If you want to prove that your vehicle is safe for the road and the environment, you will have to pass a car emissions check in Hayward, Fremont and Sunnyvale. This will ensure that the emissions from your car are no more harmful than they are legally allowed to be. Unfortunately, many drivers fail to properly prepare their cars for emission testing, which keeps them immobile and unable to drive their cars as intended. If you do not want to make the same mistakes, keep reading to learn about the most common reasons cars fail emissions checks.

Air Injection System Problems

When your vehicle burns fuel in order to run, it propels byproducts in the form of gaseous emissions from the tailpipe. Two types of harmful emissions are hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. Your vehicle is equipped with an air injection system that seeks to reduce the amount of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide presented into the air by moving clean air through the engine’s exhaust. If your air injection system is malfunctioning, however, your vehicle will continue to produce these harmful emissions at full force. Always fix a faulty air injection system before arranging for an emission check or you will likely fail the test.

Oxygen Sensor Malfunction

The oxygen sensor is another important component of your vehicle, and its proper functioning can help you pass your emissions check. A working oxygen sensor will reliably detect the amount of oxygen present in your exhaust gas. You might run into a number of complications if this component malfunctions. In addition to more potent pollutants coming from your vehicle, you may also experience overheating and diminished acceleration. Check the status of your oxygen sensor before having your emissions tested.

Vacuum Leaks

Many drivers end up failing their emissions checks because of undetected leaks in their car’s vacuum. When your manifold absolute pressure (MAP) sensor fails, you will have an inaccurate sense of the status of your engine’s electronic control system. This can lead to vacuum leaks that allow excessive amounts of pollutants to escape the car, causing you to fail your emissions test.