PA Inspection and Emissions for Motor Vehicles

[larrymeyer]

I believe it's only certain areas of the state that require Emissions Test. My area doesn't so I don't get a sticker

[Damage control]

I believe it's only certain areas of the state that require Emissions Test. My area doesn't so I don't get a sticker

I second that.

[Jolly]

A few years back there was a bill to require it every other year. No one new about it and it failed to pass. The shops are not going to let their money maker go away easily.

[autotech6506]

The entire inspection process and registration process and drivers license fee and emissions process are nothing more then moneymakers for the state. They serve no other purpose.

There hasn't been anything that proves that having inspections helps reduce accidents or the severity of accidents.

All it does is make you pay a tax on top of the registration tax to own a vehicle and if you don't pay the tax then the police can pull you over and fine you until you pay their tax

I must respectfully say you are wrong. If there were no yearly inspections people be driving around in cars that have no business being on the road. I the few years of being an inspection mechanic you have no idea some of the stuff I've seen people driving, completly unaware that their life in in great danger. I've seen wheel bearings so bad that the whole wheel is about to fall off, tie rod ends that pop off with a gentle pull. If there were no inspections people would be driving around with this crap having no idea until their car goes veering off the side of the highway.

as for emissions....That 99% figure that someone got is false I can tell you that. A few years ago they almost did away with emissions because they weren't recording any failures through the computer. It turned out that people would get cars coming in with the check engine light on and then fixing them before they tested them on the computer. So that made it look like there were almost no failures.

he stickers only cost $2 each but the shop can charge whatever they want to do the inspection. Our shop charges $20 for an exemption which is pretty much standard. A regular emmisions test is $44

[wa3ra]

Actually, no restrictions on WHEN you can drive on the antique tag, but the purposes are limited.

Yep. two of my three 'drivers' are exempt, but I still have to pay the damn fee.

[autotech6506]

Always has been a money maker for the state.. What exactly is entailed in emission testing.....They plug your car into a computer, computer reads codes or lack thereof from your car....transmits this information and viola your done..if you have no codes you passed...I don't understand why they go after us in cars when commercial and or diesel vehicles are exempt and they put out the most emissions..If I had a dollar for every emission test done in this state for one year, I would never have to work again!!!!!!!!

I can tell you that the state doesn't make any money at all from these test except for the sales tax. The state doesn't get any part of the fee. It all goes to the dealer. The dealer is charged $2.40 for the call that the computer makes to the mainframe, which is somewhere in the midwest I believe, and the sticker cost the dealer $2.00. The rest of the fee is labor.

The computer gets plugged into the car and reads codes, and also several "monitors" that keep track of different emmissions systems. If these monitors are not complete the test cannot go through. If the codes are cleared all the monitors are reset and they do not set until all the test associated with those monitors have run. so you can't fool to computer by clearing the codes right before the test.

Commercial vehicles only account for less than 10% of the cars on the road. The emmisions put out by cars is ALOT more than all the tractor trailers in the world. That fact and also tractor trailers need all the power to pull their loads and if you put a catalytic converter on them they would melt them in short order anyway.

sorry for the long posts but I just wanted to make sure the right info is out their for you guys since I actuall do this type of stuff for a living

[autotech6506]

I believe it's only certain areas of the state that require Emissions Test. My area doesn't so I don't get a sticker

They still check all your emmissions components to make sure they are there at least. just because you don't get a sticker doesn't mean you can go cutting out your converter or bypass the emmissions system.

[LittleRedToyota]

I must respectfully say you are wrong. If there were no yearly inspections people be driving around in cars that have no business being on the road. I the few years of being an inspection mechanic you have no idea some of the stuff I've seen people driving, completly unaware that their life in in great danger. I've seen wheel bearings so bad that the whole wheel is about to fall off, tie rod ends that pop off with a gentle pull. If there were no inspections people would be driving around with this crap having no idea until their car goes veering off the side of the highway.

let me preface this by saying i do believe there should be periodic safety inspections (but, unlike the current inspections laws in PA, inspections should be limited to safety issues that may end up causing harm to other drivers/pedestrians), but...

there are a number of states, like ohio, that do not require inspections.

are there many accidents in OH because of not having inspection?

i don't know the answer, but i gotta think it can't be too big of an issue or they would start requiring inspections.

[wis bang]

Does anyone remember when PA inspection was 2X a year?

NJ was yearly but they gave new cars 2 yrs; now it is every other year and hew cars are exempt for 4 - 5 yrs...

Growing up in Easton, I worked at a gas station & we used to fail every car that came from NJ. Back then they didn't test the suspension & we found worn ball joints on every one...

[autotech6506]

let me preface this by saying i do believe there should be periodic safety inspections (but, unlike the current inspections laws in PA, inspections should be limited to safety issues that may end up causing harm to other drivers/pedestrians), but...

there are a number of states, like ohio, that do not require inspections.

are there many accidents in OH because of not having inspection?

i don't know the answer, but i gotta think it can't be too big of an issue or they would start requiring inspections.

I'm not a tree hugger or anything but i do believe that an emissions tests isn't a bad thing. It's not a bad idea to make sure people cars are running right. Also I'm sure there are a good bit of accidents that are caused by cars not being regularly inspected.

The issue that i would like to stress is that when you take care of your car it takes care of you You wouldn't be forced into paying someone to look at your car if people did it on their own. I'm sure they didn't come up with the idea of periodic inspections on their own. i am positive that they had incidents related to vehicle failures due to neglect.

Also ,again, I can tell you with 100% certainty that the state makes next to no money from these state inspections.