997.2 Smog Nightmare and Issues - help appreciated
#1
06-26-2015, 10:18 PM
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 389
Rep Power: 28 
997.2 Smog Nightmare and Issues - help appreciated
First off I apologize for the long winded post coming up:
For starters, I recently took my 09' 997.2 with 29K miles in for my first ever smog (registration renewal purposes) -the CA "SMOG Certification Required" type and I am currently undergoing a frustrating ordeal with no resolve in the forecast...
This last Tuesday, I took my car to an ordinary Smog shop and they used the OBD type to test my car (no longer use the sniffer style smog testers). All the read outs were fine, except "Catalyst Status" came back on the reading 'NOT READY'/'NOT COMPLETE'. The Smog place then told me to print some instructions and perform a Drive Cycle, etc. and come back to re-smog...
Since they were not Porsche people, I didn't trust them, panicked, and rushed to find a trustworthy Porsche specialist for second opinion...
<< As a background my car has been driven 4K miles ranging from street speeds to WOT entering and exiting freeways, etc. since it's annual service back in February at the dealer and to date, never had any CEL's, battery disconnected, or reset of any type done to it since my ownership from 2012 (car was bought CPO with 14K miles on it). My car has a Sharkwerks primary center muffler bypass and Gundo/Fister hacked side mufflers (that is all). >>
I was quite upset and surprised to learn that my car didn't pass its very first Smog due to the Catalyst Status reading NOT READY-not complete (my 20 year old Lexus beater passes smog to this day..). Being last minute, I knew I couldn't schedule to bring it to my trusted Porsche of Fremont dealer so I took it over to Bruce and the amazing team at BR Racing to take a look. The guys at BR are extraordinary I must credit, they had a full day's work, a race event to prep for, and yet Bruce set aside a last minute visit by me on short notice (whom he met only for the first time)....His tech Rico spent a good hour plugging into my OBD various diagnosis machines- 3 of them (sorry couldn't recall which is which), but unusually- at BR their readings show "EGR Status" as Not Ready in contrast to the Smog shop's, which showed Catalyst Status -Not Ready (EGR status at the Smog scan was Complete). After running further tests, Rico showed me "pre"-temperatures for both banks being "higher" than the "post"-temperature readings which he explained was odd. At the end of the diagnosis from BR, Bruce suggested that I disconnect the battery, and reconnect it to reset the memory; followed by a Drive Cycle Process and then re-Smog.... I shared with him that my car is still under warranty and that I like to take it to the dealer to see what they find out. Bruce did not charge me a dime (although I insisted for their time and professional courtesy- he refused any payment). Bruce and Rico were very thorough, patient, and true professionals (I must give credit where it's exceptionally due
) ... they will get a lot of German car work from me in the near future that's for sure!!
Next-
I was able to schedule for a 7am appt on Wednesday at Porsche of Fremont and explained everything to the service advisor. Later in the day when I followed up, Gunter informed me they didn't have time to look into the car and all they know was the readings are coming back "EGR NOT READY" and they didn't know why. He indicated that it may be due to my having the Sharkwerks center muffler bypass affecting the back pressure, etc. I found this strange as this bypass was downstream and to date, there has been no reports of the Sharkwerks bypass affecting smog or emissions....
Come Thursday, and I called Gunter to follow up and see if there were any updates - he said that they are waiting to hear back from Porsche .. .. .. (no solution, no information)
Today Friday, I dropped by and visited with Gunter in person with hopes of understanding what's going on and he said they have not yet been able to determine why the "EGR NOT READY" is there and that they are still awaiting information from Porsche... I fully trust Gunter and his expertise along with his team's high level of work, but perhaps it's months end and Porsche of Fremont is busy with more precedent matters, as it boggles me that after 3 full days, there has not been any clue or answers as to what's going on with my car (other than Gunter pointing that the problem may be due to the Sharkwerks bypass I have).
