I believe even though I live in a rural part of the county that's smog check exempt, there is still a registration issue with the state. Mine is a 2013 Passat bought in Phoenix while at spring training and driven home. I had to do a smog test and visual inspection before I registered the car in California. This will be interesting for sure. I'm dubious that ignoring the recall will result in having a "first generation 2.0" still drivable in Ca. Any reason for a dealership repair would probably result in a TSB much like the ones we don't hear about.