FAQ

Here are some answers to your most frequently asked questions related to smog checks:

MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON. WILL MY CAR STILL PASS SMOG?

If your check engine light is on, the smog check computer will automatically fail the car. There’s no way around this. If your Check Engine is currently on, you can bring your car to us and we can use our scanner to pull the diagnostic code from your car’s computer, free of charge.

WHY DO I NEED TO GO TO A STAR STATION?

The State of California uses the following three criteria to determine whether your vehicle needs to be brought to a STAR station:

  1. Gross polluters (vehicles that have failed a past smog inspection with very high emission readings).

  2. High Emitter Profile vehicles. These are vehicle types designated by the Bureau of Automotive Repair as having a higher chance of failing the smog inspection.

  3. Also, a random sample of 30% from all the vehicles currently registered in California.

If your vehicle needs to be brought to a STAR station, you can bring it to us. We do smog certifications for all vehicles.

DO I NEED A SMOG INSPECTION WHEN SELLING MY CAR?

You will only need a smog check if the gas vehicle you are selling is older than 4 years old but made after 1975. If your car is a Diesel, then you will need a smog inspection if the car was made after 1997.

After we finish the inspection, we issue a smog certification for your car and we also submit the certification electronically to the DMV. We also provide you with a physical copy of the certificate which, has a unique code that can be used to recall the smog certification record if needed.