So the wait continues and my car is still at Porsche of Fremont, waiting to see if anything positive comes to light by next week...
I would be interested and most grateful to know if anyone else out there recently had the OBD Smog on their 997.2 car and encountered similar issues they can share (EGR NOT READY reading), and how/if their dealer resolved it in order to pass the Smog. -->BR Racing and I both do not feel it has to do with the Sharkwerks bypass, however, I trust Gunter and at this point I feel oblivious/boggled as to what's going on along with "when" this can be diagnosed and finally resolved..
Thank you for reading about my smog issue and please do share if you have some perspective or similar experiences getting Smogged recently...
(This EGR NOT READY phrase is driving me nuts)
Many thanks in advance,
VG
For starters, I recently took my 09' 997.2 with 29K miles in for my first ever smog (registration renewal purposes) -the CA "SMOG Certification Required" type and I am currently undergoing a frustrating ordeal with no resolve in the forecast...
This last Tuesday, I took my car to an ordinary Smog shop and they used the OBD type to test my car (no longer use the sniffer style smog testers). All the read outs were fine, except "Catalyst Status" came back on the reading 'NOT READY'/'NOT COMPLETE'. The Smog place then told me to print some instructions and perform a Drive Cycle, etc. and come back to re-smog...
Since they were not Porsche people, I didn't trust them, panicked, and rushed to find a trustworthy Porsche specialist for second opinion...
<< As a background my car has been driven 4K miles ranging from street speeds to WOT entering and exiting freeways, etc. since it's annual service back in February at the dealer and to date, never had any CEL's, battery disconnected, or reset of any type done to it since my ownership from 2012 (car was bought CPO with 14K miles on it). My car has a Sharkwerks primary center muffler bypass and Gundo/Fister hacked side mufflers (that is all). >>
I was quite upset and surprised to learn that my car didn't pass its very first Smog due to the Catalyst Status reading NOT READY-not complete (my 20 year old Lexus beater passes smog to this day..). Being last minute, I knew I couldn't schedule to bring it to my trusted Porsche of Fremont dealer so I took it over to Bruce and the amazing team at BR Racing to take a look. The guys at BR are extraordinary I must credit, they had a full day's work, a race event to prep for, and yet Bruce set aside a last minute visit by me on short notice (whom he met only for the first time)....His tech Rico spent a good hour plugging into my OBD various diagnosis machines- 3 of them (sorry couldn't recall which is which), but unusually- at BR their readings show "EGR Status" as Not Ready in contrast to the Smog shop's, which showed Catalyst Status -Not Ready (EGR status at the Smog scan was Complete). After running further tests, Rico showed me "pre"-temperatures for both banks being "higher" than the "post"-temperature readings which he explained was odd. At the end of the diagnosis from BR, Bruce suggested that I disconnect the battery, and reconnect it to reset the memory; followed by a Drive Cycle Process and then re-Smog.... I shared with him that my car is still under warranty and that I like to take it to the dealer to see what they find out. Bruce did not charge me a dime (although I insisted for their time and professional courtesy- he refused any payment). Bruce and Rico were very thorough, patient, and true professionals (I must give credit where it's exceptionally due
) ... they will get a lot of German car work from me in the near future that's for sure!!Next-
I was able to schedule for a 7am appt on Wednesday at Porsche of Fremont and explained everything to the service advisor. Later in the day when I followed up, Gunter informed me they didn't have time to look into the car and all they know was the readings are coming back "EGR NOT READY" and they didn't know why. He indicated that it may be due to my having the Sharkwerks center muffler bypass affecting the back pressure, etc. I found this strange as this bypass was downstream and to date, there has been no reports of the Sharkwerks bypass affecting smog or emissions....
