Toyota Camry Check Engine Light Question

Is a smog machine required to have the check engine light turn on or is it done manually? I had my Toyota Camry smog tested recently. Apparently my Toyota didn’t pass with the first smog station because the check engine light wasn’t turning on. The smog technician said that his smog machine checked my Camry's check engine light and it failed three times.

When I took my Camry to a second location, it passed with out a problem. I mentioned about the smog check machine the other guy was using. The technician said it doesn’t take a smog machine to check the check engine light. You have to do it manually. You have to turn the key yourself and see if the check engine light comes on. I was wondering if it takes a machine to see the check engine light or if it is done manually.

Answer:

On all OBD II vehicle (1996 & newer), both the smog machine and the smog technician will inspect the Check Engine Light. The smog machine will check to make sure the Check Engine light is not ON during the smog test, and the smog technician will turn the ignition key to the "ON" position and observe the Check Engine Light is illuminated. The technician's visual observation will be entered into the smog machine manually.

posted by SmogTips Support

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