Drive Clean OBD Testing- Is YOUR car READY?

Drive Clean OBD Testing- Is YOUR car READY?

Readiness Monitors

A vehicle’s OBD system has up to 12 monitors within the OBD computer. These monitors are designed to check the running condition of all key emissions components of the engine.

Three monitors run all the time when the engine is running, the remaining monitors run intermittently during normal driving. These monitors report to the OBD computer if the engine’s emission performance is, or is not, in compliance with Ontario Drive Clean emissions regulations.

These monitors also report to the On-board computer as being “ready” or “not ready”. If they are “not ready,” they are not yet in a condition to determine if the associated emissions systems are working correctly. When a vehicle is taken to an OBD testing facility to receive the OBD test, the first thing the testing equipment does is check these monitors.

For model year vehicles 1998-2000, a vehicle with two monitors that are “not ready” will be accepted for the OBD test and the test can continue; for model year vehicles 2001 and newer, only one “not ready” monitor will be accepted for testing and the test can continue. A vehicle that has more than the allowable number of “not ready” monitors will FAIL Ontario’s Drive Clean OBD Test.

Even after emissions related repairs are completed the vehicle may not pass until the required monitors have been set to “ready” which may be accomplished by performing a drive cycle specific to the vehicle.