I guess the thread title is pretty self explanitory but I feel the need to elaborate and give credit where credit is due and the raspberry where it is due...imagine my surprise after having smogged my 2005 996 GT3 twice before (passing easily) and taking it to the same shop in March and having them tell me they can't smog the car because it does not pass the readiness reset....this was likely due to a recent battery replacement...it wouldn't have been an issue except the lovely State of California changed smog requirements and as usual their good intentions had unexpected consequences....in any event I sought advice on this forum (seemed like a good idea at the time) and a member said he had the same issue and that I should take it to the smog referee...so I made an appointment, which was two weeks later, and I show up and the referee says "what are you doing here?" So, I explained that I didn't have a readiness reset and I was told on the forum to bring it to the referee...the referee said sorry, if you don't show a readiness condition we won't even look at the car....suffering this setback and embarrassment I made an appointment with the local dealer and accepted my fate that I might be out a few hundred bucks to get the reset...it was my understanding at the time that the dealer could force a reset with a PIWIS tool...wrong again...when I took the car to the dealer I requested that a specific tech work on the car that I know is a competent Porsche mechanic...I didn't find out until later, after they told me they could not force a reset, that they had an inexperienced tech do the work on my car...they also gave it back to me after the oil/filter change a quart low...I don't mean one bar low...it was two bars low....so I vowed I would never take it back to them again....so...after the dealer told me they could not force a reset I started to mistakenly suspect the GIAC flash I had done ten years ago...I talked to Austin at GIAC and he went completely out of his way to help me...TEN YEARS LATER....How is that for customer service...he had his engineers check the programming and told me there was nothing in the flash that would prevent a readiness reset....I also want to give a shout out to Richard at Infinite Auto Tech in San Jose for all his help....anyone looking for an independent Porsche tech in the South Bay should give Richard a call...I could have saved myself some time here if I would have totally accepted what Austin told me but I was hung up on the dealer telling me they couldn't force a reset and had convinced myself that somehow the flash was preventing a readiness reset...so, I chased my tail for a while and accomplished nothing...all this time, about three months, I'm driving the car without registration (paid the fees but couldn't smog and get current tags)...fortunately I didn't get stopped...After the April dealer service I had filled out a customer survey from PMNA and told them about the failed readiness reset, different tech than the one requested and incomplete oil change and I guess it did some good cause the dealer called and was all apologetic...I was promised that the requested tech would work on my car, get a readiness reset and there would be no charge...I'm still in shock since I got my car back this evening, with a readiness reset...I'm not posting this to evidence an old mans ineptitude...the only purpose is the hope to save other members from a similar fate...know the techs at the dealer that work on your car and when you find a good one ALWAYS specify that you want that tech to work on your car...otherwise you are likely to get an inexperienced Audi tech working on your GT3

 

Similiar issue when purchasing my wife's used '09 S cab, picked it up at a Lexus dealer and they could not smog the vehicle due to the ready issue. They let me take the vehicle anyway since I've purchased several cars from them over the years.

Took it next door to my friends at Fletcher Jones Porsche, Gunter a pcar master and gentleman explained that these do not have EGR and that triggers the not ready issue, there is a sequence. I had them do once over before the CPO was up and the smog, passed no problems.

 

Thanks TJ...all would have been fine if the dealer had given the car to the tech I asked for in the first place...there is no substitute for knowledge and experience with these cars...anyone who does a battery change might be in for a nasty surprise when they go to get smog next time...two tips...get your hands on an obdII scan tool and check for readiness when smog is coming due...then get the car good and hot before you take it in for smog...will shorten the time the DMV reader needs to check ok and you will be on your way sooner

 

I know you are a mod and all...but your post really hurt my head

 

Sorry, not my intention...the three month hell the dealer put me through hurt my head too

 

Had this "cycle readiness" issue with my E46M3 too...its not fun to do the readiness tests (especially in LA).

Took me multiple attempts to get all the monitors set to ready. Had to wake up really early and do it before traffic. Drove all the way up to the 15 on the 5 under 60mph (and 3000 rpm).

It's incredible the morons that drive around here that got on my bumper after I repeatedly turned on my flashers (with plenty of space to pass on my left).

 

Ha...I did the same thing in the middle of the night a couple of times, but didn't get a reset and had lots of cars and big trucks flashing lights and climbing my bumper...no fun at all

 

You make me appreciate how lucky I was. I did a battery change on my old GT2 and .. you guessed it. I read a lot about the procedures one must go through to clear it all and decided to just put a few miles on it [quite a few] and it all reset without me having to tear what little remaining hair I have out.

I am mainly writing to thank GT3 Chuck for posting this and to advise that I think it is very important with the modern cars and our wonderful CA BAR we can only expect more of this.. so.. at the very least BUY an OBD II code reader or get a Durametric. I now have both and consider them money well spent.

One last thing: On both my 6-2 and my wife' 987S the testing connector for the OBD II port was a very tight fit at the smog shop. If it isn't making good contact make sure it is pushed in with enough force for you to hear the "snap" as it goes home.

best,
JR

 

Thank you GT3 Chuck for sharing the details of your smog ordeal and Testjet for chiming in about Fletcher Jones Porsche and Gunter, who I believe is an exceptional gentleman and Porsche expert indeed.

First off I apologize for the long winded post coming up, and also I realize this is not the "997" forum but I recently took my 09' 997.2 with 29K miles in for my first ever smog for registration renewal -the CA "SMOG Certification Required" type and I am currently undergoing a similar ordeal with no resolve in the forecast... (a search brought up this thread)...

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.

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 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. My car has a Sharkwerks primary center muffler bypass and Gundo 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 a 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 in Germany .. .. .. (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 over 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).

**-->TestJet, I wonder if my problem is different from your wife's 09' cab, as it sounds like Gunter took care of it easily and right at once...

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 to know if anyone else out there recently had the OBD Smog and encountered similar issues they may 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 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)

-btw, I will post this on the 997 forum hopefully to gain more feedback (hope you don't mind Chuck for my cross-posting under the circumstances)

Many thanks,

VG

 

So glad I don't have to deal with this BS over in Nevada.

 

A lot more porsche dealers are getting into the volume game with associated dealerships. So they have more non Porsche techs working on the cars with no clue. I had one tell me... I just started on porsches and am a Jag man. This was the lead tech. When i asked for a gold tech ( they didnt have one working there) the one guy they let ride agreed with me on the issue. He got shot down because they dont like being wrong. PCNA stepped in and they had to.

 

With the smog or the dealer. You enjoy Gaudin. Why dont you ask them where the owner gets his car serviced. Hint: its not at his dealership

 

Had the same exact problem with my 2005 Mustang GT. Went through a week of daily hell-visits to my smog shop because of this dumbass "readiness" issue.

 

Thanks everyone for chiming in- back in town and hope to get this resolved asap-- will provide an update here soon.


Chris- did you resolve the above via performing "drive cycles" or ??

 

The first set of issues were due to my custom tune having the O2 sensors disabled by default. We hadn't noticed this until I checked the damn tune files and realized it.

The second set of errors were due to the battery being reset right after the new tunes were installed. I drove around for ~25 minutes at 55mph, went back to the shop, and passed the test.