Vehicle Inspection Dilemma, and how screwed I feel in the commie state of NJ

Screw it. I called the 609-895-6886 number, talked to a representative and he said that…
“Yes, you will fail the test if your CE light is on. Even though the car may pass emmission standards.”

I’m happy, ingorance fought, yadda yadda. :smiley:

Usually things that cause the CE light to come on are not going to cause any damage to the car. The RED ENGINE light is another story.
I believe the cite talks about a $450 waiver? $1,000 is clearly more than $450.

How dispiriting. I was under the impression that the MOT was one of the toughest tests in the world, and AFAIK the emissions segment of it is tiny.

Okay, I’ll buy that. I got rid of my 1997 Jetta in 2003, when it had 100,000 miles and everything started failing.

And I’m going to assume that the expected $1000 repair bill is a bit too much to shell out on short notice.

Take it to a small auto shop that does testing. Tell the tester about your problem and that you can’t afford the bill to fix the problem. Ask him if there is anything he can do to help you out for about $100. He’ll get the hint and either tell you yes or no. If no, go someplace else until you find someone willing to play ball.

There is good info in this thread that led me to the ‘waiver’ portion of the NJ law:

If I fail, I can take the VW to a certified emissions repair center. If I spend 450 bucks or more on the repair, I can retest and re-fail and then get a waiver since I spent 450 bucks.

That’s the best scenario I can dig up.

I can afford the 1, 000 dollar repair. The problem is that it isn’t like I am making what I would call a ‘hard’ repair, wherein you see something busted and know that when X is done, it is fixed.

The issue at hand is that the check engine codes in VW’s (code p1582) could point to the throttle body (cleaned and serviced twice by different shops) but even after the repair the darn light could come right back on. That’s the dilemma. It’s common with VW’s and I’d spend 1 grand if I knew it’d be fixed.

Spend a grand and see the light come on and still not be able to get inspected would result in me losing it, because where would I go next?

This part of the NJ smog site is a little confusing but promising:

What to Do if Your Car Fails

*If your car fails its emissions test, your state inspector will give you an Emissions Repair Form for your certified Emissions Repair Facility to fill out and a Vehicle Inspection Report to help your technician determine what caused the test failure. You should note that many private inspection facilities are also certified Emissions Repair Facilities and might be able to perform both your repair and your reinspection.

In addition, remember to check to see if the repairs are still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. Warranty repairs must be completed by an Emissions Repair Facility, which will have a certified technician on staff.

You may also perform the repairs yourself, but you must save (for your reinspection) the documentation for all equipment you replace and all parts you purchase.

Limitations on Required Repairs

If your vehicle fails the reinspection and you can provide receipts proving that you have spent at least $450 to reduce its emissions, and that it passed an idle test, you could qualify for a waiver. To do this, you must take your vehicle to a State Inspection Station, bringing your initial Vehicle Inspection Report and the new Vehicle Inspection Report given to you at the reinspection. You will also need to take your emissions-related repair receipts.

The waiver threshold includes the costs (parts and labor) to have the emissions-related problem repaired by a certified Emissions Repair Facility. Since certain air pollution equipment on your vehicle is required by federal law, repairing or replacing emissions system components that have been tampered with or are missing is not covered by the waiver.

Reinspection

Once repairs are completed, you must have your vehicle reinspected by a licensed inspector at a private or state inspection facility. Remember to bring all emissions-related receipts, your Emissions Repair Form, and the Vehicle Inspection Report with you.

For more information about New Jersey’s vehicle emissions program, visit the Motor Vehicle Commission’s inspection FAQs page.*

Can you try self-help first? This link seems to indicate that this is a common problem, and has some alternatives to replacing the throttle body.

Along with cleaning the throttle body, it’s necessary to reset the computer’s adaptive strategy memory. You might want to check with the shops that did the cleaning and make sure they were aware of and performed this vital step.

If the reset was performed properly, and there are no vacuum leaks, it’s a virtual certainty that the throttle body is worn and that replacing it will solve the problem.

I ran into similar issues with my 96 VW Jetta a few years ago, and it really chapped my hide that I failed my states emissions test that did not even test the emissions of the vehicle. Why is there not more outrage over this, that if the car fails the computer test that round two should be stick the probe up the exhaust and actually test the emissions of the car? I think it is speed of which they can take my money and tell me they “tested” my car that is more important.

