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1.
How is the Drive Clean test done?
2.
How much will a Drive Clean test cost?
3.
Which vehicles are required to be tested?
4.
How much is the Repair Cost Limit?
Other questions can be answered here:
http://www.driveclean.com |
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How is the Drive Clean
test done? |
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At an accredited Drive
Clean facility, an emissions inspector will drive your car or
light-duty truck onto a dynamometer. This machine is like a
treadmill that allows the vehicle to be "driven" on one spot at
different speeds.
A probe is placed in the tailpipe of
your vehicle. The probe is connected to a gas analyzer and computer,
which can measure the concentration of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and
hydrocarbons (HC), which includes volatile organic compounds, and
carbon monoxide (CO).
Your vehicle is accelerated to a
steady speed of 40 km per hour. Several emissions readings are taken
and then averaged by the computer during this driving simulation.
The simulated driving conditions result in measurements of NOx, HC
and CO. Then, when the vehicle is returned to idle, the emissions
are measured again, in what is called a “curb idle” test. The idle
portion of the test measures HC and CO.
The test results will be compared by
a Drive Clean computer to emissions standards for the vehicle and
its model year. For example, if you drive a 1990 model car, it will
be tested against 1990 emissions standards with an allowance for
vehicle deterioration.
For additional details:
Click here to visit the Drive
Clean web site |
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How much will a Drive Clean test cost? |
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Ontario's Drive Clean program sets the maximum fee that may be charged for light-duty vehicle emissions tests and re-tests. The maximum fee for a test is $35. If your vehicle does not meet emissions standards on its initial test, you will require a re-test. The maximum re-test fee is $17.50. You can have up to two re-tests at $17.50 each after repairs, if they are conducted at the same facility as the initial test. All applicable taxes are extra. |
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Which vehicles are required to be tested? |
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Most passenger cars, vans, light trucks and sport utility vehicles in the Drive Clean program area must pass a Drive Clean test to renew the stickers on their licence plates.
As of January 1, 2006, Drive Clean regulations require testing every two years for light-duty vehicles beginning when they are five years old (in the fifth calendar year after their model year) rather than when they are three years old (in the third calendar year after their model year). This means that testing begins with 2001 model vehicles in 2006, and 2002 model vehicles in 2007.
The exemption for 20-year-old light-duty vehicles is ending as we begin to focus more on the vehicles most likely to pollute. All cars, 1988 model year and newer, will require emissions testing until they are taken out of service. These vehicles would have had their last test for registration renewal in 2007, when they were 19 years old. They will now need to continue to be tested in 2009 and ever two years after that.
For additional information on when
your test is due:
Click here for the Drive Clean
web site |
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How much is the Repair Cost Limit? |
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The Repair Cost Limit sets a maximum of $450 that must be spent on emissions-related repairs if a vehicle fails its Drive Clean test. This maximum applies throughout the Drive Clean light-duty vehicle program area, the southern Ontario smog zone.
The RCL was set at $200 for the first two years in each Drive Clean Phase area, and then increased to $450. In Drive Clean’s Phase 3 area, where mandatory emissions testing began on July 1, 2002, the increase took effect July 1, 2004. Phase 3 covers eastern Ontario and centres such as Ottawa, Kingston and Cornwall, and part of southwestern Ontario, including Chatham-Kent.
The RCL rose from $200 to $450 in the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton (Phase 1) on June 30, 2001 and in urban centres and their commuting zones in central and southwestern Ontario (Phase 2) on January 1, 2003. |
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