My car is "It's ok that the check engine light is on, you can still pass state inspection" years old.
However, "the computer" won't pass it. My mechanic thinks it's because my car was built in Oct. and is 15 and 362 days old. Cars must be "over 15" to pass w/ a check engine light on (just an EVAP code, not a safety issue).
I think some programmer made the computer look for a number that was 16 or over in the "car age" slot. Got a new appointment on Monday. Wish me luck! #ComputersWereAMistake
@jessamyn @FritzAdalis While I don't (yet) own an electric vehicle, I've wanted to do a custom conversion for a couple decades and this whoole discussion reminds me of an anecdote from back in the day (post GM EV1, but definitely pre-Tesla Roadster):
Someone living in California had done an electric conversion, but still had to pass a smog test. They expected to pass with flying colors, but the test facility required them to have a tailpipe to connect the equipment to! (Had to add a dummy.)
@FritzAdalis @jessamyn Agreed that the ECU of a 15 year old car probably doesn't have a calendar/clock, but the identifying firmware probably does report the date of manufacture or something.
While the 15 year thing is VT state law, they switched to a digital inspection process a number of years ago, so it has all sorts of integrations and even goes as far as requiring photos of the vehicle from all sides for verification that it's free of rust! (Not long after they switched to salt brine too!)
Jessamyn
Fritz Adalis
Morgan Aldridge