Air Filter Smog Check Q & A
Question: I have a 2000
Toyota Tundra with a properly installed cold air intake.
The first Smog station I went to looked at it and said they
can't even inspect it. Were they just being over
cautious? Will every smog station reject it just because
it is not the stock air filter? No emissions components have been
removed.
Answer:
Most air intake units are not smog legal,
but there are some out there which are. Air intake
units which are smog legal should have an EO
number (Executive Order) indicating the State has approved their use
on California vehicles. State approved intake units will have
all the necessary emissions your vehicle's manufacture requires. Non
approved units may not. And yes, the
visual inspection of the air intake system, is a part of the
smog inspection. If your vehicle is equipped with an
Air Intake Unit which has not been approved by the
State of California as smog legal, your vehicle will fail the
smog test.
Legal Aftermarket
Emissions component/s you install must have a EO#
Number. If you can show proof that the units are sold
legally in California and possess an EO number, (EO stands for
Executive Order- this is the number given to the product
by the government certifying that it is emissions legal)
then you shouldn't have a problem. Most manufactures of
aftermarket exhaust or emission components will stamp
this number on the actual unit or they will print in the
units manual, catalog or some other paperwork which pertains
directly to the component in question. You will have to
present this number to the smog station where the car is
being tested.
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Question: If i have an aftermarket
k&n air intake will my 2003 toyota tundra pass a
california smog check?
Answer: The Aftermarket Filter itself
will not cause an emissions failure, however if the component
you are talking about includes
not only the filter but the housing assembly also, you may
have a problem. Aftermarket Air
Intake housing assemblies may sometimes not have the necessary
PCV and/or proper vacuum lines,
and may be designed different from the manufacturers original
component (different in shape
and design), therefore making them illegal for in use in
California.
Your best bet is to contact the
manufacturer's of this product if you plan on using it in California, or ensure its got
an EO number. To answer you question, unless the aftermarket
part is the filter itself
(which fits the manufacturers original housing assembly
without modificiation) it will
fail the smog test.
