Emmission test (monitors not ready)

[REM318ti]

I have a 96 318ti, I really like it, but the last 4 months have been very frustrating , I hope somebody can help me.

I had transmission work done about 4 months ago, a month later I had to get the emmission test done, the result was 4 monitors not ready, the person that did the test said I needed to drive te car about 60 to 80 miles and the computer should reset and pass the test. I did that but same result, I went to te dealer, they said there waas nothing wrong with the car, drive a little more, same result, went to an authorized emmission shop, they said there were a couple of codes that needed clearing, they did, told me to drive the car again about 60 to 80 miles, no luck, so far I had spent about $600, they gave me a driving cycle print out, I followed but same result, my tags have expired, I have use the extension that Virginia offers, and nobody seems to have a solution, could you please post this message in the corresponding forum? it will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[robertplattbell]

On OBD II cars, if you reset the CE light, you also wipe out all the cumulative emissions data. The OBD II system monitors a number of emissions parameters (hence the secondary O2 sensor) and logs this data. If you try to have an emissions test performed right after resetting the check engine light, it will fail on "insufficient data". I found this out the hard way. This is probably what happened to you the second time you had it tested. They are correct that driving 50-100 miles should log enough data for the system to work.

In NY, that's pretty much all they do - they check the logged data and do a tailpipe - no treadmill test. No logged data, no pass.

As for the first time, it sounds like you may have had one or more error codes relating to emissions equipment (which they reset a second time, causing it to fail yet again).

Your situation illustrates why it is so essential to have a code reader and reset tool if you are going to own an OBD II car. You need to know what these codes are, and what they mean, and how often they occur - in order to properly diagnose these problems. I take it none of these folks told you what these codes were or what they meant?

I used to live in Virginia, and I know the emissions test is not easy - and failing more than a couple of times creates problems. You have to take the car to a "certifed emsissions repair center" and get it fixed before they retest it (or spend X dollars attempting to fix it) - at least that's the way I recall it. Check this our

A code reader, like the Peake tool is like $200 or so from most outlets. Expensive? Well, it might have saved you $600 in this instance. You can find them used on eBay sometimes for less than that.

I think you need to get to the bottom of the issue first - is the CE light on, or is it generating any codes? If it is, then you need to fix these before testing further.

Unfortunately, since you have failed it twice, you may have to take it to a certified emissions testing place to get it to pass. I have been out of VA for a couple of years, so don't quote me on that part.

Find a good independent mechanic. Going to the dealer for repairs on a 12 year old car is not cost-effective. Foreign Car service in Alexandria is supposed to be good.