The State of Maryland is demanding that I drive my car more...

Datsun1500 wrote: Here is my main issue. I can't be the only one with a car that does not get driven. The car is going to New Jersey in 2 weeks and will be there for a few years. If I did not get the waiver, the tags would have been suspended in 4 weeks, which is after the car is in NJ. The only suggestion they had was to wait 3 weeks then drive the car back from NJ and "hope" it would read it then. That makes sense, after all, we have nothing better to do. I just can not believe there is no way to get a waiver for a car that does not get driven unless you are over 70 or disabled. There is no way to get a waiver if the car is out of State either, they said I should just register it in NJ, even though you can't register it with a college address... If it was as simple as having her drive it to NJ, do the test there and be done, OK, that can work too. NJ will not test a MD car... It's a giant circle with no solution other than "drive your car more"

the biggest thing here to remember …. it's not always about you

seems it would have caused you lots less aggravation if you'd just take the car out one weekend and driven it around …. road trip … for 100 mi.

In ClifFord that would be a 20 gallon trip, how does that save emissions or resources.

You do know what the definition of insanity is, don't you?

Sorry guys, i agree with the OP here. first off everyone here knows damn well emissions testing is BS. what happens during the combustion of fuel results in a certain amount of gases, and you cannot delete these gases. all you can do is dilute or modify them. therefore all emissions equipment does is dilute and modify the pollutants.

so, now that thats out of the way, lets consider the OP's situation. now, i understand its possible from the inspectors point of view that the OP is lying to him, and the car may be in poor repair, and in fact set of a MIL when driven. but to simply state that the ONLY thing the OP could do was drive the car 100 miles to prove it is in working order, is frickin' ludicrous. if his story is that the owner of the car is out of town, a low mileage waiver is in order here. AZ does them all the time. under 2500 miles per year, skip it. there's even special insurance available for this. proving the daughters active in college should also have taken care of this. a simple pic of her student ID, or a letter from a school rep should have been all that was necessary here. to drag her father through this process forcing him to jump hoops all for a ridiculous bureaucratic policy that's 20 years outdated is frickin' insane.

the point of the post, since apparently that's what most of the replies are questioning, was simply to state that Maryland's emissions testing policys are bogus, state inspection workers are either brain dead, or so hog tied by regulations they aren't allowed to make judgement calls, and even despite all that, the OP did what was REQUIRED BY LAW, still was unable to pass, and even after all that, they gave him the stupid exemption anyways.

-J0N

Jon, emissions control is a lot more than "diluting gases". Check your high school chem textbooks for what a catalyst is. Also, the quality of the combustion goes a long way towards what gases are produced in the first place. No BS involved.

This should not be a big thing. Get a cheap OBD II scanner and check to see if the readiness codes have been set before going in for a test. If not, find out what the drive cycle is to confirm all the readiness codes. As noted, it's not 100 miles. It's a recipe. You just have to meet certain conditions that are not hard to meet. Once the readiness codes are set, go pass the test. Voila.

If it's not your car, then be prepared to deal with the owner or do something yourself. Complaining won't help, its not their fault you don't own the car. If you or the owner can't be bothered to do the minimum, well, pay someone else to do it.

Keith Tanner wrote: You just have to meet certain conditions that are not hard to meet.

Ha. HA ha. Ha HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHahahahaha. Ha.

Look into the actual specs for the system - it's in the factory manual. I've never met a system that needed to be started X times a year, but it's possible given the newer setups. It's actually pretty wild what some of the current systems do, including midnight fuel tank pressure checks. But if you want to use a car in an unusual manner, educate yourself as to what it takes to keep that car happy.

If it's a collector car that's so precious that you can't bother to drive it down to the emissions station every year or two, then you don't need plates to keep it in the garage.

Could be worse, you could have dropped it off for testing only to find they want to charge you $2,500 for body work and new paint!

Okay, that's just me making a jab...but all in good fun.

Here's the the thing. I live in MD. In a semi-urban area. I can't have a car on my property if it is not inside without tags on it. BTW....no inside. If it has Tags on it it is subject to emissions, no exception. Now I have been trying to return said car to new condition. It has no rear end it has no brakes it has no interior. As such taking this easypeasy 100 mile Saturday drive a bit uncomfortable, and I suspect also against the law.

I went to emissions. Twice with pictures of said car showing the date. All they so is give you the 3 month extension when your up against suspension again. I know that the way things are done is probably fine for 99percent of vehicles but maybe just maybe giving someone the discretion to make a judgement call on the one percent wouldn't be the end of the world. I and the op could probably furnish a couple piees of documentation to support our cause,

t

Datsun1500 wrote: ...It's just stupid. I can't be the only one with kids in school, there should be a way to exempt it, if it's not being driven. They just kept saying I needed to drive it.

