California Will Start Checking for ECU Tuning In Smog Checks This Month

bajanstefan

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For those of us who retain factory emissions hardware and cat converters, increased emissions from a tune are negligible. But we'll have to comply to stay street legal.

BY CHRIS ROSALES UPDATED JUL 13, 2021 4:24 PM

Some folks on social media have started to post about a new California smog testing procedure that is supposed to check for modified or non-CARB compliant software in-vehicle ECUs, which I did some digging into. Using the link posted at the bottom of the screenshots Iā€™ve seen, I followed it back to the California Bureau of Automotive Repair smog FAQ page, where the confirmation was clear as day: California is indeed going to start sniffing for tunes during smog checks.

Screen-Shot-2021-07-13-at-11.19.14-AM-1024x358.png


Hereā€™s the relevant excerpt from the above-linked FAQ page. Image: BAR.ca.gov screenshot
As many of you may know: Cars need to pass a smog check for emissions compliance every other year if they want to be registered in California. Itā€™s pretty much the only legal requirement to keep your car on the road here, but inspectors can be real hardasses about modifications even if they donā€™t really make your carā€™s pollution any worse.

Full article here - https://www.carbibles.com/california-will-start-checking-for-ecu-tuning-in-smog-checks-this-month/
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MYNEWFAST

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Maybe I'll worry about this in 8 years.
Plus, You can always put your car back to its oem status before getting a smog test.


This from the Ca DMV Website:

My car is new. Do I still have to get a smog inspection when I renew my registration?
Starting January 1, 2019, if your vehicle is less than 4 model years old, you can pay a smog abatement fee instead of getting a smog inspection for the first 8 years that your vehicle is registered
 

Deighvid

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Maybe I'll worry about this in 8 years.
Plus, You can always put your car back to its oem status before getting a smog test.


This from the Ca DMV Website:

My car is new. Do I still have to get a smog inspection when I renew my registration?
Starting January 1, 2019, if your vehicle is less than 4 model years old, you can pay a smog abatement fee instead of getting a smog inspection for the first 8 years that your vehicle is registered
This excerpt literally aroused me.

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underdonk

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Kentucky checking in! ? Thanks for saving the world, CA.
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