California Will Start Testing for ECU Tunes During Smog Checks Starting Next Week
https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a3...g-smog-checks/
How would the smog checks know if your ECU tune is stock?Starting July 19, 2021, testing stations will begin to check whether cars are running OEM or California Air Resources Board (CARB)-approved tunes. If your car isn't, it'll fail the test.
Thanks,
Scott
CVN/Checksum number will change from a stock configuration. How do they/BAR know? BAR forced the manufacturers to give them the alphanumeric numbers. As an example you can go here and plug in your VIN. https://tis2web.service.gm.com/tis2web It will give you the CVN's for the operating software as well as other sub programs. Even the most minor small modification of any kind will make the number change. Take any stock tune and look at the calibration details and you can see the software number and CVN. Compare to what is on for link and it will be the same. Now take your stock and modify it in only one single spot. Let's say change the timing by one single degree in one single spot of the timing table Literally the smallest mod you could perform. Now take a look and you will see the CVN will change. That is how they get you. Even cheap scan tools show the CVN/Checksum. You can return you vehicle to stock software and correct the CVN but lets say you did a DOD/AFM delete. Now the stock software will catch the mod and throw a code before or during an I/M monitor test. Bam you got a MIL light and corresponding code. Now you fail for that. They got you coming and going. They have been looking at and collecting data for this for years now. They have prosecuted shops and tech's for "CleanPiping" and now they are "CleanPlugging". It's going to get interesting. Some people have registered their vehicles in Arizona. Problem there is if you have a California drivers license and get pulled over with a registered vehicle from Arizona they write you a ticket. Kalifornia doesn't want to lose all that registration money to another state.Originally Posted by thehemi
It sounds like California needs some automotive "Right to Repair" legislation! I can certainly understand requiring vehicles to pass an emissions sniff test. I imagine no one can realistically argue they have a right to pollute more than stock. Checksum checks against your ECU tune should violate your right to work a product you own, though.
But I guess no one is asking me...
Thanks,
Scott
I have heard they won't be looking at certain segments like the speedometer and transmission segments so you will still be able to legally change tire sizes and gear ratio changes. Does anyone know about that?
New Emissions Law
As many within the automotive community have heard, California has recently made changes to its smog inspection process. According to the California Bureau of Automotive Repair, starting next week, California will be checking for modified ECU software in all vehicles 8 years or older that require smog testing. This also applies to vehicles that are 4 years or older while being sold within the state.
Information from Bureau of Automotive Repair
My vehicle failed a Smog Check for having modified software. What can I do?
"Beginning July 19, 2021, vehicles with software not provided by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or approved through a California Air Resources Board (CARB) Executive Order (EO) will fail Smog Check.
Before your vehicle will pass a Smog Check, you must have the vehicle’s software restored to the OEM software version. Once the software is restored, have your vehicle reinspected by a licensed Smog Check station. Note that vehicles initially directed to a STAR or Referee station must return to the same station type to complete the inspection process.
If you believe the vehicle’s software is already OEM or CARB-approved and yet your vehicle failed Smog Check, schedule an inspection with the Smog Check Referee.
If you unknowingly purchased a vehicle with illegally-modified software, you may file a complaint with BAR."
The new system reads out the VIN and specific data over the vehicles OBD2 port. That information is then cross-referenced against a database compiled from data supplied by auto manufacturers. If the system detects a mismatch, the smog technician would then need to check for a CARB EO label for the tune for that specific vehicle. A CARB EO number is a California Air Resources Board Exemption Order number. These are smog exemptions that the manufacturer (Weistec) has obtained from CARB after successfully passing stringent emissions testing. After verifying the EO number to be applicable to that vehicle, the vehicle would be allowed to complete the emissions testing as usual.
Now What?
For nearly 10 years now, Weistec has been one of the only, if not the only company in the European performance market to have successfully obtained CARB EO numbers for many of its products.
Our 50 state legal W.1 tunes do not require any additional modification. It's as simple as flashing the ECU and applying our verified CARB EO label in the proper location under the hood. In addition to tuning, we also developed the industries first and only M156 Supercharger System that not only produces incredible power gains, but also passes all emission standards across all 50 states.
What If My Tune Is Not 50 State Legal?
According to the California Bureau of Automotive Repair, you must have the software changed back to the OEM original software in order for the vehicle to pass. Or you must tune the vehicle by a manufacturer that has a CARB EO number appointed for that vehicle.
Vehicles that do not have a 50-state legal tune would fail the smog check, even if the tune otherwise keeps all the emissions monitors properly functioning. CARB is also putting together measures for combating forged EO stickers for ECU tunes.
We continue to work on growing our EO list, and add coverage across our catalog.
Yes I was living in Alaska, for five years and got a ticket from CAlifornia for driving my truck across state lines without dual registration. I had not LIved down there for five years.
