I just bought a 2006 Prius (a private transaction) and went to get it inspected in Washington DC. The system kicked out at negative test result: "OBD Result: Monitors Not Ready: Evaporative System, Oxygen Sensor." Reading between the lines of what the Inspector told me, it might not be a big deal to re-set the monitor. The official advice was to go to a mechanic and find out "how to drive the car in order to get the computer to re-set". Everything is easy when you know how. Does anyone here have an idea that would save me an inconvenient trip to a dealer out in the suburbs? Thanks - Hkd
You need to complete two OBD trips. Let the car warm up, then drive at 55 mph for 10 minutes. Shut off and repeat. But this is a really bad sign, as it implies that the seller reset the check engine light just before you bought it.
Thanks very much. Kindly elaborate: what is the implication of the seller having reset the 'check engine' light?
Such as, it has an EVAP leak or bad O2 sensor or catalytic converter or it sat too long and the 12V battery went dead.
Hopefully the seller just did a clear for no specific reason. It, as Seilerts said, may indicate that the seller was hiding a problem with the car. If no codes come back after driving for several trips, then any problem would likely be minor and you'll pass the retest. JeffD
In this case I don't think the seller was being intentionally deceptive and, after taking Seilert's advice, the car passed inspection. Thanks very much - Hkd
