There are many reasons why a vehicle can fail to pass a smog check. This can be a pain because it means repairs must be made in order to register your vehicle. Here are four tips to help ensure that your vehicle is much more likely to pass:
- Warm Up the Car: First step is to ensure that the car is warmed up. If it's not going to take you more than 20 minutes to get to your smog appointment, then take some extra time to drive around until those 20 minutes are met. When you engine is warmed up, it's going to show proper function more likely.
- Use Fuel Additives: To help lower your car's emission levels, you can use fuel additives when you are refueling your gas tank. This is going to remove carbon deposits in the intake and exhaust to ensure that fuel and air is moving fluidly through your vehicle. This is going to help boost the performance of your engine, which is important for passing a smog check.
- inspect the Tires: Next, you want to check your tires. If they are worn unevenly or deflated at all, then it could lead to a failed smog test since it can effect the ability for the professionals to run a proper smog check. If you have uneven wear, you need to be sure that you have your tires rotated or replaced if necessary. Also, be sure that you are at the correct tire process according your vehicle's owner's manual. You can check this using a tire pressure gauge, which everyone should have to keep track of the inflation of their tires.
- Change the Oil: Finally, you want to be sure that you change the oil before your smog check if you haven't had it changed in a while. Otherwise, you could fail the test simply because the oil is probably dirty and is thus pushing dirty fumes to the engine, which messes with the emission levels. Keep in mind that an oil change doesn't cost much and you can even do it on your own. It's going to be worth the fact that you will pass your smog check the first time around.
When you consider these four tips, you are much more likely to have a vehicle prepared for a smog check that will pass the first time. This is going to save you time and the stress of having to go through repairs and going through another inspection just to get it registered. Contact a shop, like Lakeside Radiator & Auto Repair, for more help.
