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News Release 622
GATEWAY VEHICLE INSPECTION PROGRAM SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETES ONE YEAR OF TESTING
Volume 36-622 |
Contact: Renee Bungart |
(For immediate release) |
573-751-4465 |
JEFFERSON CITY, MO, OCT. 2, 2008 -- The Gateway Vehicle Inspection Program has successfully completed one year of testing. Since Oct. 1, 2007, licensed inspection stations have performed more than 750,000 on-board diagnostics emissions tests at 736 public testing locations in the St. Louis nonattainment area. The department continues to assist area motorists through the process and provide oversight of the repair shops conducting the test.
"It is encouraging to see the success of this program, in terms of protecting air quality in the St. Louis area and motorist convenience,” said Leanne Tippett Mosby, deputy division director for the Division of Environmental Quality. “More than 99 percent of the vehicles that fail the test are successfully repaired, which reduces the harmful emissions that contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone in the St. Louis area. We have smoothly transitioned from an emissions test-only program with limited locations to a more convenient and effective emissions test and repair program with more than 700 locations in the St. Louis nonattainment area. These results are phenomenal.”
The department recognizes the combined efforts of its own staff, St. Louis area motorists and repair shops, Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the state contractor, SysTech International, in achieving this success.
While motorist convenience has increased dramatically with the added testing locations, their biggest challenge continues to be readiness monitor resets after vehicle repairs. A vehicle’s OBD system uses various readiness monitors to determine whether any problems are occurring that could require the Malfunction Indicator Lamp to illuminate and a diagnostic trouble code to be stored. Setting the monitors to Completed or Ready can usually be accomplished through a combination of city and highway driving over a three to five day period. To assist motorists with this step, a new law became effective in late August allowing motorists to operate vehicles for 30 days beyond the vehicle's registration expiration without current registrations for the sole purpose of resetting emissions Readiness monitors to pass the on-board diagnostic emissions test. For more information about readiness monitor resetting see the On-Board Diagnostics Fact Sheet, check the Owner’s Manual, or consult a repair technician.
Motorists with questions about their test are encouraged to contact the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Inspection and Maintenance Section at 314-416-2115 or 800-361-4827 or by
e-mail at imunit@dnr.mo.gov. The state's contractor, SysTech International LLC, continues to provide technical support to all participating shops. Auto shops that encounter technical problems are encouraged to contact SysTech by calling 1-866-OBD-TEST (623-8378).
Participating station information can be found on the program’s Web site at www.GatewayVIP.com. Each station's name, location and phone number are included on the Web site. Motorists can also look for an auto shop near them with the Gateway Vehicle Inspection Program blue reflective sign displayed with the yellow Missouri Official Vehicle Inspection Station sign. When searching the Web, motorists can choose a shop list by zip code or by city. The department recommends motorists call an inspection station prior to visiting the station.
Local auto shops are testing 1996 and newer gasoline-powered vehicles and 1997 and newer diesel-powered vehicles registered in the St. Louis ozone nonattainment area using on-board diagnostics equipment. Model year vehicles 1995 and older are exempt from the emissions testing requirements, as they do not contain the OBD equipment necessary for testing. However, safety inspections are still required biennially for all model years. The nonattainment area includes the city of St. Louis and Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles and St. Louis counties.
The Gateway Vehicle Inspection Program is jointly administered by the Department of Natural Resources and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The program is a key component of the ongoing effort to improve air quality in the St. Louis region.
For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.
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