If your Honda Civic is suffering from a minor oil leak (immediately undetectable) this will not affect the smog check results. It sounds like this is what you are describing.
If your Honda Civic's oil leak is major the smog technician may refuse to inspect your Civic, or if during the smog test the oil leak becomes apparent to the technician, he/she may decide to abort the smog test, in which case you may be responsible for the inspection fee without obtaining a smog certificate.
If the oil leak isn't major, we wouldn't worry about it. If it's major, have it repaired before the smog test.
There is one minor concern we might have however which does not relate to the tailpipe portion of the smog test (sniffer). It has to do with the "smoke" portion of the smog test. During the "smoke" portion of the smog test the smog technician will inspect your Honda Civic for smoke visibility. He/She will check for visible smoke at the tailpipe and under the hood. If the oil leak your Honda Civic is experiencing is producing visible smoke from the engine compartment, the smog technician may fail this portion of the smog inspection which subsequently will fail the entire smog test. So ensure there is no visible smoke either from the tailpipe or engine compartment after your Honda Civic's engine has been running at idle for 15-20 minutes.
posted by SmogTips Support
