Smog Check Dyno damaged my 996

Hi all. I really blew it. Took my baby to be smog checked. I had to stay out of the bay and got distracted by a phone call. The guy put it on the 2W dyno and ran it up. By the time, looking into the bay, I realized what he was doing it was too late. Took to the dealership and they said I probably destroyed the viscous coupling. One of the codes that came up also said ABS failure. Will repairing the viscous coupling fix the problem or should I be aware of other damage besides?

I'm confused by your statement "I probably destroyed the VC". This is something the smog check place is on the hook for. You might want to post this in the 996 Turbo forum as well since there might be somebody that went though the very same thing.

dell - i think he means he put a AWD car on a 2wd dyno, and it spun the back wheels but the fronts couldnt spin. That is friggin horrible; especially on a turbo S! Good luck, the garage should clearly pay.

I know what he meant (4WD on a 2WD dyno) but I am confused why he thinks, as he said, that HE screwed up.

I think it is pretty clear the garage is at fault. Did they say anything?

Crystal clear. If they don't even ASK if the car is 4WD or 4WD capable in today's day of car offerings in 4WD when they clearly know their dyno is for a 2WD car only then they are clearly at fault.

I'm willing to bet his mistake was taking it to that garage - one screwup that he will probably never do again. (grin) What a pity, however. Some mechanic should get flogged.

kellyT: does the car drive OK?

Damn ... which shop was this?

Isn't that the two wheel mod???? Sorry, for the joke but I've seen a few asking how to disassemble their awd. I'm sure the shop will pay for the damage, it's clearly there fault. Let us all know the outcome, please.

I hope so, but I think this story is going to continue for a bit. I'll bet they either won't have the money or will come up with some BS excuse to try to get out of it. Here in CA, these smog check places often only do smog checks and they don't appear to be places that have a ton of cash sitting in a bank account for something like this.

I think last year here in California they passed a new even more strict SMOG check. I just had my BMW done and I went to a SMOG test center only. The machine had 2 rollers and since my car is only RWD, the guy backed it onto the machine and ran the test. But the new machines that all shops have to buy for the new test include 2 rollers so that they can accomodate AWD vehicles also. Sounds like the tech just did not know that this particular Porsche was AWD, or asked. The technician I went to asked me if my car was RWD before driving it onto the roller.

I've done a SMOG check only twice and both times the shop has been small, dingy and dilapidated. I don't know what insurance these guys carry... but I suspect they will have a hard time paying for major repairs on a Turbo S.

They should be insured if they are authorized smog facilities operating under state law, no? What would they have done if you drove in there with an SUV? They should have asked. For crying out loud, isn't the ENTIRE line of Subie's 4WD???

Thanks for the replies. After the fact the guy said it was ok since he had turned off the psc. I wasn't buying it inasmuch as the computer was displaying all sorts of errors. He got on the phone with what must have been the boss and were speaking some foreign language. He came back and said everything is fine the car just threw some codes and if I drive it a bit they will go away. I wasn buying that either. I drove down the street to the Porsche dealership and the service manager just shook his head in disgust. It was part of a 76 station and was all certified and everything else. However, as I pulled in I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and of course I just rationalized it away. The service manager said it might take weeks because they have to get the parts from Germany. You bet I am going to make them pay. We can do it the easy way or the hard way. Their choice! You can bet I won't make that mistake again. Best, Kelly

I had this the EXACT OPPOSITE happen to me...I smogged my car last weekend and they smog guy was talking and talking and talking..about cars. Like he was an expert...after 5 mins of fumbling with the booklet to tell him how to test my car...he determined that my 996 CTWO cab...was in fact AWD so he could not test it the traditional way and we had to go "old school." So he never ran my car on the dyno..we just did the gas cap and the thingy in the exh...and of course I passed. At least my shop erred in FAVOR of me...and not like this. Sucks..I am sorry about your experience...

After they told you to drive it, do you have anything indicating they told you to leave or something saying they may have messed up because of this. My point is, it would be terrible if they claimed you must have broken it when you were driving after the test. Perhaps the machine is labeled in some sort that matches your receipt to verify it was a two roller machine. uggggh, I'm very sorry for you. I'm always hesitant to hand my keys to anyone, valets, etc. Nobody cares about your car like you do...........

Wow, that really blows. When I take my cars (our other cars are an Audi and MB 4matic) to the state run inspection centers they know not to run the cars on the dyno. I think they have a database or something. With the number of AWD cars on the road, it's definitely negligent on the part of the technician. If this was a state certified test center then they are probably required to carry insurance. I would suggest to start building your case for the insurance adjuster/lawsuit: note down the time your car was damaged and the time it was diagnosed at the dealer. Have the dealer give you a written opinion as to the damage and likely cause. More importantly, the dealer should give an opinion of the likelihood of this damage being done through abuse other than on a 2WD dyno. If you have the car repaired, keep all the replaced parts and have the dealer document everything done. Good luck.

