It’s required in Georgia to register all cars built between 1987 and 2008.
This week the state had all the testers go an extra step.
“It’s not that the car can’t pass, it’s just that we have such difficulty performing the two speed idle part of the test,” tester Chuck McClellan said, owner of Midtown Emissions.
McClellan said Wednesday and Thursday of this week the state ordered newer cars get the test reserved for older cars, involving measuring exhaust with a probe in the tailpipe.
The tester must rev the engine and measure RPMs.
“As you can see, there’s no spark plug wires, and no way to monitor RPMs directly,” said McClellan as he looked under the hood of Strickland’s 2007 Camry.
Testers have to use a sensing device to read the engine speed. McClellan tried eight times to get the reading on the car.
While idling less the 1,000 RPM, the screen read triple that.
The test would not normally be done on a car so new.
“And therein lies the problem,” said McClellan.
McClelland said he had to turn away a BMW Thursday that just wouldn’t read.
The driver returned and passed Friday, when the state’s extra tailpipe test was no longer in effect for newer cars.
The state emailed Channel 2 consumer investigator Jim Strickland that they are investigating the issue.
One tester told Strickland he struggled over and over again with seven cars trying to find the RPMs before turning them away.
That tester didn’t want to go on camera for fear of harming his relationship with the state.
