On Board Diagonostics (obd-ii) And Emission Test

luxurycars · September 19, 2008

I bought a 97 LS400 from a Lexus dealer last month with 93000 miles and I guess that the car is in a decent shape. The car is registered in IL. The Lexus dealer showed me a hard copy of the detailed service record for this car. What is missing is the emission test all through the previous ownership and this surprises me. Literally, it seems to me that there was no emission test done at all as it also reflects in the carfax report. When I asked the dealer about this, I was told that if the car is compatible with the IL emission standards in order to issue new title, registration and new plates. And, since I have all of these issued by the state during purchase, the dealer says it should be fine. But, I dont have a single paper that shows the car had undergone emission test at lest once in its entire life. Though I'm okay with the car's general performance, this thing still bugs me. In addition, I'm moving to a different state in a few weeks that does not require emission to be done. With this, the Lexus dealer in IL says that I should'nt worry about this as the other state does not require emission test for this car.

In the interim, I wanted to have a voluntary emission test done before I leave IL. I called up the local emission test center (EPA) but they said that they could'nt find my car's details (VIN and plate number) in their system and the testing cannot be done. The dealer says that state is very slow and takes a lot of time for the update. By then, i had to leave IL with all sort of vague responses from all side.

To have a thorough check and peace of mind, I'm planning to conduct an"On board diagnostics (OBD-II)" to uncover hidden problems if any. With this, i hope the proper functioning of the emission system and the physical presence of catalytic converter could also be determined. Has anyone done this before? If yes, can I still to a Toyota dealership or only Lexus? what would be the typical cost? Please advice.

I'm sorry for the long post. Your input is welcome. Thanks

Edited September 19, 2008 by luxurycars