Come Thursday, and I called Gunter to follow up and see if there were any updates - he said that they are waiting to hear back from Porsche .. .. .. (no solution, no information)
Today Friday, I dropped by and visited with Gunter in person with hopes of understanding what's going on and he said they have not yet been able to determine why the "EGR NOT READY" is there and that they are still awaiting information from Porsche... I fully trust Gunter and his expertise along with his team's high level of work, but perhaps it's months end and Porsche of Fremont is busy with more precedent matters, as it boggles me that after 3 full days, there has not been any clue or answers as to what's going on with my car (other than Gunter pointing that the problem may be due to the Sharkwerks bypass I have).
So the wait continues and my car is still at Porsche of Fremont, waiting to see if anything positive comes to light by next week...
I would be interested and most grateful to know if anyone else out there recently had the OBD Smog on their 997.2 car and encountered similar issues they can share (EGR NOT READY reading), and how/if their dealer resolved it in order to pass the Smog. -->BR Racing and I both do not feel it has to do with the Sharkwerks bypass, however, I trust Gunter and at this point I feel oblivious/boggled as to what's going on along with "when" this can be diagnosed and finally resolved..
Thank you for reading about my smog issue and please do share if you have some perspective or similar experiences getting Smogged recently...
(This EGR NOT READY phrase is driving me nuts)
Many thanks in advance,
VG
#2
06-27-2015, 12:12 AM
VG- sorry to hear of this. At this point I would suggest possibly looking for someone that can "pass" it for you. It may cost a bit more , but if it saves the headache maybe weigh your options..go to a local car club meeting or similar cars and coffee and ask around.
#3
06-27-2015, 01:26 AM
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 389
Rep Power: 28 Only thing would be that, say even if I pass smog and get my registration stickers, I will always be wondering if there's an underlying issue as to why there's the EGR NOT READY coming up which no one can find a true fix or answer to..
If you have some friends up here NorCal with a smog shop recommendation that would be most appreciated.
VG
#4
06-27-2015, 01:27 AM
Registered User
This happened to me with a 2000 996 i was selling, i had to drive it almost a 1,000 miles before it finally went out of that "catalyst not ready " BS..it drove me crazy...
#5
06-27-2015, 01:33 AM
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 389
Rep Power: 28
Thanks Tarek, I've put 4,000 miles on it driving varying speeds over the last few months ..not sure how much more driving is needed if in fact that's the solution.
Last edited by vg247; 07-23-2015 at 03:17 PM.
#6
06-29-2015, 10:48 AM
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 389
Rep Power: 28 From what it sounds like, the vehicle needs to have it's OBDII Readiness set, before it is ready to be smogged. We run into this quite often, especially when someone lets their car sit for a long period of time, and the vehicle needs to be jump started - then needs to be smogged.
Two ways to set the OBDII readiness - first and easiest would be to use a Porsche PIWIS/2 tester, and have the readiness set via diagnostic tool. Dealership should be able to do this, although they will most likely charge you for going this route.
Second way, is to perform a drive cycle reset - the difficult part is that there is no set amount of miles to check if the readiness is set, literally it could be from 10 miles of driving all the way to 200 miles. It's free of course, but just takes time.
When one of the two things are done, bring it back to the smog shop and have them check for readiness FIRST, before they do any of the actual smog work.
I know you prefaced this all by saying the car hasn't had it's battery disconnected, etc - but i'm interested to see what the dealership has to say after 3+ days of having your car in their possession.
Good luck, and please let us know how it turns out!
- Jason
Two ways to set the OBDII readiness - first and easiest would be to use a Porsche PIWIS/2 tester, and have the readiness set via diagnostic tool. Dealership should be able to do this, although they will most likely charge you for going this route.
Second way, is to perform a drive cycle reset - the difficult part is that there is no set amount of miles to check if the readiness is set, literally it could be from 10 miles of driving all the way to 200 miles. It's free of course, but just takes time.
When one of the two things are done, bring it back to the smog shop and have them check for readiness FIRST, before they do any of the actual smog work.
I know you prefaced this all by saying the car hasn't had it's battery disconnected, etc - but i'm interested to see what the dealership has to say after 3+ days of having your car in their possession.
