Car smogged, but is air cleaner?

Getting your vehicle smogged is no easy task these days and it appears air quality officials are doing all they can to make it more difficult and costly.

I have a 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix, a 6-cylinder engine and have had no problems. Because the car turned five years old, it became a requirement that it must be smogged in order for the registration to be renewed.

Now, DMV is very good about sending out those renewal notices at least 60 days in advance. I’m sure I am like many others who does not quickly give the state the registration fee 60 days in advance, but I do take care of it before it is due.

Now, my check engine light has come on for short periods of time a few times in the past year and a half. It is the solid light that according to the owner’s manual, is probably a minor thing such as the gas cap is not tight enough. A flashing check engine light is more serious so if you get one of those, you should have it checked immediately.

Well, now I know that if that light is on, your vehicle cannot be smogged, even if the light does not mean anything serious is wrong or that the vehicle is not meeting air emission standards. Now, if you have had a light on and wanted it check, be in for a shock. It was $90 just to get a mechanic to read the computer in the car that gives the code as to why the light is on.

In my case, it turns out today’s new coolant used in newer vehicles is only good for five years. After that, it can become thick and cause the thermostat to stick. That is why my light was on for a while last winter, but not during the summer months when it was never on. That’s also why it came back on around the end of November, when it got cold again.

So, now my $90 turned into $180 dollars because I not only needed a new thermostat, but my radiator flushed and new coolant added.

Not only that, but it meant more of my time to get a car into a shop, repaired and then still smogged.

The radiator flush and new thermostat worked. The light went away so I then made an appointment to get it smogged because where I had the radiator work done, they didn’t do smog checks.

Another hour of time, and $50 for the smog check and certificate, and my car was “legal” again.

Oh, by the way. For the first smog check on a car just five years old, it cost me $380.

My mechanic told me the coolant issue really made no difference to the emissions. He said my car would have and did pass that test with flying colors. But, thanks to the powers to be at the Air Resources Board, there are more and more hoops a vehicle owner must go through to pass a smog check. My mechanic told me while older cars have more issues — such as vapor leaks in the fuel system that require repairs — standards are actually tougher on newer vehicles because they are suppose to run cleaner to begin with.

However, after going through all of this, spending nearly $400 and more than five hours of my time, my car’s smog emissions are no different than they were before all the testing and repairs and the air is no cleaner.

I am not one who is against cleaner air, but it just seems to me it is another form of taxation that government-imposed expenses that hurt our economy. In fact, if you spend up to, I believe my mechanic said, $1,500 dollars on repairs and your vehicle still does not pass inspection, you’ll still be given your registration. That makes no sense to me.

So be warned. If you have a newer vehicle that is approaching five years old, check that coolant. It is cheaper to have the radiator drained and flushed that it is to add a new thermostat as well.

And, by the way, my big tax deduction for my $400 out-of-pocket expense, a whopping $46.


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On a more positive note, Happy New Year to everyone. Let’s hope 2012 is a safe, healthy and prosperous year for us all.


Rick Elkins is editor of the Porterville Recorder. He can be reached at 784-5000, ext. 1040, or by e-mail at relkins@portervillerecorder.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @elkinsre.