2000 BMW 323 CAT monitor is showing not ready. What do I do?

My "Service Engine Soon" light was on which caused me to fail my smog test. The smog tech told me it was the exhaust cam shaft position sensor. So I had him fix it and the service engine soon light went away. Now my Smog technician keeps telling me he that can't do the smog check on my car because when he plugs his hand held monitor in under my dashboard the CAT indicator on his monitor flashes. He tells me that the car's monitor is not ready. I have no warning indicators on my dashboard and my car had very low emmissions when I initially failed my first smog check a week ago. Now he wants to charge me $90 to figure out why the CAT light is blinking so he can fix it. What do I do?

Answer:

This is a common problem, and the answer applies to most OBD II vehicle. Since your BMW was recently repaired it appears the emissions monitors were erased from the OBD II computer. Setting the emission monitors requires driving your car at least 200 miles, consisting of everyday normal driving, stop and starts (like at red lights and traffic), ignition on and off several times a day with at least 15 minute pauses in between (this allows the EVAP monitor to run), and freeway driving at least on three occasions for at least 15 minutes each at speeds above 30 mph. After these driving conditions are met and your BMW still fails the OBD II portion of the smog check, we can only recommend a smog check repair center conduct a diagnosis of the OBD II computer as to clues of why the monitors are not setting. Assuming no Check Engine light or Malfunction Indicator Lamp is illuminated we have to suspect your vehicle's only problem is simply not enough drive time yet.

posted by SmogTips Support