Sacramento Smog Check

How often does my vehicle need to get tested?

Furthermore, a Smog Test is required if you sell a car that’s more than four model-years old and if enrolling an off-road car for the first time in California.

How do I help my vehicle pass a Sacramento Smog Check?

Performing routine and proper maintenance depending on your owner’s guide and not tampering with the emissions-control gear will help improve your car or truck ‘s odds of passing a Sacramento Smog Check. If the “Check Engine” light comes on, then take your car to a certified repair station when you can to have the problem diagnosed-do not await the vehicle’s next scheduled Smog Test. A blinking or flashing light signals a malfunction that should be addressed immediately to prevent significant harm to the motor or emission-control systems. Check your owner’s guide for repairs that may be covered under your car or truck maker ‘s emissions guarantee.

What are the components of a Sacramento Smog Check?

Sacramento Smog Checks are intended to assess the amount and type of pollutants your motor vehicle is emitting. A Smog Test may include any of the following evaluations:

• Visual examination of emission control systems and components
• Functional inspection of the vehicle’s On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) system
• Tailpipe emissions review

What vehicles require a Sacramento Smog Check?

Gasoline-powered vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and alternative-fuel vehicles that are model year 1976 and newer require a Sacramento Smog Check, with the following exceptions:

• Four model-years and newer do not require a change-of-ownership inspection.
• For example, a 2010 model-year vehicle will initially be subject to a biennial Smog Test in 2016 (2010 6 = 2016) and also a change-of-ownership Smog Test at 2014 (2010 4 = 2014).

Diesel-powered vehicles 1998 and newer with a gross vehicle weight rating of 14,000 lbs and less require a Smog Test.

Is the Sacramento Smog Check Program biased against older vehicles?

No. While California law requires the Smog Test Program to focus on high-polluting vehicles, the Sacramento Smog Check Program also does not require older vehicles to satisfy the same emissions standards as newer vehicles. Smog Test emissions criteria take under consideration the age, make and model of every car, so that a car is never held to some standard that applied if the vehicle was originally manufactured.

I have a car that’s six model-years old. My DMV registration renewal note says it must possess a Sacramento Smog Check, but I thought it was exempt from the biennial Smog Test condition.

A gas-powered vehicle is excused from Sacramento Smog Check until it is seven model-years old. Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) computers have been made to recognize the exemption and process your renewal accordingly. Contact DMV if you think there’s an error. If you cannot resolve the problem with DMV, a country Referee facility could be able to help.

What’s an Enhanced Area?

An Enhanced Area is a metropolitan area designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rather than being in attainment with national health standards for ozone. Vehicles registered in an Enhanced Place are subject to some treadmill emissions test on a dynamometer and may require testing at a STAR-certified station.

Have California vehicle emissions standards changed?

Yes. BAR periodically corrects some criteria to increase their fairness. As a result, some criteria become slightly more stringent than they were previously and a few slightly more lenient. California’s emissions criteria consider the model-year, vehicle make and model, and gross weight of the motor vehicle. Older cars have less stringent criteria than newer ones. No elderly vehicle is held to the same criteria as a newer, more technologically advanced car or truck. Allowances are made for normal wear and tear at a vehicle’s emissions control system as it ages. The last alteration occurred in 2010.