Emissions Failure Solutions

Cook, Lake, and DuPage County residents must complete an emissions test every two years, with the first inspection occurring during the year after the vehicle becomes four model years old. During the examination, your vehicle is quickly inspected (including the VIN verification) and the technician plugs the testing computer into your car’s OBD2 port to review stored information on hydrocarbon, nitrogen, and carbon monoxide emissions. These biennial visits to the shop usually take just under a half hour and provide results instantly! But what happens during an emissions failure?

Causes of Emissions Failure

Thankfully, identifying the reason that your vehicle failed an emissions test can be simple—more often than not, there are five common causes of emissions failure.

• Rich Air/Fuel Mixture – A faulty injector or defective oxygen sensor creates a rich air/fuel mixture, requiring repairs or part replacements.
• Obstructed Air Filter – Dirt and other microparticles clogs your air filter, increasing the number of hydrocarbons. Always replace your engine air filters every 12,000 miles (or annually) to avoid this complication.
• Faulty Gas Cap – A leaking or loose gas cap produces excessive fugitive emissions. 
• Damaged Spark Plugs – Worn spark plugs produce incomplete combustion, increasing harmful emissions. 
• Dirty Oil – Engines that are overdue for an oil change are the most common offenders of emissions failure. Dirty oil contains more hydrocarbons, toxins that are detrimental to people, the environment, and your engine.

Unfortunately, the cause for emissions testing failure can often be the failure of the catalytic converter, usually due to age. Replacement of converters is expensive, as the component usually costs more than $1000 because of rare earth minerals such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium necessary to enable it to filter out exhaust gases and burn them.

How To Fix Emissions Test Failures

Following failed emissions inspections, it’s vital that you implement solutions as soon as possible. And until you fix the problem, you cannot legally obtain the proper registration tag and certification. Thankfully, this is part of the emissions repair process where we can help! Our team at Advanced Vehicle Tech proudly offers superior diagnostic and repair services for the great residents of Illinois. When you fail an emissions inspection, simply contact our team, and rest assured that we will identify and rectify your specific causes of emissions failure.