State Emission Testing: Overview
NUMBER: 11-45-95DATE: 4/27/95
APPLICABILITY: ALL SUBARU FULL-TIME AWD MODELS
SUBJECT:
STATE EMISSION TESTING
WARNING
Testing of an All-Wheel Drive Vehicle must never be performed on a single two-wheel dynamometer. Attempting to do so will result in uncontrolled vehicle movement and may cause an accident or injuries to persons nearby.
CAUTION
Resultant vehicle damage due to improper testing is not covered under the SUBARU Limited Warranty and is the responsibility of the STATE I/M Program or its contractors or licensees.
The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement programs to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles. States are required to adopt either a "basic" or "enhanced" vehicle Inspection/Maintenance (I/M) Program depending on the severity of their air pollution problem. The "enhanced" I/M test simulates actual driving conditions on a dyamometer and permits more accurate measurement of tailpipe emissions than the "basic" I/M test which measures emissions only during engine operating conditions at idle and 2500 RPM. The "enhanced" I/M test also includes a pressure check to identify evaporative emissions leaks in the fuel system.
The U.S. EPA has exempted SUBARU Full-Time All-Wheel Drive (AWD) vehicles from the following performance warranty short tests:
^ Loaded Test
^ Idle Test With Loaded Preconditioning
State I/M Programs should test affected SUBARU AWD models using any other EPA-91 approved performance warranty short test. SUBARU models equipped with the AWD feature should be tested on a four-wheel drive dynamometer or the State I/M Program may elect to use a "double two wheel dynamometer" arrangement. Under no circumstances should the rear wheels be jacked off the ground, nor should the driveshaft be disconnected for I/M testing.
For vehicles with the Traction Control System (TCS), the TCS off switch on the dash must be placed in the "off" position after starting the engine, but prior to any testing on the dynamometer.