Passing smog in Cali with an illegal exhaust manifold...???

[scarface1836]

anyone think its possible? I brought my 2000 GS to a smog check place, and I passed the test but they wouldnt certify me because my header does not have a smog sticker... the guy said I could try to get a replacement sticker from where I bought it(not gonna happen, but maybe I could find one for a smog legal DC header??), or I could bring it somewhere where they won't do a physical inspection, or maybe will just overlook the fact that it is an aftermarket part.... anyone have this problem? trying to avoid replacing my aftermarket header with the stock one, because it was a pain in the ass to put on in the first place

 

[Cripton805]

Dude's just being an asshole. It passes smog, No CEL. And still doesn't pass smog due to a visual... I Hate CA smog.

 

[G3GirL]

anyone think its possible? I brought my 2000 GS to a smog check place, and I passed the test but they wouldnt certify me because my header does not have a smog sticker... the guy said I could try to get a replacement sticker from where I bought it(not gonna happen, but maybe I could find one for a smog legal DC header??), or I could bring it somewhere where they won't do a physical inspection, or maybe will just overlook the fact that it is an aftermarket part.... anyone have this problem? trying to avoid replacing my aftermarket header with the stock one, because it was a pain in the ass to put on in the first place

Passing the emissions portion doesn't mean anything if you can't pass the visual inspection in CA. lol Any sticker you get, the technician will have to look it up in the system and verify that the numbers match up and it's the correct part for the car. Cheapest solution is to just swap it back to stock for the inspection and then put your stuff back on afterwards if that's what you're worried about. Any shop that will "overlook" your aftermarket parts runs the risk of getting huge fines and potentially losing their licenses, so it's not worth it for most shops. All CA smogs require an emissions, functional, and visual tests.

 

[5150KDC2]

Dude's just being an asshole. It passes smog, No CEL. And still doesn't pass smog due to a visual... I Hate CA smog.

^x2

If that happend all the time, there wouldnt be any modded cars in Cali period!!

 

[G3GirL]

Dude's just being an asshole. It passes smog, No CEL. And still doesn't pass smog due to a visual... I Hate CA smog.

I highly doubt it. The technician is required by law to run all tests by the books or he/she can get in trouble by BAR. No one wants to fail a car. It sucks for both parties.

 

[5150KDC2]

Side note: I moved from Cali 11 years ago, so I am sure a lot has changed in the proccess.

 

[Samurai_Blue]

I highly doubt it. The technician is required by law to run all tests by the books or he/she can get in trouble by BAR. No one wants to fail a car. It sucks for both parties.

x2 he could lose his license because he "didnt want to be an asshole" that day

 

[Cripton805]

Most of the shops I have taken my cars will only not pass a car because of the emmisions and a CEL.
If they b**** about an intake before when I pop my hood, I get into my car and leave.

Some places even run the test and charge you for it even though they can PHYSICALLY see the part before they test. AND FAIL YOU FOR VISUALS.
Those are the true assholes.

 

[G3GirL]

Most of the shops I have taken my cars will only not pass a car because of the emmisions and a CEL.
If they b**** about an intake before when I pop my hood, I get into my car and leave.

Some places even run the test and charge you for it even though they can PHYSICALLY see the part before they test. AND FAIL YOU FOR VISUALS.
Those are the true assholes.

Fun fact...the vehicle's hood usually doesn't get popped open until they enter your information into the system. They don't have time to check every single car that goes in before a smog check to make sure it'll pass before they enter it in the system. It's not time efficient or required. There are also rules about that. The tests are ran in specific order. The computer will tell the technician when to check each part. They're not allowed to just jump ahead without passing/failing the parts before it. So again, don't be mad at the technician for what the state requires. The techs and shops are just doing their jobs as required by law.

If you have a CEL on, your car will automatically fail. Depending on when it's actually illuminated (considering it works properly), this is where the technician pulling your car in can inform you prior to entering your car in the system that it will fail. We make sure our smog technician warns the customer that the car will fail if he see the CEL on when he goes to pull the car into the shop from the lot. Then the customer gets to decide whether they want to run the car and see where it's passing/failing. So...it's not always about money like a lot of people think.

Sometimes smog shops get bad reputations for things that they cannot control. Consumers need to understand that it's not the shop's fault. You should be maintaining your vehicles anyway. Why get butthurt if it fails? Just fix it. It's not that big of a deal.

 

[superhypered]

I think a bigger asshole is the first smog shop we took my car to before I bought it.. At the time, it was just the AEM intake on it. Guy calls us over.. Tells us it wont pass, we need stock intake.. Show him the C.A.R.B. sticker on it, still no go...

Took it somewhere else, passed with flying colors legally.

Btw OP, you cant get any C.A.R.B. sticker for your header.. That gets riveted on. s*** gets hot

 

[G3GirL]

I think a bigger asshole is the first smog shop we took my car to before I bought it.. At the time, it was just the AEM intake on it. Guy calls us over.. Tells us it wont pass, we need stock intake.. Show him the C.A.R.B. sticker on it, still no go...

More of an idiot than an asshole. Hopefully you got your money back from them.

 

[BigMac88]

Visual inspection is 50% of the smog check. You will 100% fail unless you get a CARB legal header or at least a CARB sticker for a DC header. Or find a shady mofo who you can buy off.

Dude's just being an asshole. It passes smog, No CEL. And still doesn't pass smog due to a visual... I Hate CA smog.

No he's trying not to get fined $50,000 by the BAR for overlooking a legally-required visual inspection. I agree, the system is fucked, but it's not the technician's fault.

 

[superhypered]

More of an idiot than an asshole. Hopefully you got your money back from them.

He inspected it before he did the test, so we didnt pay anything..

And I just said there is no sticker for the header :what: its a tag..

 

[G3GirL]

He inspected it before he did the test, so we didnt pay anything..

And I just said there is no sticker for the header :what: its a tag..

My mistake, I assumed since you said he was a bigger asshole, that you were charged and failed when you should have passed. If he didn't fail the car and take your money when it should have passed, he's not really as much of an asshole as you think. He probably just wasn't knowledgeable.

If your parts have EO #s and the tech at the shop you took it to knew what he was doing, he should have looked it up in the system to verify that it is indeed legal. That should happen during the actual visual portion of the test.

 

[Cripton805]

If you have a CEL on, your car will automatically fail. Depending on when it's actually illuminated (considering it works properly), this is where the technician pulling your car in can inform you prior to entering your car in the system that it will fail.

I know about the CEL, but in all honesty the shops I've been to pop the hood before they enter any kind of information into their computer. Just by realizing they have an illegal header or intake that should be enough to tell the customer "Hey you should get OEM parts and come back for another smog"

NO. Instead they run everything and tell you it didn't pass visuals. In most cases I have been the one pulling up the car and they tell me to pop the hood as soon as I drive it in.

I even had a car pass a GROSS POLLUTER inspection after it was fixed. That is the hardest test to pass even more than the state BAR for the mere fact that there already has been failed emmisions and you have to take it to a special shop to do it. I've dealt with smogging quite a it.

If they don't pass it due to visuals, it's fine, but charge you for it and knowing it wouldn't pass is like scamming someone out of their money.

Like a cop giving you a ticket for a cracked windshield or tags that you have in your glovebox.
I'm going to be a cop and theres something called discretion. It's about having the power to decide whether to give a ticket or not to. Same with stupid gay scamming charges from shops.