (the maximum allowed). Clear out the EGR passage even if the passage seems fine. Cross your fingers.

What can you do to reduce smog?

  • Keep your car well maintained (not very surprising advise coming from a mechanic).
  • Keep your tires filled. Tires with low pressure increases rolling resistance (imagine pedaling a bicycle with a low tire). Low tires decrease fuel economy and increase emissions.
  • Avoid making short trips in the car. When the car is cold, the fuel economy is poor and the emissions are very high.
  • Make sure you have a gas cap. Gasoline evaporates easily. If your gas cap is missing the gas evaporates into the atmosphere and creates smog.
  • Bring the car in for repair if the "check engine" light comes on. This light indicates one of the computer sensors is reading out of range. Most of the computer sensors will affect fuel economy and/or emissions.

Who should I take my car to it I fail the smog check? Currently Art's Automotive does not have a recommendation for smog repair. We recommend Yen's Automotive on Gilman and San Pablo for the smog checks. Phone number (510) 526-1601. They will not run the car cold or use other tricks to get your car to fail when it does not deserve to. I don't think they are too keen on doing the smog repairs though.

What is a Gross Polluter? A Gross Polluter is a vehicle that has failed the smog check by a certain amount, usually somewhere around 1.5 times the maximum allowable emissions or above. The CARB estimates that Gross Polluters cause half of all the vehicle related smog even though they only represent 10 to 15 % of the vehicles.

Where should I take my car for a retest if I fail as a Gross Polluter? If your car fails as a gross polluter you must take it to a Test Only Station or a Gold Shield Station. A test only station can only perform smog tests and can not repair smog failures. A Gold Shield Station can test Gross Polluters and repair smog failures. Gold shield stations must guarantee their smog failure repairs for 10 days or 1000 miles. To find a Test Only or Gold Shield station, go to this web site and use the "station locator" feature. http://www.smogcheck.ca,gov

Where can I find more information on smog?