Good luck, and please let us know how it turns out!
- Jason
(Btw, I was in Cerritos a few weeks back at that Sheraton)I'll definitely report back what the dealer says today, as whether it's solved or not I am taking the car back in possession before I go overseas tomorrow for a month - will have to deal with it once I'm back (though with expired stickers by then) if nothing is resolved today.
Here's the Smog Report, I had posted over at the RL forum btw.
-What's strange is their report says, "Catalyst NOT Ready" but later at BR Racing and the dealer is saying "EGR Not Ready"
Many thanks, I'll be in touch.
Regards,
VG
Last edited by vg247; 07-23-2015 at 03:14 PM.
#7
10-18-2015, 01:27 PM
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Age: 54
Posts: 2
Rep Power: 0
I'm wondering if this issue was ever resolved.
I failed a smog check this week because the car wasn't ready. I bought a cheap ODBII reader and all of the codes are ready except for the EGR code, which is "NOT READY"
I did replace the car battery, but it was more than a year ago -- and I suspect that I've driven a couple of thousand miles since then. I did read elsewhere that maybe some of the tests require a sustained period below 3k of 3.5k RPM to complete, and that could be the issue for me, so I'm driving the car more and attempting to drive in a more Prius-like manner.
Any insight would be appreciated. I have a completely stock 997.2
I failed a smog check this week because the car wasn't ready. I bought a cheap ODBII reader and all of the codes are ready except for the EGR code, which is "NOT READY"
I did replace the car battery, but it was more than a year ago -- and I suspect that I've driven a couple of thousand miles since then. I did read elsewhere that maybe some of the tests require a sustained period below 3k of 3.5k RPM to complete, and that could be the issue for me, so I'm driving the car more and attempting to drive in a more Prius-like manner.
Any insight would be appreciated. I have a completely stock 997.2
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#8
10-18-2015, 03:52 PM
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Age: 54
Posts: 2
Rep Power: 0
Replying to my own question here.
I did manage to get the EGR test to go to READY. I warmed up the car for 15 minutes from sitting overnight and just completed a 20 mile drive that was 2/3 freeway. I did a few things that would fall outside my normal driving practice that are described in some of the "OBD drive cycle" commentary: (1) I never exceeded 3000 RPM; (2) I coasted to a stop coming off of the freeway a couple of times, only applying the brake at the end; and (3) I let the idle for a few minutes at the end of the drive.
I'm not sure what combination of the above did the trick, but I clearly did something in these last 20 miles that was EGR friendly that I had not done in my previous 2000 miles.
I did manage to get the EGR test to go to READY. I warmed up the car for 15 minutes from sitting overnight and just completed a 20 mile drive that was 2/3 freeway. I did a few things that would fall outside my normal driving practice that are described in some of the "OBD drive cycle" commentary: (1) I never exceeded 3000 RPM; (2) I coasted to a stop coming off of the freeway a couple of times, only applying the brake at the end; and (3) I let the idle for a few minutes at the end of the drive.
I'm not sure what combination of the above did the trick, but I clearly did something in these last 20 miles that was EGR friendly that I had not done in my previous 2000 miles.
I'm wondering if this issue was ever resolved.
I failed a smog check this week because the car wasn't ready. I bought a cheap ODBII reader and all of the codes are ready except for the EGR code, which is "NOT READY"
I did replace the car battery, but it was more than a year ago -- and I suspect that I've driven a couple of thousand miles since then. I did read elsewhere that maybe some of the tests require a sustained period below 3k of 3.5k RPM to complete, and that could be the issue for me, so I'm driving the car more and attempting to drive in a more Prius-like manner.
Any insight would be appreciated. I have a completely stock 997.2
I failed a smog check this week because the car wasn't ready. I bought a cheap ODBII reader and all of the codes are ready except for the EGR code, which is "NOT READY"
I did replace the car battery, but it was more than a year ago -- and I suspect that I've driven a couple of thousand miles since then. I did read elsewhere that maybe some of the tests require a sustained period below 3k of 3.5k RPM to complete, and that could be the issue for me, so I'm driving the car more and attempting to drive in a more Prius-like manner.
