Passing Emissions but Failing Smog

[Prez]

I have a 96 C280. My car will not pass smog because the ecu reads "Not Ready." My registration is now 5 months overdue.

Most of the techs tell me that I need to drive the car around more and eventually (after about 30 miles) the ecu will pick up and read ready. I drive about 300 miles a week and this problem has been going on for about 6 months now. I think if it was going to trip ready, it would have done it by now.

I took it to the dealer and they came back shaking their heads. They told me to drive it around for an hour and a half or so at freeway speeds, which I don't think is going to change the situation any.

No CEL present. I assume that the dealer was smart enough to plug in the code reader. They did other work for me besides this problem on this trip.

I think the next thing I'll be trying is unplugging the battery for a hard reset. Any advice?

[Prez]

I talked to an operator at the state referee.

She says that its potentially a known issue with the 96 C280s. The test meters don't read the engine, or something. So I can set up an appointment for them to see the car and if its that problem, they'll give you a waiver.

Good to know.

In case you too have this problem, call the CA State Referee at 1-800-622-7733.

[xvvvz]

Wow. Good information for the archives here. That is an odd situation.