Can't you just non-op it? I would think this is a perfect reason to. They have to have something like that in your state. Heck, they even have it in California!

fidelity101 wrote: god bless michigan.

+1 There really aren't that many perks to living here. This is one.

still. the system is backward, ignorant, redundant, and COMPLETELY unnecessary.

-J0N

jmthunderbirdturbo wrote: still. the system is backward, ignorant, redundant, and COMPLETELY unnecessary. -J0N

It's a government system. It's supposed to be.

god bless GM? i wiped my mom's 96 blazer that had a misfire and evap leak code. she went 3 miles to the station, and it passed 5 minutes after i cleared it.

or another reason ohio's e-check program is worthless.

100 miles worth of donuts in the parking lot? Stop only for new tires and gas. Sure, it may be more expensive, but damn would it be pleasing to do.

not in a FWD gti ragtop...

-J0N

Datsun1500 wrote: In reply to spitfirebill: Yes, forcing me to drive someone else's car so you can collect $15. Everyone is saying "just drive it 100 miles" without noticing I only drive my main car 200 miles a month.

that's not the point … it really doesn't matter how much you drive YOUR car … this would have taken you … what 2 maybe 3 hrs, 4 - 5 gal of fuel … and ZERO aggravation and increased blood pressure ….as opposed to repeated trips to the DMV, the insuring arguments, you feeling like you're banging your head against a wall

YES it would make sense to have another option for a car that isn't driven much … BUT THERE ISN'T … get over it … this is a government agency … they're not there for your BENEFIT … they're there to satisfy a government policy … they really don't give a damn what your problems are

and yes … you and everyone else are correct … most of the tests the states require are BS (I know they are here)… doesn't matter … they are what they are, and all the pissing and moaning on here won't change anything … you're probably spent more time and (mental) energy bitching about it on here than it would have taken to comply and get your sticker

Datsun1500 wrote: I own the car. Legally it's in my name. I did not reset the codes. They say if I drive the car normally, then it will be able to read it. Normal for that car is sitting for months. Again my issue is them demanding that I have to drive a car, that I don't drive, I don't find that reasonable. Assume it's an 05 Ford GT and I don't want to put miles on it, what then?

If you chose to never drive a car, that is your choice. However when it comes time for an emissions inspection the car must be in a state where it can be tested. Yours was not.

Instead of speaking OBD computer giberish to a customer who likely will not understand, you were given driving instructions that will typically bring the car into the necessary state of readiness for the OBD testing.

Really, this is no different than showing up for a safety inspection with bald tires and insisting you should be allowed to pass because you never drive the car.

Datsun1500 wrote: In reply to JohnRW1621:

I think he is talking about the honda S2000 thread.

I'm facing the same issue with the MPV. The MAF sensor went bad, got it replaced, but failed emissions test due to code not resetting. Drove it 100+ miles, as the shop suggested, and it still hadn't reset. Drove another 50 - nothing. I'm hoping the third time's the charm (we now have close to 400 miles since initial replacement). Wife works at home so the van mostly sits during the week. The shop I use has said just show up and honk, they'll test it in the parking lot. Its been 3 weeks since I took it in for service. A lot has changed since taking the car in, failing emissions, having the mechanic "work" on it, and getting a pass reading within a few hours.

Move to Kentucky. We have no inspections of ANY KIND!!! Even things that really should be inspected and off the roads get a free pass. You want to drive a 1973 Pinto with no rings? Go ahead and have fun. If you want to drive a 2010 Dodge diesel and roll coal EVERYWHERE you go? Be our guest.

Maybe we could meet somewhere in the middle on this between anything goes states like mine and Maryland/California where the polution Nazis are ready to execute offenders.

God bless Alabama. No emissions testing. Hell you can drive around with no tags (since you have 30 days from the time of purchase to get one) and never get pulled over.

It took them 2 years to pull me over for extremely illegal tint (tinted windshield and 16% tint).

Datsun1500 wrote: In reply to spitfirebill: I know. Trust me, I know.

How has that turned out?

93EXCivic wrote: It took them 2 years to pull me over for extremely illegal tint (tinted windshield and 16% tint).

I'm surprised you managed to drive like that for 2 years without running into anything.

spitfirebill wrote:

Datsun1500 wrote: In reply to spitfirebill: I know. Trust me, I know.

How has that turned out?

If he is handling it in any way like he has this situation, probably frustratingly slow... all brought on by himself.