Any insight would be appreciated. I have a completely stock 997.2
#9
10-19-2015, 04:54 PM
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Central North Carolina
Posts: 839
Rep Power: 89 
Droughts, mudslides, wildfires, sea snakes, radiation from Japan, Jerry Brown, and California SMOG Certification. I don't know which you deserve more for living there; a medal for bravery or a psychological evaluation! 
#10
11-06-2015, 09:39 PM
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 389
Rep Power: 28
Apologies for the delayed update as I've been overseas, thanks again everyone for their help and input....
My car battery was never disconnected, replaced etc. - what's strange again was it didn't have the EGR READY per the OP above, I drove it over 1k miles at various speeds etc as well...nada nothing, no one could help; then one day I got an OBD reader and randomly the status were all green lights- I took it to the P dealer and smog passed
I'll never figure out what the issues may have been specific to my car, but will anxiously see what's to follow at the next smog registration date in two years- will keep everyone posted then.
Hope all my fellow 6speeders are well!
My car battery was never disconnected, replaced etc. - what's strange again was it didn't have the EGR READY per the OP above, I drove it over 1k miles at various speeds etc as well...nada nothing, no one could help; then one day I got an OBD reader and randomly the status were all green lights- I took it to the P dealer and smog passed
I'll never figure out what the issues may have been specific to my car, but will anxiously see what's to follow at the next smog registration date in two years- will keep everyone posted then.
Hope all my fellow 6speeders are well!
#12
11-07-2015, 07:28 AM
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 389
Rep Power: 28
Mine is an 09' 997.2 pdk
#14
03-31-2017, 09:52 AM
Bumping this old thread, I've got the exact same issue for months and can't pass smog
The smog test is all green besides an "EGR and/or VVT not ready" status. Car is an 09 997.2 with PSE, center bypass, and EVOMSit ECU.
There was an issue with the PSE vacuum _exactly_ as described by this guy with a P1094 code thrown http://rennlist.com/forums/997-forum...078-b2aaa.html
The vacuum leak was fixed, and everything checks out according to my mechanic, though I still have P1094 listed as "permanent code", but no confirmed / pending code when running the smog test, so I'm assuming this code is just remnant and should not interfere, or does permanent code need to be cleared too??
My mechanic thinks at this point it's just a matter of driving car long enough after fixing the vacuum. I've tried to do the proper drive cycle 4 times to no avail. He strongly believes it's an issue with the CATs not getting hot enough for the status to become ready, and next step would be to add heat wrap to them. I trust him but I havent seen any mention of heat wrapping to pass smog in forums.
I've had other opinions, ranging from:
- ECU problem, there is no EGR on car, you need to flash it back to stock. I'm surprised because EVOMSit is most common (those guys give awesome support btw).
- O2 sensor is not working well (but it's been checked, though not replaced)
- Mass air flow sensor problem or intake has leak (but it's been checked too)
- Someone told me if the Leak Detection Module is faulty it could throw a wrench in cycle
vg247, were you following any specific pattern to eventually get your car to go green, e.g. stay under 3000rpm and 60mph for hours??
Thanks folks, I'm going nuts with this.
The smog test is all green besides an "EGR and/or VVT not ready" status. Car is an 09 997.2 with PSE, center bypass, and EVOMSit ECU.
There was an issue with the PSE vacuum _exactly_ as described by this guy with a P1094 code thrown http://rennlist.com/forums/997-forum...078-b2aaa.html
The vacuum leak was fixed, and everything checks out according to my mechanic, though I still have P1094 listed as "permanent code", but no confirmed / pending code when running the smog test, so I'm assuming this code is just remnant and should not interfere, or does permanent code need to be cleared too??
