RE: car inspection woes

["Stephen Andersen" <steve.andersen@xxxxxxx>]

I'd be willing to bet that your car failed due to it 
not being "hot" enough prior to the test.  Seems to 
be a common BMW problem, particularly for cars that 
are a bit "older" and maybe have some borderline
components (O2 sensor, etc).

Make sure to get the car good and warmed up prior to the 
test, and if you have to idle at all, hold the car at a 
high idle for several minutes prior to initiating the test...

Steve

> >Went to have my car inspected on friday and it failed; 
> According to the
> >printout it failed miserably in HC-ppm and CO-%. Not knowing 
> what it was i 
> >wanted to take it to an autozone to see if they could reset 
> and clear the 
> >check engine light which was on for the last month or so, to 
> see if that 
> >would make it pass inspection. Could not find one close to 
> my house. Ended 
> >up making the tough decision to take it to the dealer ended 
> up costing me 
> >$$$. They said that my oxygen sensor was bad and needed to 
> be replaced but 
> >they weren't sure that after replacing it if this would make 
> it pass the 
> >inspection. they said they also saw indication from the 
> knock sensors that 
> >it faulted once.
> >Can anyone tell me what else might have made my car fail 
> inspection given 
> >the results above? And also would clearing the check engine 
> light have 
> >made my car pass the inspection without having to replace 
> the oxygen sensor?
> >
> >The dealer told me not to have it inspected until I drove it 
> approx 100
> >miles. They said this is so the computer can recalibrate the 
> system with 
> >the new oxygen sensor. I still have not took my car back to get it 
> >reinspected but hope that this fixed the problem.
> >
> >Thanks
> >95 ///M3

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