Why Does The State Need To Keep A Record Of My MIL Codes?

"Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight" (gizmoq) 01/22/2014 at 11:42 • Filed to: emissions, obdii, big brother, safety, technology, privacy, government

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I'm about to take one of my cars in for my biennial emissions check and it's become a habit for me to reset all trouble codes and clear my history 30-60 days prior. Why you ask? First of all it takes about that time for the ECU to rerun all the necessary internal systems checks to pass the emissions tests after a reset. And because emissions checks are now done using the OBDII connector and the Illinois state inspection stations download your MIL code history every time you let them scan your car. How do I know? Because a few years ago a tech let it slip that my car had certain coded in year XXXX and other codes in year YYYY, but they were all clear now. I remember this incident because those were years I didn't own the car . And I know they were cleared soon after I bought the car and again when I retuned the ECU and TCU for the added blower, exhaust, and tranny shift kit.

But why do they need to collect that info? If I pass, I pass. Anything else is none of their business.

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 01/22/2014 at 11:45

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Way to ruin an Eldorado.

Big Bubba Ray > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 01/22/2014 at 11:46

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Totally off topic, but do you live across the river in IL? If so, are you going to the Auto Show this weekend??

Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight > Big Bubba Ray 01/22/2014 at 11:52

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Naw, meeting up with Caddy enthusiasts for Chicago show next month.

offroadkarter > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 01/22/2014 at 11:54

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If I had to guess its so your Nazi state can keep tabs on what emissions related MIL's it throws, They can see how reliable your system is or if you've tampered with anything.

d1ck > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 01/22/2014 at 11:57

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It's likely an attempt to catch people who clear codes in the parking lot of the inspection place.

Mathias Rios > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 01/22/2014 at 12:14

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Is that your car...?

Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight > Mathias Rios 01/22/2014 at 12:20

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Yes.....??

Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 01/22/2014 at 12:28

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STL Auto Show is Meh - no reveals and not very big. I usually try to go to Detroit or Chicago.

Big Bubba Ray > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 01/22/2014 at 12:30

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Ya it used to be better, but has kinda gone downhill. I started going when I was 15 or 16; it was great back then, but it has slowed down. I'm hoping this year will be better!

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 01/22/2014 at 12:30

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I love it. That's magnificent.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Goshen, formerly Darkcode 01/22/2014 at 12:38

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Don't be a dick.

oldirtybootz > Goshen, formerly Darkcode 01/22/2014 at 12:38

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Because E-Bodies are such fine automobiles to being with...

I like the Daytons, Giz.

DailyTurismo > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 01/22/2014 at 12:39

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BTW - you can get most of the OBDII readiness checks to clear in less than an hour if you follow this GM drive cycle: From http://www.obdii.com/drivecycle.htm…

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

A complete driving cycle should perform diagnostics on all systems. A complete driving cycle can be done in under fifteen minutes.

To perform an OBDII Driving cycle do the following:

Cold Start. In order to be classified as a cold start the engine coolant temperature must be below 50°C (122°F) and within 6°C (11°F) of the ambient air temperature at startup. Do not leave the key on prior to the cold start or the heated oxygen sensor diagnostic may not run.

Idle. The engine must be run for two and a half minutes with the air conditioner on and rear defroster on. The more electrical load you can apply the better. This will test the O2 heater, Passive Air, Purge "No Flow", Misfire and if closed loop is achieved, Fuel Trim.

Accelerate. Turn off the air conditioner and all the other loads and apply half throttle until 88km/hr (55mph) is reached. During this time the Misfire, Fuel Trim, and Purge Flow diagnostics will be performed.

Hold Steady Speed. Hold a steady speed of 88km/hr (55mph) for 3 minutes. During this time the O2 response, air Intrusive, EGR, Purge, Misfire, and Fuel Trim diagnostics will be performed.

Decelerate. Let off the accelerator pedal. Do not shift, touch the brake or clutch. It is important to let the vehicle coast along gradually slowing down to 32km/hr (20 mph). During this time the EGR, Purge and Fuel Trim diagnostics will be performed.

Accelerate. Accelerate at 3/4 throttle until 88-96 km/hr (55-60mph). This will perform the same diagnostics as in step 3.

Hold Steady Speed. Hold a steady speed of 88km/hr (55mph) for five minutes. During this time, in addition to the diagnostics performed in step 4, the catalyst monitor diagnostics will be performed. If the catalyst is marginal or the battery has been disconnected, it may take 5 complete driving cycles to determine the state of the catalyst.

Decelerate. This will perform the same diagnostics as in step 5. Again, don't press the clutch or brakes or shift gears.

Reprinted on OBDII web site courtesy of General Motors Corporation

Victorious Secret > Goshen, formerly Darkcode 01/22/2014 at 12:42

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Rule #1 and #2.

Don't break them.

Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight > DailyTurismo 01/22/2014 at 13:16

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Yeah, knew that (the coasting to 20 from 55 is dangerous in traffic and my car sometimes doesn't like it) and the rest depend on on-off/hot-cold cycles. My normal driving over the course of a month or so usually sorts it all out.

Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight > d1ck 01/22/2014 at 13:24

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Don't need history for that, they won't pass because the drive cycle hasn't been completed. Luckily, they have no idea when I cleared the history, be it yesterday, last month, or last year as long as no new codes are recorded.

DailyTurismo > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 01/22/2014 at 13:51

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I only know this because i had issues passing smog for 6 months due to OBD-II readiness checks. Eventually I had to take my car on a 200 mile round trip journey on a weekend to get it to finish. Then I read that website.