Life, food, events, and community in Albuquerque, NM
Hybrid vehicles and emissions tests
Just a warning for those driving hybrid cars...I'm not saying this will happen to everyone and its not really a big deal, but it just happened to me.
I got a notice in the mail that my registration for my car needed to be renewed. Nothing special there. But along with the renewal notice was a requirement for an emissions certificate. I own a Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Emissions certificate? My car is off half the time -- how am I going to get a emissions test done when the car keeps turning off?
Well, the notice said "Required," so I went to an emissions station nearby, hoping I could take care of everything at one of those combo MVD/emission stations. When I told them I had a hybrid, they said, "Oh, you're going to have to go to 1500 Broadway NE to get it tested." I work near Montgomery and Juan Tabo, and I was doing this on my lunch hour. "1500 Broadway NE?" I asked. He said, "Yeah, they're making us refer all hybrids there." Great. There goes at LEAST a half-hour of my lunch hour.
So I drive down there to get it over with, and I had to wait in line (not too long, considering this was a goverment station). The attendant/inspector has me drive into the garage, where he has me pop the hood. He takes a look inside, then looks at some numbers on the inside driver's door sill, and then hands me a piece of paper and says "Drive around front and give this to the front office." I did, and they gave me a certificate of permanent exemption. Permanent exemption! You would think they would do this when you buy the damn car right? Hmmph.
So while the process was relatively painless it was inconvenient. Hybrid vehicles naturally produce low emissions because they are off half the time! How hard is it for a government official to declare all hybrids (verified by dealers'/inspectors' eyes) to be exempt when they are titled instead of wasting government time and people's time by issuing requirements for tests that are not really required in the first place?
Having owned a Honda Civic Hybrid before this hybrid, I didn't have to do this with that car. Maybe the government didn't know that Highlanders are hybrids too. Who knows. Just beware: if you own a hybrid you may have to run around town just to get a certificate saying you don't need to run around town anymore.
I got a notice in the mail that my registration for my car needed to be renewed. Nothing special there. But along with the renewal notice was a requirement for an emissions certificate. I own a Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Emissions certificate? My car is off half the time -- how am I going to get a emissions test done when the car keeps turning off?
Well, the notice said "Required," so I went to an emissions station nearby, hoping I could take care of everything at one of those combo MVD/emission stations. When I told them I had a hybrid, they said, "Oh, you're going to have to go to 1500 Broadway NE to get it tested." I work near Montgomery and Juan Tabo, and I was doing this on my lunch hour. "1500 Broadway NE?" I asked. He said, "Yeah, they're making us refer all hybrids there." Great. There goes at LEAST a half-hour of my lunch hour.
So I drive down there to get it over with, and I had to wait in line (not too long, considering this was a goverment station). The attendant/inspector has me drive into the garage, where he has me pop the hood. He takes a look inside, then looks at some numbers on the inside driver's door sill, and then hands me a piece of paper and says "Drive around front and give this to the front office." I did, and they gave me a certificate of permanent exemption. Permanent exemption! You would think they would do this when you buy the damn car right? Hmmph.
So while the process was relatively painless it was inconvenient. Hybrid vehicles naturally produce low emissions because they are off half the time! How hard is it for a government official to declare all hybrids (verified by dealers'/inspectors' eyes) to be exempt when they are titled instead of wasting government time and people's time by issuing requirements for tests that are not really required in the first place?
Having owned a Honda Civic Hybrid before this hybrid, I didn't have to do this with that car. Maybe the government didn't know that Highlanders are hybrids too. Who knows. Just beware: if you own a hybrid you may have to run around town just to get a certificate saying you don't need to run around town anymore.
7 Comments
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Comment by Jessie on April 2, 2008 at 4:31pm - I own a diesel VW Golf, which I run on B20. My inspection was much like yours: I pulled up behind 1500 Broadway, the attendant came out & was quiet for a minute, then said, "Yep, that sounds like a diesel." He eyeballed the tailpipe emissions (very scientific), and, presumably satisfied, gave me my exemption papers.
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Comment by cynthia on April 2, 2008 at 9:02pm - Fortunately I was told about this by the dealer (Garcia Honda) when I bought my HCH. It is silly...
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Comment by Roger A. Rubio on April 2, 2008 at 11:19pm - Update: I went to the MVD to get my registration renewed, and the people there begin to help me, but they realize I have a permanent exemption, and that means they won't be able to accept my debit card; only cash or check. That's what I get for being cheap and trying to save the $20 convenience fee: I get a system that cripples the easiest way to give the state some revenue when you have a car that's easy on the air.
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Comment by sophie on April 2, 2008 at 11:44pm - Wow. The debit card part is almost the weirdest thing in the whole story.
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Comment by Doug R on April 3, 2008 at 9:27am -
You have to love the government. They're behind the curve a decade or two.
I'm not going to by a half breed car. Zero emissions is my goal. Then I can put a sticker on the vehicle that just says NO HYBRIDS - ha ha.
But of course, they'll discover that some chemical in the recycled batteries is polluting the environment. No one ever seems to check these things out, ahead of time, before the marketing machine hits full pace. Out here in California they were offering passes that allowed Hybrids to travel in the commute lanes even if they didn't have two people in the car. What they didn't tell you at the time is that there was a limit to the number of these permits. So, everyone rushed out, paid a premium no Prius' and were pissed off when they didn't receive a permit.
Is it more dangerous to put your faith in a for profit corporation or a government organization? I wonder.....
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Comment by Roger A. Rubio on April 3, 2008 at 10:27am
- Well, at least you'll get screwed faster with a for profit corporation...the government can screw you for years.
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Comment by Roger A. Rubio on April 3, 2008 at 12:26pm
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Update: the permanent exemption applies to the owner like license plates do, but only for the vehicle while you own it. The second you trade it in or sell it, the new owner needs to go through this whole process.
This is dumb. Why not just exempt hybrids altogether???
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