my truck failed SMOG today

[deslboy]

took my 2002 powerstroke in today to get the smog check. I have a hypertech programmer, which I removed today before taking it in, magnaflow exhaust and an airraid intake. Everything went well until the smoke test. The guy doing the test said in his opinion it blew too much smoke and failed it. It only showed a small burst of smoke and dissipated in about 1-2 seconds. I was so pissed and still am right now? The guy said take it somewhere else. That was after he made me pay the $29.95 inspection fee! So what do I do? The truck has 62k miles and has been serviced every 5000 miles. It has smoked since the day I drove it off the dealers lot in 2002!

[Raul @ Stealth Automotive]

took my 2002 powerstroke in today to get the smog check. I have a hypertech programmer, which I removed today before taking it in, magnaflow exhaust and an airraid intake. Everything went well until the smoke test. The guy doing the test said in his opinion it blew too much smoke and failed it. It only showed a small burst of smoke and dissipated in about 1-2 seconds. I was so pissed and still am right now? The guy said take it somewhere else. That was after he made me pay the $29.95 inspection fee! So what do I do? The truck has 62k miles and has been serviced every 5000 miles. It has smoked since the day I drove it off the dealers lot in 2002!

thats bullshit... all diesel trucks will smoke even a lil bit from the factory... i think he was just trying to get your money... i dont know the specifics but from what i thought they were going to allow a lil bit of smoke but it had to dissipate within 10 sec....

[fords4life]

This is the problem with the snap test. It is completely dependent upon if the guy got laid the night before or not and if he likes diesels or not. Make sure the truck is completely warmed up when you take it in....might also make sure you have a fresh air filter as that will allow the turbo to spool a little quicker and not smoke as bad.

[POWERSTROKEMIKE]

take it to a shop when the santa ana winds are blowing.. :) ya this smoke test part is a joke its up to the guy/gal doing the test..

[aekrogh]

took my 2002 powerstroke in today to get the smog check. I have a hypertech programmer, which I removed today before taking it in, magnaflow exhaust and an airraid intake. Everything went well until the smoke test. The guy doing the test said in his opinion it blew too much smoke and failed it. It only showed a small burst of smoke and dissipated in about 1-2 seconds. I was so pissed and still am right now? The guy said take it somewhere else. That was after he made me pay the $29.95 inspection fee! So what do I do? The truck has 62k miles and has been serviced every 5000 miles. It has smoked since the day I drove it off the dealers lot in 2002!

IF you think that he is fraudulently taking your money and not doing the test per the CARB rule book then you need to contact the BAR. There is a Bureau of Automotive Repair sign at every licensed shop. Contact them, if he gets too many complaints then they will investigate his shop.

They will also tell you if you need to go to another shop or see the BAR rep for your area. (personally I would find a different shop and tell everyone I know not to go to your last smog shop)

I get the BAR monthly reports and the 2 types of shops that are always being fined and their licensees pulled are Auto Body Shops and Smog Shops.

Good luck and let us know how you handle it.

[K5Cruiser]

Sorry to hear about your experience. Please post up the shop so we can all avoid them.

[Bnjmnalan]

took my 2002 powerstroke in today to get the smog check. I have a hypertech programmer, which I removed today before taking it in, magnaflow exhaust and an airraid intake. Everything went well until the smoke test. The guy doing the test said in his opinion it blew too much smoke and failed it. It only showed a small burst of smoke and dissipated in about 1-2 seconds. I was so pissed and still am right now? The guy said take it somewhere else. That was after he made me pay the $29.95 inspection fee! So what do I do? The truck has 62k miles and has been serviced every 5000 miles. It has smoked since the day I drove it off the dealers lot in 2002!

So there was no problem just removing the programmer right before the test? And he had no problems with the aftermarket intake?
Go somewhere else and let us know how it goes.

[Eagle0ne]

oh boy hope it works out for everybody....

[orng1]

Oh man that is some bull right there, wtf really on a stock tune you got failed? Wow, we may be in some trouble if they let idiots like that get to test our trucks. I'd report him anyways. Go somewhere else. Go to one of those pass or it's free places.

[watersurgeon]

Post the name of the shop so the rest of us don't end up making the same mistake. Thanks.

[smotrs]

This has been my point since the whole Diesel Smog thing came to light. How do they do the Snap test on a diesel that doesn't have a DPF? The only diesels that don't blow smoke are those with a DPF installed, '08 and later, everything else will blow smoke to some point

[orng1]

Post the name of the shop so the rest of us don't end up making the same mistake. Thanks.

Great idea, we should add a thread for diesel friendly smog places and not so friendly spots later.

[fords4life]

Great idea, we should add a thread for diesel friendly smog places and not so friendly spots later.

Just remember, we aren't the only ones that read these threads....these thread pop up in search engine searches etc....If the wrong people see a list of "diesel friendly" shops that are passing trucks with non-legit equipment(according to the state), they will go after those shops. Just a thought, but why not just pm someone for the info if they have a shop that is letting things fly...

[SoCalPowerStroke]

with alot of the handheld tuners all the shops i went to before smog with my diesel or gas motors said to take them off a few days before and run a hundred or so miles back on the stock tune from the factory .

[Bnjmnalan]

with alot of the handheld tuners all the shops i went to before smog with my diesel or gas motors said to take them off a few days before and run a hundred or so miles back on the stock tune from the factory .

That's exactly what my smog guy said to do as well.
On a similar note, I am shopping for a tuner now and found that DP Tuner is in the process of obtaining a CARB certification for their popular F5 and F6 chips. ( DP Tuner ) Since I don't know of any other custom tuners that are even trying for a CARB certification I will most likely be buying a DP tuner in the near future.