Of course, car dealers are the number one advocates of mandatory tests. Gets people into the repair shops and also may encourage them to just buy another car than go through inspection again with a car which has turned into a money pit.

And this is my thought as well, but it is daunting when each shop really heaps on the skepticism, and the second shop said he wouldn’t bother with the repair if it were up to him.

I have to admit, I am a pretty confident guy, but when a shop talks me out of spending almost 1,000 bucks, it would take a large pair of cajones to tell him to do the work anyway.

Good news is that he cleaned the throttle body, replaced the vacuum hoses and reset the light (and came back w/ same code), so the level of confidence I have that replacing the throttle body is high, but still it is daunting to do it against his advise. Seems like we got the problem cornered.

Friggin’ car runs great. I actually like zipping around in it. It’s fire engine red, bright as can be, runs w/out flaw. It allows me to commute to my office job and leave my quad cab truck parked for my weekend carpentry gigs. The wife drives a Toyota Solara convertible, and I have two kids. I just need to keep my truck parked – I can’t afford to use that as a commuter!

I think my ‘out’ is the waiver from NJ state that shows I spent 450 bucks working out the error. If I can get the reciepts up to this am’t or just drop the dough for the proper repair it seems I can make my car legal and get the waiver and my inspection sticker.

This thread has been invaluable – even as a form of therapy.

I printed that – it is certainly worth a shot!

One quick question to the OP: Do you rag on those of us who drive trucks, SUVs, or other vehicles that some feel aren’t environmentally sensitive? If not, no hurt, no foul. :wink:

No, I don’t rag on SUVs and such. I have a Dodge Quad Cab pickup truck, but don’t commute with it because my fuel bill would be in excess of $100/week and everything costs more and wears more on it. Jetta fuel bill per week is about 25-30 bucks.

I had just the Jetta and the Quad Cab and when the Jetta hit 90k miles, we got the wife the Toyota convertible for reliability and fun at a good price, and it is plenty roomy for her and the kids (Camry platform/interior room)-- 245 HP V6 and 25mpg to boot.

I keep the truck for hauling crap, doing side jobs and for the boat I want to buy some day. I could not live without it…or with it, if I or the wife had to use it every day.

I am pretty conservative politically, so use the SUVs all you want. I also feel it is our personal responsibility to burn through all the remaining fossil fuels in the US (where we do so with some degree of reponsibility via smog controls) before the rest of the irresponsible world can get to them and burn them without concern of emissions and smog.

So, my wee little Jetta runs clean, but can’t pass a smog test because of a dufus engine code that VW’s are notorious for.

Don’t do that before you let me take a few pieces off it for my '98 Jetta :smiley:
I’m just up the road from you and you will have the satisfaction of helping a fellow doper out.

Have any of your windows fallen down into the doors yet?

Which may well be true, but is rather unhelpful in that it’s not up to him. It’s up to the state of New Jersey, who insist you bother with the repair (or up to you if you decide to sell the car).

Well, maybe. Let me clarify: RESETTING THE LIGHT (clearing codes) IS NOT ENOUGH. The computer’s memory has to be totally cleared - not just of the code that activates the light, but of the adaptive strategy that reacts to the condition that set the code. It’s a more involved process than on many other cars. Typically it involves disconnecting both battery cables from the battery and touching the cables to each other for a few minutes, and/or disconnecting the complete wire connector to the computer for at least 15 minutes. Then the idle adaptation has to be reset to a base setting.

I’m suspicious that the shop does not know about this and did NOT do a PROPER AND COMPLETE reset. If this is the case, it’s still possible that your problem can be solved without replacing the throttle body. And if they don’t do the right reset, I would expect the code (and light) to return even with a new throttle body. I wonder if this has happened to them and that’s why they’re doubtful that a replacement would fix the problem.

My suggestion: satisfy yourself that they DEFINITELY KNOW (not think they know) how to work on this system, or take the car to a shop that does.

In a lot of cases, the dealerships can be competitive with local shops, plus they’ll’ve seen this problem a hell of a lot. On the other hand, they’ll probably want to sell you a new veedub. Of course if you take that route, lemme know if you’d ever be interested in a new Jag/Volvo/Ford/Lincoln/Mazda/Mercury/LandRover first.

You can move to Michigan. We have no Vehicle Inspections here. That’s one benefit from living in a car-centric state.

In your part of the state, aren’t you more snowmobile-centric? :stuck_out_tongue:

Heh. No inspections on those, either. :smiley: