Gas Caps
Howdy, Q: Has anyone had the experience of having to replace their gas cap every 2 yrs. to pass their smog inspection (CA)? It's happened to me the last three occasions. It's not a great amount of mo...
Forum Discussion
Doc Rey wrote:That's what your cap did, and that's why you failed. :)
...Oh well, just venting.Thx.
To the unfamiliar, many states, esp. those with strict emission laws such as CA and NJ, test the gas cap for vacuum seal as part of the evaporative emission control systems. If the OBD II scan shows a leak anywhere along the system, you fail inspection and must get whatever it is repaired and then re-inspect. Gas caps are the easiest and in most ways, cheapest things to check and replace, compared to things like the evap canister and all the lines between the gas tank and the engine and back again.
A few years ago, NJ went from strict and fairly comprehensive emissions and safety inspections, to emissions only. They read the OBD port on your car, and if ANY engine/powertrain or emission codes come up, you fail. They also can tell if a code has just been reset in the history, so having a mechanic buddy 'turn off' the code with his scan tool won't work.
I have a car where the mufflers and tailpipe just came off and haven't been replaced yet, four nearly bald tires, and the drivers window doesn't work. But it's got a clean OBD. Passed right through.
