Computer Glitch Causes Toyota Prius To Fail Georgia Emissions Test

By November 27, 2007

If you bought a Toyota Prius and have been trying to pass an emissions test in Georgia, you’re probably pretty stressed out right about now.

A computer glich is causing every single Prius to fail the emissions test. It turns out that the computer that downloads the car’s emissions history is incompatible with the hybrid, and the exhaust-testing system requires the car to be able to idle with the engine running— something the eco-friendly Pruis won’t do.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Scott Merritt bought his low polluting Toyota Prius to help save the planet, conserve energy and encourage others to go green. He’s also a big believer in keeping dirty polluters off the road.

So imagine his surprise and frustration when his electric hybrid failed Georgia emissions testing — not once, but three times.

“I spent a total of three full days getting this resolved,” said Merritt, 34, a public relations executive. “I went to three different places, and nobody was able to do the test.”

The state developed a 10-step procedure to work around the problem, but it just doesn’t seem to work for poor Mr. Merritt.

“The woman behind the counter looked at me like I had three heads,” Merritt said. “She had never heard of this problem.”


Earth-friendly Prius struggling to overcome Ga emissions glitch [Atlanta J-C] (Thanks, Gregg!)
(Photo:Ben Gray/AJC)

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Comments

  1. AD8BC says:
    November 28, 2007 at 5:54 pm

    In that case I take no offense and agree to disagree.

  2. LeopardSeal says:
    November 28, 2007 at 9:33 pm

    @Buran: Is it really neccessary to triple and quadruple post every time you comment?

  3. FLConsumer says:
    November 29, 2007 at 5:16 am

    I’m with Trevor on this one. I miss my Mercedes 240D. Simple, great mileage (35-45mpg for a full-size car), cheap parts, and of course, longevity. I’d like to see any of the hybrids survive 600,000+ miles between engine/motor rebuilds. Seen plenty of the 240D’s handle this. What’s more enviornmentally friendly, a hybrid which lasts for 5 years before it becomes economically infeasible to repair it, or a simple design which will last for 30+ years and still gets good mileage?

    As much as technology is seen as the future for this, all of the electronics in cars today have a long way to go before they’ll last 30 years. Seen plenty of “good” cars go to the junkyards because their computers failed and cost more to replace than the car was worth. Saw a 1996 Mercedes diesel go to the scrapyard for this very reason with only 145,000 miles on it. Sinful, really.

  4. TechnoDestructo says:
    November 30, 2007 at 4:36 am

    @protest: “Totaling” a car is an insurance/titling thing, and while it is not unrelated, it isn’t the same thing as the severity of an accident.

    Also, subcompact cars, like the older Civics, are one of the highest-fatality classes of cars. IIRC, pickup trucks and the Mustang and Camaro were about the only things that fare worse. And I knew a guy who rolled a pickup truck and walked away. Your friends were lucky.

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