This is how much California is in need of Policy change. This state grows Idiots like weeds and they get into Government and Think that everyone else should pay their way. With higher taxes and infrastucture That prohibits Normal people like us from enjoying the freedom of Automotive sport.
These people need to go to china, This is another way to to remove vehicles from the state, it also creates an added tax on the consumer who is already over taxed there. Where are the rights to work on your own projects and vehicles without Government interference going. You people really need to get strong and address this new tax bs. I have seen your state fire and lay the good hard working and at the same time give the government in charge their big raises in their pay which they do not earn, You need to be active in your government and look at the fiscal spending and what they are using the money for and where it is going. Read your Pollution by car law and start there. I think you will find you answer in those pages. and also look at Federal law concerning this as well. California is not above breaking the rules to outlaw something. Looked at what they did to the gold dreging industry. The state hires Liars, it came out in court just recently about CAlifornia illigaly blocks federal mining rights in your state so beware of you government
The reason why Calif did this is because their anti gun agenda failed.
Hep me understand this new testing. I tuned my 06 Suburban. I saved a copy of my stock tune unmodified. If put that tune back in it should pass ca smog because the cvn/checksum are as they came from gm.
Yes if the vehicle will not set any codes and pass the readiness tests on the stock tune. Unfortunately that will not be the case with many modified vehicles.
Here is some info:
Department of Justice consent decree states: "According to the schedule outlined in this Paragraph, Defendants shall not manufacture, offer for sale, sell, convey, or otherwise transfer any product intended for use on vehicles of model years 2000 and newer that contains user-adjustable features for the following: rear oxygen sensors, EGR, or any DTCs associated with these emission controls. Defendants shall remove these user-adjustable features from any of its Calibrations intended for use on vehicles of model years 2000 and newer prior to sale by the following dates: no later than June 1, 2019, for all of their Calibrations compatible with any Ford vehicles; no later than December 1, 2019, for all of their Calibrations compatible with any General Motor (GM) vehicles; and no later than August 1, 2020, for all of their Calibrations compatible with any other vehicles."
What the big fuss was about was the ability to turn off emission related stuff (like rear O2's and setting DTC's).
Good for you if your tune doesn't trip a check engine light or DTC.
Buy land in montana. Register there. Screw Cali.
What really happens is that all these shops that do smog testing just need to refuse to do it. How can they enforce something without an army of technicians. Probably set up government ran shops. Get your covid shot while your car is inspected.
cali is fuct. vote like your fun depends on it, it does.
It is not a matter of refusal. All late model vehicles no longer get the dyno testing.What really happens is that all these shops that do smog testing just need to refuse to do it. How can they enforce something without an army of technicians. Probably set up government ran shops. Get your covid shot while your car is inspected.
The smog machine is hooked to the OBD2 port connector and then just like a scan tool it looks to see if all the monitors have been run. Then it looks to see if there are any codes. It is pretty fast.
Now it will look for the CVN's and compare it to its database. A checklist is displayed to look for all of the smog check items the vehicle came with along with the info on the vehicle when the test starts. Things like Cat's being factory or CARB approved, any modifications like cold air must have a CARB sticker and then you have to go to the database to verify it is correct for that make, model, year, and configuration. A refusal by the technician equals a big fat zero on you paycheck or bankruptcy of your shop.
As to registering a vehicle out of state. That doesn't work either unless it is some for of corporate or business vehicle. If you are pulled over with as an example a vehicle registered in Arizona and you have a Kalifornia drivers license you will have a given amount of time to register it in the state. The reasoning is Kalifornia will not let you get away with not giving them HUGE $$$$ in registration fee's.
I know that we're NOT supposed to do that, Mr. H., but how would one turn off emission related stuff so the car WILL pass inspection if one is getting some OBD Readiness monitors reading "not ready" IF one were to do that because nothing else works ? As a newbie I'm just wondering. Thanks.
Makes me wonder how hard could it be, to have a device that just shows a system image, of a functional OEM cal. As a separate device, that has its own OBD port in place of the OEM
I have had VERY rare cases of not being able to set a monitor. In every case the BAR has an exemption for it. If you are having a problem setting one you need to look at the specific parameters that need to be present for the monitor to run. You are either not running the monitor correctly or you have a problem. Example. Had a truck that wouldn't set an EVAP monitor that a shop had worked on for over 3 weeks. I run a forced bay test and sure enough it won't run. Not a failed test just a won't run. Turned out it was a skewed tank pressure sensor. Looked at the data for it and sure enough it was off by about 3" of water. Replaced it and it went through the bay test and passed. Don't get me wrong I hate this new process. I think it is BS but monitors will run on a system if you know the tricks but hey I had my Kalifornia Smog license since 1983
They are pretty savvy with that. It looks at the data stream on these to make sure PIDS are correct and other markers that make simulators are thing of the past. It would take a bit of magic to make all that work. LOTS of programming time.
Wonder what would happen to those with unlocked spare PCM's that were tuned? just flash back to stock on the spare PCM or would they need to install the factory PCM back ?
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