My mechanic thinks at this point it's just a matter of driving car long enough after fixing the vacuum. I've tried to do the proper drive cycle 4 times to no avail. He strongly believes it's an issue with the CATs not getting hot enough for the status to become ready, and next step would be to add heat wrap to them. I trust him but I havent seen any mention of heat wrapping to pass smog in forums.
I've had other opinions, ranging from:
- ECU problem, there is no EGR on car, you need to flash it back to stock. I'm surprised because EVOMSit is most common (those guys give awesome support btw).
- O2 sensor is not working well (but it's been checked, though not replaced)
- Mass air flow sensor problem or intake has leak (but it's been checked too)
- Someone told me if the Leak Detection Module is faulty it could throw a wrench in cycle
vg247, were you following any specific pattern to eventually get your car to go green, e.g. stay under 3000rpm and 60mph for hours??
Thanks folks, I'm going nuts with this.
#15
03-31-2017, 11:32 AM
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 389
Rep Power: 28 Bumping this old thread, I've got the exact same issue for months and can't pass smog
The smog test is all green besides an "EGR and/or VVT not ready" status. Car is an 09 997.2 with PSE, center bypass, and EVOMSit ECU.
There was an issue with the PSE vacuum _exactly_ as described by this guy with a P1094 code thrown http://rennlist.com/forums/997-forum...078-b2aaa.html
The vacuum leak was fixed, and everything checks out according to my mechanic, though I still have P1094 listed as "permanent code", but no confirmed / pending code when running the smog test, so I'm assuming this code is just remnant and should not interfere, or does permanent code need to be cleared too??
My mechanic thinks at this point it's just a matter of driving car long enough after fixing the vacuum. I've tried to do the proper drive cycle 4 times to no avail. He strongly believes it's an issue with the CATs not getting hot enough for the status to become ready, and next step would be to add heat wrap to them. I trust him but I havent seen any mention of heat wrapping to pass smog in forums.
I've had other opinions, ranging from:
- ECU problem, there is no EGR on car, you need to flash it back to stock. I'm surprised because EVOMSit is most common (those guys give awesome support btw).
- O2 sensor is not working well (but it's been checked, though not replaced)
- Mass air flow sensor problem or intake has leak (but it's been checked too)
- Someone told me if the Leak Detection Module is faulty it could throw a wrench in cycle
vg247, were you following any specific pattern to eventually get your car to go green, e.g. stay under 3000rpm and 60mph for hours??
Thanks folks, I'm going nuts with this.
The smog test is all green besides an "EGR and/or VVT not ready" status. Car is an 09 997.2 with PSE, center bypass, and EVOMSit ECU.
There was an issue with the PSE vacuum _exactly_ as described by this guy with a P1094 code thrown http://rennlist.com/forums/997-forum...078-b2aaa.html
The vacuum leak was fixed, and everything checks out according to my mechanic, though I still have P1094 listed as "permanent code", but no confirmed / pending code when running the smog test, so I'm assuming this code is just remnant and should not interfere, or does permanent code need to be cleared too??
My mechanic thinks at this point it's just a matter of driving car long enough after fixing the vacuum. I've tried to do the proper drive cycle 4 times to no avail. He strongly believes it's an issue with the CATs not getting hot enough for the status to become ready, and next step would be to add heat wrap to them. I trust him but I havent seen any mention of heat wrapping to pass smog in forums.
I've had other opinions, ranging from:
- ECU problem, there is no EGR on car, you need to flash it back to stock. I'm surprised because EVOMSit is most common (those guys give awesome support btw).
- O2 sensor is not working well (but it's been checked, though not replaced)
- Mass air flow sensor problem or intake has leak (but it's been checked too)
- Someone told me if the Leak Detection Module is faulty it could throw a wrench in cycle
vg247, were you following any specific pattern to eventually get your car to go green, e.g. stay under 3000rpm and 60mph for hours??
Thanks folks, I'm going nuts with this.