The Trouble With Emissions Testing

Emissions testing has always been a bit of an awkward topic for us, given the restrictive pricing and the obvious labour costs associated with paying a tech to conduct them. That said, we’ve been a certified Drive-Clean shop for years, and have been conducting tests basically from the get-go. However, as newer cars are starting to come into the shop to have their mandatory tests, we’re experiencing more and more problems with the diagnostic equipment. Newer vehicles, specifically those with coil-over designs like most of the new imports from BMW, for example, seem to give our equipment a lot of trouble in terms of getting an accurate RPM reading. That reading is critically important in conducting the test, as the car needs to pass the test at two different RPM levels. As such, Drive Clean insists on having the RPM verified by the approved pieces of equipment. So far, it has been possible to eventually get a reading from the $100,000 piece of machinery we invested in, but it’s starting to take longer and longer, often requiring two technicians to work out the kinks. This has obviously created a bit of a business dilemma. At a mandated price of $35 to conduct the test, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to justify the service. Of that $35, the government gets around $12, and we’re left to pay the technician for what should have taken approximately 20 minutes with the remainder. Where it has become a serious economic problem is when the equipment fails to work, and we’re left to pay the tech for a full test or even two techs when necessary. Suffice to say the numbers just don’t add-up even before you consider that the machine itself cost us an initial $100,000 investment.

As a temporary solution, if the test takes too long, and is getting too costly, shops are allowed to hit a special by-pass button, and the system will complete the test without the verified RPM levels. That, for the moment is our only recourse. However, when the Drive Clean people come through to do their audit, they’ll immediately notice the amount of by-passes that your shop has utilized, and can actually revoke your designation. While that extreme measure is probably rare, it’s still their prerogative and it could happen, in which case all the investment is wasted until the machine is ready and fixed.

As of now, the manufacturer seems unable or unwilling to help, and the Drive Clean people seem to be unable to approve new equipment. I’ve spent hours on the phone with the manufacturer’s service department, and even tried dealing with the local sales rep., and have not gotten any kind of response, other that being told to try and get the best possible signal. Obviously both the people running the Drive Clean program and their approved manufacturers need to spend some time developing new programs and software to deal with this problem. New designs in the automotive business are met with new software solutions all the time, and this particular problem obviously needs the same diligence, because we certainly can’t keep taking a loss on all of the tests we continue to do on coil-over design vehicles.

A second possible solution that we have been forced to look at, is the purchase of a separate piece of machinery from another manufacturer. Early reports from others around the industry would seem to suggest that it handles the coil-over problem somewhat better. Unfortunately, that leaves us with other problems as well, such as what do we do with our current machine. Will this new one simply come with a different set of issues? And how do I justify the investment of another $100,000 so we can continue to conduct testing that nets us a return of $23?

With the economics so far out of whack, a lack of reliable software and very little communication between Drive Clean and their approved manufacturers, the emissions testing business will unfortunately remain problematic for the foreseeable future.