My 2000 Sonata flunked the California smog test. I have a code reader, which showed no stored codes. I failed to note that three of the monitors had completed their sequences.
I took it into the smog shop, where it passed all the emissions requirements, but failed due to a loose, leaking hose between the two valve covers, which had prevented one of the monitors from completing, and failed the visual inspection.
I replaced the hose, then ran the two drive cycles to satisfy the monitors that all the sensors had been put through their tests and had replied properly. Again, there were no stored codes.
The monitors can do their thing eventually just from normal driving. However, they need lots of that normal driving, and when one's in a hurry, one does the drive cycles.
I understand that Hyundai won't release these routines. I was able to find them a few years ago. I had a long phone conversation with a guy at the State air resources board, who recommended that I go into a smog shop and check their copy of _Motor's Drive Cycles._ And, lo, therein I found the slow and fast cycles for a whole range of Hyundais of many years.
Performing these tests is quite a challenge, especially if there's any traffic on the road, red lights, or stop signs. It's pretty hair-raising and takes two people, one to read the instructions out loud and hold the stopwatch; the other to drive the car.
There are 15 and 16 steps on each of the two drive cycles. Here is one of them from the _highway_ routine: "Accelerate moderately. Drive at 20-25 mph for 20 seconds. Increase speed to 40-55 for 85 seconds, then decelerate to 0 over
60 seconds. Idle 15 seconds." Now, just visualize how you will carry this out on a hilly, curvy two-lane road with some shoulders, light (but real) traffic, a couple of traffic lights, and three stop signs, all the time looking in the mirror for oncoming vehicles.I made lots of errors, especially by overrunning the top speeds of the steps and misjudging the alotted time for each accelerate/decelerate interval.
Amazingly, all three of the outstanding monitors were satisfied. And I passed the (free) re-test.
This is the second time I've had to do this. I discussed the wild ride with the smog technician. He said that VWs and Nissans have cycles that are just as insane. I figured that nobody can perform these tests safely or accurately on real roads, and that they can only be done, practically, on test tracks or dynamometers (just like our smog stations now are required to use).
The shop owner said that she's never heard of anyone running these routines on a dynamometer, and there not many test tracks in my neighborhood.
So, if a person needs to get these monitors completed and doesn't have the time to do 100 miles of regular driving, what's a rational way to perform these routines?
I'm truly stumped.