Used Car Buying Tips, Mechanical Tips and More
Ask Billy > Mechanical Tips
Driving to reset monitors.
With the new new york state inspection laws, im sure just about everyone has experienced the hassle of getting their vehicle inspected. Every one of the vehicles 1996 and newer have to be plugged into the inspection machine and checked for the check engine light. What some consumers dont understand is the NY state inspection machine also runs and check of the computer monitors in our cars. The monitors are a series of checks and tests that run in several areas and systems in our vehicles. We can have a vehicle without a check engine light that will still not pass the inspection test because not enough monitors are ready.
This is generally a time consuming process that involves driving the vehicle to set the monitors. The monitors get reset, when the battery goes dead or when some one clears a check engine light. Then the process starts all over again. The toughest monitors to set are for the evap system, catalyst system, oxygen sensor system. We have had several vehicles that we had to drive over hundreds of miles to get the monitors set. So when a mechanic tells you the monitros arent set, and it wont pass inspection now you will know why.
Each type of vehicle has several drive cycles that will aid in setting the monitors. Inquire about your vehicle today if you are haveing monitor issues.


