Ok, so today I went to the local emission testing center for the automotive equivalent to the "turn your head and cough" test.

And we failed...

2006 HCH-II w/ 11,000 miles and a good 48mpg lifetime average. Failed? How so?
I've heard of early Prius's failing, but not new Hondas. I asked the technician if they had tested Hybrids before and infact 2 vehicles ahead was an HCH-II and it passed just fine. They told me to take it to the dealer and tell them "the communication failed." (I'll be doing this Friday.)

Anyone else w/ a Honda hybrid fail their Emissions Test?

 

Why were you getting an emissions test only after 1-2 years? I don't know about TN, but in Cali, (where emissions standards are very high) it's every 6 years. I don't think many people will have failed the test, because they probably haven't taken them yet.

 

Wow, that's eons for us. We, Metro-Nashville (Davidson Co) and all surrounding counties (bedroom communities) must have yearly emission testing before we can renew our registration. Been that way for 10-15 years, I think. Despite this, the news reports say we had the worst air quality in all the US last week

Copy of my Civic's Inspection Report

 

In TX all cars over 2 years old gets a yearly inspection. I'd just take it to the dealer next time for inspections, I believe the state sets a fixed price for these so you'll get charged the same wherever you go and if it fails, well you won't have to go anywhere to fix it under warranty as you'll already be at the dealer's.

 

I don't know if it's a county to county thing (I thought it was a CA DMV requirement)... but I'm in Sac county and When I got my 2000 Cavalier in 02, the first smog was due in 2004 (once any car is 4 years old), then EVERY 2 years after that. Same with my 99 Chevy Venture, and as far as I can remember, all my other cars since I've been in California. Is there some special waiver for Hybrid cars and getting smogged in CA?

 

I'm guessing they just do an OBD test. There is a page in the owners manual about the driving conditions you have to satisfy in order to make the computer 100% happy and set everything as "ready", might be worth a try, but then again since it's under warranty you might just want to take it in.

 

Just to recap.

Yep, in the Nashville, TN area, you have to test and pass each year and you can only visit approved testing centers, of which there are only 6 for the entire region... oddly enough, if you go mid-month, the wait times are only 10-15mins. (We've got 5 road-worthy cars, so I'm getting pretty good at this... or thought I was until today!)

I'll post info after I visit the dealer on Friday.

 

Here in Houston, we keep trading top spots with Los Angeles as the smoggiest city in the US so we have to have emissions test every year. Harris County (Houston) and all surrounding counties must pay $41.75 to $54.25 depending on if you get emissions only or if you get OBDII etc. testing. This also includes the yearly safety inspection that is also required. I happen to live in Austin County, which is one county outside of the buffer counties so I don't have to have the emissions testing done. Guess it really doesn't matter since I drive a hybrid! So I pay only $12.50 for my safety inspection.

Now back to the point; I read in the owners manual that if you run your hybrid out of gas or very, very low, that you risk damaging the catalytic converters, which, in return, would definitely cause you to fail an emissions test. But you would think that a code would be thrown and your service engine soon light would come on, if that were the case. Don't know if this helps you much, I hope all works out for you.

 

Test report says it failed OBD (OnBoard Diagnostics)... likely that the plug wasn't inserted correctly/fully, or that something else in the electronics weren't happy. Take it to the dealer for a quick going-over (might be something stupid like a dirty contact) just to be sure, then re-test.

 

I'm in San Diego County and I know that the first one is after 6 years.

There is no fixed price in California (at least to my knowledge). I wish there was like in Texas, because all the cheaper ones are really far away from me.