I just talked with the Service manager. They checked everything and it is fortunately only the VC. Price for repair $2100 and change and done by the end of the year. I wrote up the whole awful experience with time, date, what was said and done, and wrote a demand that they pay for the repairs. Sending it out certified rtn receipt tomorrow. I hope they do the stand up thing or I will be forced to do whatever it takes to make it right!

I was under the impression that all they had to do is start the car and look at there emissions readings stored in the computer without putting it on the tread mill? I guess they do things differently here in arizona.

CA has the STRICTEST laws regarding smog...in the whole country and LA county is the worst. Our cars get tested everywhere but Tuesday. Visual inspection...no CELs, gas cap test, thingy in the exh pipes, and the dyno under force. It is really really crazy here.

This is interesting. My last 2 smogs were last year. My Boxster and my 2 wheel drive 1988 Toyota Truck. Been to a few smog places and did not notice anything for a AWD. He is in Los Altos and I am in San Jose, both in Santa Clara County. Our county got the dyno reqirement a few years ago. But they are for 2 wheel drives. AWD/4WD are/were exempt from the dyno, not the smog check. Like an RV. You still went through the smog inspection but did not go on the dyno. Guess something must have changed. My Boxster smog inspection is due again in 2 months so I will check it out.

That was the entire reason for OBD2 and the ECU/CAT/O2 tamper regulations that were part of the federal Clean Air Act.

how do you know you need a smog test in CA...sorry for the dumb question..bought my first car in LA a little over a year ago.

When it's time for your registration renewal, DMV will stated in the form if you need smog test or not. Usually, every other year DMV requires you to passed the smog test. I heard that in the future, cars will be equipped with ODBIII syst. DMW can track each individual vehicle with wireless. In this method, DMV can demand selected cars to fix the problem before the next registration due.

I'm rusty on the Kalifornia requirements so don't quote me - go to the DMV site. If the car is purchased new then no smog for the first 4 years, but smog every 2 years after. However, if the car is resold during the initial 4 years then smog. When the car is old enough and you have to do the 2 year smog you have to do yet another smog if the car is sold, unless the prior smog inspection was done less than 90 (or is it 60) days before. For some unfair reason if a dealer does a smog then that smog certificate is good for 6 months, but just 3 (or is it 2) months for us consumers. When we get the registration notice it tells you if a smog inspection is reguired. In the old days we paid extra for a paper smog certificate if you passed, that was mailed in with your registration fees. Now if you pass it is sent electronically to the DMV, but we still pay for the certificate. Now we have a test only place and test and repair, so you have to go to what the DMV says to go to. Some small areas did not have to do the dyno, but I do not know if that changed in 2006. It is a racket.

No doubt. I'd like to see some statistics that actually indicate that the bulk of emmissions actually come from the passenger car fleet. Certainly there's lots of them, but most cars run time can be measured in minutes vs. hours and most cars are pretty small displacement motors (relatively). Think of all the large displacement commercial trucks (OTR, construction, etc.) that run as close to 24/7 as they can. Which run cleaner, your 996 or an ancient dump truck that is spewing so much particulate matter that you can't even see behind it??? You don't see any of those beasts at the State Emmisions stations. Pisses me off.

thanks guys....will look out for my new registration papers.

So also be warned that in CA they now look for any exhaust mods before they even start the Smog test. Plus they look for any intake mods like CAI. If the mods do not have CARB stickers on them, you fail the smog test right there. After that you get the dyno, the exhaust probe, the gas cap probe, and the ODB port probe. If you've reset your CEL to get past the smog test, they can see that and will fail you. The complete set of internal ODB code tests have to be completed and logged in the EMU before the Smog test, and this can take days/weeks depending on how much you drive. CA Smog Test sucks!

Just had mine done not too long ago...I TOLD the guy it was AWD...He said...Oh...ok...Good thing you said something....I always tell them about my car.....sorry you had this issue....hope you get it all settled. With Ca...you dont have too much choice where you go...I had to go to a "test only" station...The place looked like a shack....BUT it was certified....so I got it done and immediately....

I went with Dinan form my BMW modifications specifically due to their California Air Resource Board exemption and I knew that there would be no major SMOG issues related to using their parts. I didn't even think about that when I get my p-car as I did want to replace the exhaust at some point. Does anyone know if the major companies (Fabspeed/A.W.E/Borla?) have this exemption here in CA? One less headache to think about and may even wittle down the short list even shorter.