My E-Test Saga

I own a 1992 Honda Accord that was in decent shape, but it was kind of loud and unsafe. I took it to my mechanic and said I want this to be quieter and smoother, and I am also going for my Etest. He said, he will take a look at it and that he did. He told me what needs to be done which was; Tune up, Right Ball Joint, Front Brake Pads and Rotors, Rear Brakes serviced, and a new muffler (I Had a performance one on there). I told him to do it all and let me know. He did it, took it for a test drive and it was still loud but ran well. He said the center pipe of the muffler was the issue, I said replace it. He did, and this all cost me just over $1050.

The car is running better than ever, so I go get an etest. It failed. It failed on NO ppm, CO and HC ppm. This was disturbing because I had the same problem less than 2 years ago where I had to fork out $1200 for testing etc.

I took it back to my mechanic and he said it's got to be the catalytic converter. I advised him I got it replaced not even 2 years ago, he said he's 90% it's that. We replaced it, got it etested and it failed. It only failed on 2 things this time and the other numbers looked good. It failed on NO ppm and CO.

I took it back to my mechanics, and he looked around and said it's the O2 sensor, so we replace the O2 sensor and I got for an etest after using fuel injector cleaner on a 1/4 tank of gas going 160km an hour on the highway. It failed. It only failed on CO this time. I'm still pissed because I'm up to about $2000 on all this bullsht. I take it back to my mechanic, and he thinks it's a temp sensor for the engine and not the computer. He replaced that and I'm going for another etest on Friday.

My car runs better than ever, but won't pass a stupid etest. My friend just bought a 1998 ford Taurus for $1500 and it passed the first time. My ex girlfriend had a 1995 Cavalier and never did any maintenance on it, and it passed right on her birthday, no questions asked. My import is under crazy strict regulations for etest where domestic cars have it easy.

Just my story.. and I'm pissed, but if anyone has any ideas what it is, let me know. Thanks.

improving your chances to pass 2 things


Every time I have gone I have put at least 1 full tank of gas that is above regular grade.

The other thing is that vehicles will give off better results if they are warm. I take it for a drive for about 30 minutes before I take it for my scheduled test. The past few times I just book it for an early app after coming off my night shift. Takes about 50 minutes for me to drive home, so the vehicle engine and everything is still hot when they test it.


Keep in mind though that you still may have needed to get those parts anyway, but my 1996 astro has always passed as did my 91 Bonneville

Originally Posted by Hurk

My friend just bought a 1998 ford Taurus for $1500 and it passed the first time. My ex girlfriend had a 1995 Cavalier and never did any maintenance on it, and it passed right on her birthday, no questions asked. My import is under crazy strict regulations for etest where domestic cars have it easy.

Heh, anyone see another import vs domestic war in the making?

Originally Posted by JAC

Heh, anyone see another import vs domestic war in the making?

Nah, I love my import, but domestic cars pass alot easier because of their lenient standards.

How much did it cost to get the CAT replaced in your car.

I may need to replace it in my accord, and I have no idea how much that would cost. I'd like to replace the O2 sensors as well, but I'm wondering if I can do that myself - I wonder how hard that is...

Did you know that there's a $450 repair cost limit?

Originally Posted by prof_frink

How much did it cost to get the CAT replaced in your car.

I may need to replace it in my accord, and I have no idea how much that would cost. I'd like to replace the O2 sensors as well, but I'm wondering if I can do that myself - I wonder how hard that is...

I paid $260 for the CAT and $110 for the O2 sensor. My friend is the mechanic so prices are lower. I got my Cat replaced last year from a regular mech and it was about $460 with taxes and everything.

I heard not too long ago that the whole Drive Clean program might be scrapped. That would make me mad if I spent thousands of dollars trying to get my car to pass some arbitrary numbers. Especially when a fake pass is relatively easy to obtain. Hmmm...

Originally Posted by Hurk

I paid $260 for the CAT and $110 for the O2 sensor. My friend is the mechanic so prices are lower. I got my Cat replaced last year from a regular mech and it was about $460 with taxes and everything.

Is your mechanic friend in London or the GTA?

Originally Posted by Rehan

Did you know that there's a $450 repair cost limit?

I am aware of the conditional pass, but if I want to sell my car, it is not valid.

My mechanic is in London.

I hope they scrap the etest BS. My car runs fine, and if it were a domestic car it would have easily passed already.

Just in case, can the place that tests your car be the source of the problem?

Originally Posted by gman

Just in case, can the place that tests your car be the source of the problem?

I've tried 2 different places so far. Going back to the first tomorrow.

I'm surprised no one else has suggested this yet.

Take the car to a different mechanic or to a dealership. Ask them what's wrong with it/why it's not passing. Save yourself some money that way. Even if you just take it to someone else for their opinion,and don't get them to fix it, you haven't lost anything, you've just gained another perspective.

Originally Posted by cozmo

I'm surprised no one else has suggested this yet.

Take the car to a different mechanic or to a dealership. Ask them what's wrong with it/why it's not passing. Save yourself some money that way. Even if you just take it to someone else for their opinion,and don't get them to fix it, you haven't lost anything, you've just gained another perspective.

Any large chain of mechanics (Midas, Mufflerman, Speedy) all charge for taking a look at it for ETest. It's $75 per hour. This happened to me less than 2 years ago aswell. They'll find out what the problem is eventually, but they will also not do anything to the car for that money. It's just labor. This way, I can get the things done for less than the labor... but I think I might bite the bullet and get someone to test it.

Hope your car was properly warmed up before taking it to the testing station (i.e. Run it on the highway for 20 minutes or so) Your catalytic converter does not function until it is warmed up.