Think a Prius is a shoo-in to pass an emissions test? Not quite
Here's a beauracratic boondoggle beyond belief: the 2004 Toyota Prius can't pass the Georgia emissions test.
The fault lies not in what comes out of the tailpipe, but an outdated test system. Thanks to the hybrid engine shutting off when the car is idling, the test computer read the test as a failure. Every time. What really hurts is the $25 that Prius driver have to pay just to get a "failed" certificate, even though there is no way the car can pass.
You know what's really troubling about this story? It's just an early preview of what green car drivers will have to deal with time and time again in the next few years (decades?) with new and cleaner vehicles being figured into the entrenched system of road taxes, emissions tests, and so on. It's not like the State of Georgia didn't know that the 2004 Prius models would need to start being tested this year. The video says the State hopes to have the system reconfigured in time for the 2005 model year Priuses to roll into testing centers. Why couldn't they have had it ready for this year? Welcome to the future of driving smarter.
[Source: CNN via Autoblog]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris M 8:54PM (4/16/2007)
What? You mean they didn't have any 2001-2003 Prius in Georgia? No Civic hybrids? Those models also shut down when stopped during idle.
Unbelievably stupid snafu.
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Phil L. 8:04AM (4/17/2007)
...and *nobody* at Toyota thought they might need to create a way to force the engine to keep running during an emissions test?
Yeah, it's an outdated test methodology. But the
Prius has been out there for some time - time during which many areas still use exhaust probe tests instead of the OBDII port. And no engine shut-off override?
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Ryan 9:14AM (4/17/2007)
The OBDII port does not test emissions, it reports trouble codes. A vehicle can be out of compliance with emission standards and not throw a trouble code. T here is no "rings are shot burning oil, blowing blue smoke out the tail pipe" code. A fault code is only set if the computer detects a fault that could potentially cause emissions to exceed mandated levels by 150% or more that does not mean that they are. It is possible to have a fault code and still have a clean running vehicle, it is possible to have a polluting vehicle and not have a code.
An exhaust probe measures what is actually coming out the tailpipe, if the test center has a treadmill it can measure emissions under more realistic conditions than just idle.
My vehicle is old enough that it does not have an OBDII or even a OBDI port, on the last emissions test it passed with flying colors producing just 4% of the maximum HC emissions, no measured CO and NOx was not tested. A well maintained vehicle can be cleaner than a newer vehicle that hasn't.
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Phil L. 9:37AM (4/17/2007)
The reason I mentioned the OBDII port is that many state emissions programs (including my own state of Maryland) use the OBDII port instead of treadmill/sniffer tests. So all '96+ model year cars head into the emissions test station - and bypass the treadmill and sniffer gear, and just get a cable hooked to the OBDII port. If all is well in OBDII land, you're done a just a few moments.
My suspicion is that Toyota presumed that Prius models in the US that had to pass emissions test would do so via the OBDII port - and didn't bother to add the extra programming to force the engine to run when it would otherwise automatically shut off.
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Phil L. 9:42AM (4/17/2007)
...and, to be fair, OBDII does a whole lot more than just report error codes. I'm familiar with some OBDI systems (mostly Ford's EEC-IV used on many late 80's and early 90's vehicles), which can do little more than report error codes (though EEC-IV does have a few nice test features).
The OBDII specification includes the ability to display real-time sensor readings and other data (typcally only available on high-end diagnostic equipment; the $99 bargain scanner can only dump error codes).
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Janis Mara 12:51PM (4/17/2007)
I have to say, this is not exactly great publicity for the state of Georgia. In essence, people are being punished for buying a Prius - they have to go through all this hassle and pay this money for "failing." I am curious to know - does Georgia have special carpool lane passes for people who buy fuel-conserving cars such as the Prius? California has such passes - though actually that's another bureaucratic snafu, because the state has distributed gazillions of them and now has run out.
Janis Mara
www.ecotality.com
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Phil L. 1:13PM (4/17/2007)
Hmmm - Does anyone know if Toyota is getting involved in this?
If a new car fails emissions testing during its warranty period, the manufacturer is obligated to repair it (and certain emissions-specific components, such as catalytic converters, are warranted for far longer by US law).
It would seem that if Toyota has built a car that can't pass emissions tests in an area in which Toyota sells the car, they have some obligation to make the situation right with their customers.
Time to look closely at the warranty wording. This might also a good time for Toyota to take action that would reinforce their already-sterling reputation.
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racer_41 1:56PM (4/17/2007)
There is a way to keep the Prius engine running at idle. It's the same mode as labs use to test the car on a dyno. Those in the industry know how to do it.
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Phil L. 2:01PM (4/17/2007)
As I understand it, idle isn't the problem: The test calls for the engine to hold 2500 RPM while the test equipment samples exhaust.
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Ryan 4:03PM (4/17/2007)
I'm also in MD and their emission test methods. I am also aware of the real time data available over the OBDII port.
My point is that if all MD does is verify that no fault codes are stored that is a joke of an emissions test as no emissions have been measured and not worth the $14 they charged me to tell me what I already knew.
If they are monitoring the live data that is slightly more useful but still no emissions have been measured.
This costs the state little to implement but I question the value.
If Georgia is running a sniff test on all vehicles regardless of age, good for them.
If I have to have an emissions test I'd much rather have a readout of HC, Co, and Nox to get an idea of the health of my vehicle than ... passed no fault codes stored.
Does the prius have a belt driven AC compressor or is it electric?
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Phil L. 4:35PM (4/17/2007)
Per Wikipedia, Gen 1 Prius ('97-'03) uses an engine-driven A/C compressor. For '04+, the Prius has an all-electric A/C compressor.
Yes, I recall all of the hoopla when MD spent millions of dollars to build new emissions inspection stations with treadmills - and we're already to the point where only cars 10+ years old use the treadmills.
I'd be curious to see realistic statistics of just how bad modern vehicle emissions can get without triggering an OBDII code. Yeah, a sniff test - properly implemented - is better. But is the potential for improvement over (quick, cheap to implement) OBDII scanning enough to offset the cost? An interesting idea...
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John 8:15AM (4/18/2007)
Hate to bring this up, but a 2004 vehicle in GA does not get a tailpipe emissions test. The only test is an OBDII scan. It checks for code incidents - that's it. Just got my 04 GC done @ the testing center - no tailpipe test at all.
I can't get any audio on these clips (thank you Vista), so I am speaking w/o being able to get the full story, (warning, starting useless rant) but it sounds like another WSB doom and gloom report designed to make our current conservative state govt. look like a bunch of idiots. They conveniently forget the previous administration picked the emissions test provider (end rant).
The real question is - what did the Prius actually fail? If there were OBDII captures, maybe the cars tested actually had a problem.
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Phil L. 8:41AM (4/18/2007)
So... Perhaps this story is based on an incident where a Prius had an OBDII code, so the test station moved over to a tailpipe probe - and the Prius didn't want the throttle to be held at 2500 rpm?
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