rayk

Around 20 years ago Minnesota instituted a sniffer test you had to pass to get your new stickers. It was dropped after 2-3 years due to complaints.

Now it's assumed your car meets emissions.

Ramblin On

I had a similar issue with my 2011 Coupe. Dealer cleared the codes and told me to drive it. The car's computer system needed time/miles to complete the test sequence. I drove it for a couple of outings and went for a retest. Passed.

Apparently if the battery charge gets low, it triggers the computer system, failing the emission test. Another reason to use a battery tender if you are not going to drive it for a week or so.

Glad you overcame that hurdle.

ladder13

Z06LUST

He let a Republican near it and it fell apart....

JScottH3

Had the same issue with my wife's Acura. I bought a new battery at Sears, and then drove it to the Acura dealer for service, which happened to include an emission test. It failed the test because taking the battery out reset the computer, and it didn't have enough miles on it since the battery change. That was a Friday, and we drove it around until Monday and tried again - no problem.

SilverScorp

Do what the original dealership told you and then take to a different dealership for inspection.

OregonC6

Amen, the car is supposed to pass as manufactured. If it's being sold in a "does not pass" condition then it does not comply with emission laws. And...being brand new it's darn sure not an aftermarket "tuning" issue now is it? It's a factory defect. Period.

EDinPA

It's not a smog test. Pa does not have smog tests. They just plug into the OBD port and see if everything reads as designed. Thats it. Part of the system requires a certain number of drive / start cycles with a certain amount of driving in each one. This is part of the design included to prevent an owner or mechanic from clearing out the fault codes ten seconds before running the test. That's it. Nothing more.

Your dealer however should not even be doing this test. New cars are exempt and any care driven less then 5000 miles per year is exempt from this test. You should just get an inspection sticker and an emissions sticker with a small black 'exempt' bar on it. This is why no one else has the problems you are having. No one else is getting tested on a new car.

KneeDragr

Who do we talk to about this exemption? I just got an emissions test even though I drive 2000 miles per year on my GS.

Edit : It must vary state by state - here are the potential exemptions for Virginia

Exemptions to the emissions inspection requirement include:

New vehicles being titled for the first time in Virginia with a manufacturer's certificate of origin.
Gasoline-powered vehicles 25 years old or older, whether registered as antique or not.
Diesel vehicles.
Vehicles exclusively powered by clean fuel.
Certain hybrid vehicles.

RaleighTL

Some time back a forum member posted this:

Emission re-set after battery replacement:
This what I show for the C6:
Inspection/Maintenance (I/M) System Set Procedure
Important: Whenever the ignition is turned ON, ignition positive voltage is supplied to the heated oxygen sensor (HO2S) heaters. After verifying the enable criteria, turn OFF the ignition for approximately 5 minutes to allow the sensors to cool before continuing with the test. Once the engine is started, do NOT turn the engine OFF for the remaining portion of the set procedure.
Ensure that the vehicle meets the conditions for a cold start listed above.
¤ If the evaporative emission (EVAP) I/M System Status indicator displays NO, perform the EVAP Service bay test if available.
¤ If the EVAP Service bay test is NOT available, it may take up to 6 drive cycles, with up to 17 hours between drive cycles, for the EVAP I/M System Status indicator to transition to YES.
¤ If the O2S Heater System Status indicator displays NO, ensure that the ignition has been turned OFF for at least 10 hours.
Set the vehicle parking brake and ensure the vehicle is in Park for automatic transmission or Neutral for manual transmission.
Turn OFF all accessories; HVAC system, other electrical loads, including aftermarket/add-on equipment, etc.
Start and idle the engine for at least 2 minutes and until 65°C (149°F) is achieved.
Run the engine for 6.5 minutes within the following conditions:
MAF parameter between 4-30 g/s
Engine speed steady between 1,000-3,000 RPM
Return the engine to idle for 1 minute.
Apply and hold the brake pedal, and shift to Drive for automatic transmission, or apply the clutch pedal for manual transmission and operate the vehicle within the following conditions for 2 minutes:
Depress the accelerator pedal until throttle position (TP) sensor angle is more than 2 percent.
Mass air flow (MAF) signal between 15-30 g/s
RPM steady between 1,200-2,000 RPM
Important: DO NOT touch the accelerator pedal during the idle period. A change in TP sensor angle or an increase in engine speed may invalidate this portion of the test.
Release the accelerator pedal and shift the vehicle to Park for automatic transmission, or Neutral and release the clutch pedal for manual transmission, and allow the engine to idle for 2 minutes.
Quickly depress the accelerator pedal until TP sensor angle is more than 8 percent and return to idle, repeat 3 times.
Allow engine to idle for at least 2 minutes. Caution: Refer to Road Test Caution (See: Service Precautions\Technician Safety Information\Road Test Warning) .
Release the parking brake and drive vehicle at 24 km/h (15 mph) or slower for 2 minutes.
Continue to drive the vehicle for at least 5.5 miles between 45-112 km/h (28-70 mph) with the vehicle reaching at least 80 km/h (50 mph).
Release the accelerator pedal for at least 2 seconds. This will allow the vehicle to enter decel fuel cut-off.
Depress the accelerator pedal until the TP sensor angle is increased 3-20 percent and maintain a safe speed for 1 minute.
Safely stop the vehicle, with the engine in Drive for automatic transmission or in Neutral with the clutch pedal depressed and parking brake applied for manual transmission, idle for 2 minutes.
Shift to Park for automatic and apply the parking brake, or neutral and release clutch pedal for manual. Important: Do NOT disturb the vehicle or turn ON the ignition until told to do so. Disturbing the vehicle may invalidate this portion of the test.
Turn OFF the ignition and exit the vehicle. Do NOT disturb the vehicle for 60 minutes.
Observe the Inspection/Maintenance (I/M) System Status with a scan tool. All of the I/M System Status indicators should display YES.

Nice Ride

Wow. sounds crazy and a bit frustrating that a new car will not pass inspection? You have a new car and it should not have any emissions issue. It probably does not. Exact same thing happened to me with my wife's new XC90 Volvo last month. Dealer told me the problem is with the new testing equipment and how it reads your car with such low miles. Don't you just love new computers? Inspections stations were forced to do away with the metal wand into the exhaust pipe because some stations were putting the wand into other cars to get a pass reading and sending clunkers down the road. Anyway, the Volvo wouldn't pass one particular reading and the service mgr at the Volvo dealership told me to drive the car for 30 min and bring it back for a re-test. Said it happens with the new system and new cars. Drove around for 30 min but the car did not pass on 2nd try. They told me they would document new car was tested for DMV and I would not get a ticket. They said I would have time to get more miles on the car and DMV was aware this kind of thing happens with some new cars. I had a trip planned the next weekend and put about 300 miles on the Volvo. Took it back in and it passed with flying colors. The dealership should be able to cover you with DMV to buy time to get a few miles on your car. Good luck!

johnodrake

Don't you just love what the EPA has done for us.

Top_Fuel

As some have pointed out...the OP's car didn't fail a "smog" test. It failed the OBD monitor test, which is not unusual.

When the emissions testing center plugs into the OBDII port, they are verifying that all of the PCM emission system self-tests (also known as "monitors") have successfully run. Using a scan tool (or even some code readers), you can view the status of all these monitors. If a monitor has run successfully, it will have a "READY" state. If all the criteria hasn't been met for a certain monitor to run, it will say "NOT READY."

It can take a while (hundreds of miles in some cases) for all of the driving conditions to be satisfied to get all of the monitors to the "READY" status.

If you want more details, this PDF document has a pretty good explanation of OBDII monitors.