From 27 October 2006, all vehicles will need to pass a visible smoke check in order to get their warrant or certificate of fitness.
Virtually every vehicle owner in New Zealand will need their vehicle to undergo a visible smoke check. At the time your car is tested for its warrant or certificate of fitness, the inspectors will now also check any smoke coming out of the exhaust. They will run the car for five seconds while the engine idles and check for smoke and then increase the engine speed to half its maximum – about 2,500 revs per minute, and again check for smoke.
They are checking to see if the car is emitting clearly visible smoke out of the tail pipe.
A petrol engine out of tune or in need of repair can produce blue smoke and a diesel engine in the same state produces black smoke. Overseas testing shows a strong link between visible exhaust smoke and emission of harmful pollutants. If your car produces clearly visible smoke over five seconds, you will need to have it repaired before you can take it on the road again.
From 27 October 2006, a five-second visible smoke check will be introduced for vehicles as part of warrant/ certificate of fitness inspections. The following are some commonly asked questions, and their answers.
As part of a car's warrant or certificate of fitness, the inspectors will also check the smoke coming out of the exhaust. The vehicles idles for five seconds then accelerates from idle to 2500rpm (or half its maximum engine speed if this is lower) for a further five seconds.
If the engine produces clearly visible smoke for five seconds or more, you will need to have it repaired before it passes its warrant / certificate of fitness.
Visible smoke indicates that the vehicle is not running properly, resulting in increased fuel consumption, higher maintenance costs for the owner and negative effects on the environment. Poorly maintained vehicles can release as much as 10 times the emissions as a well maintained vehicle.
Here's a guide to the types of smoke and possible causes:
| Type of smoke | Diagnosis | Possible causes |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol-powered vehicle | ||
| Black or grey | Incomplete fuel combustion |
|
| Blue | Engine oil being burned |
|
| Diesel-powered vehicle | ||
| Black or grey | Incomplete fuel combustion |
|
| Blue | Engine oil being burned or atomised |
|
| White smoke | Fuel not burning |
|
The test should add less than one minute to your vehicle's warrant of fitness or certificate of fitness inspection.
Costs will be up to individual testing stations and garages. However, any increase in costs should be small because the test takes such a short time and there is no special equipment needed. The main costs are likely to be the repairs to your car if it needs them.
A qualified inspector will observe the smoke coming from your car's exhaust and based on their experience and training, will know if your car has passed that part of the warrant /certificate of fitness.
There will be inspection guidelines and procedures based on successful overseas models and Land Transport New Zealand will work with the inspection industry here to make sure the test is applied fairly and consistently throughout the country.
Your vehicle will need to be repaired before you can drive it on the road again.
If you disagree with the decision to fail your vehicle, please try to first resolve the issue with the inspection organisation concerned. If you are still not satisfied, you may raise a complaint with Land Transport NZ, phone 0800 699 000 or see www.landtransport.govt.nz and download a complaint form.
Vehicle owners should contact their Council to ask what the process for the collection of unwanted vehicles is in their particular area. In many regions, car wrecking firms will collect unwanted vehicles and in some cases may even offer payments. Look in your Yellow Pages under automotive dismantlers.
It's illegal to drive a motor vehicle on the road if it doesn't meet warrant or certificate of fitness requirements, or it doesn't display a valid warrant or certificate of fitness sticker. You must repair your vehicle and obtain a new warrant or certificate of fitness before taking it on the road. However, you are allowed to take your vehicle from the Warrant of Fitness station to a place of repair and back again.
A recent study found only 2% of the petrol vehicles tested emitted visible smoke when idling and since the study made no distinction between a puff of smoke and continuous smoke, it is likely that less than 2% of cars will fail.
As there are many benefits from keeping vehicles well maintained getting a vehicle serviced before the warrant would be a good idea for all drivers.
Studies show that the very worst vehicles are responsible for most of the pollution in our cities. An Auckland study found 10% of vehicles accounted for up to 40% of harmful vehicle exhaust emissions. Removing the smoky vehicles from the road by requiring them to be repaired or retiring them from the road will reduce harmful emissions, without penalising the vast majority of responsible motorists.
Some vehicles, such as older "classic" cars, and those with two-stroke engines, that are otherwise well maintained, may produce a low level of visible smoke because of their design. There will be an acceptable limit for visible smoke to allow for a short puff of smoke that is unavoidable because of the original design of the vehicle. Owners of these types of vehicles may be required to provide proof that the design prevents them from complying. This proof might include original manuals, letters from the manufacturer, or advice from recognised car clubs.
The government is committed to reducing vehicle emissions and improving air quality. The visible smoke test builds on existing measures to reduce vehicle emissions and may pave the way for more sophisticated tests in the future.
Current measures to reduce vehicle emissions include:
The government is also
Exhaust emissions include particulates, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone and benzene. Research suggests the most damaging of these to people’s health and wellbeing are particulates and carbon monoxide.
Particulates are very fine particles that settle in the bronchial pathways and lungs. They make a number of respiratory problems such as asthma and bronchitis much worse and have been associated with premature death.
Carbon monoxide, which is colourless, makes heart disease worse, causes drowsiness and has been linked with learning difficulties. The effects of carbon monoxide are greater in cities where there are high traffic and congestion rates.
Another harmful gas for the environment is carbon dioxide (CO2). It is a greenhouse gas which is being held responsible for climate change. About 40% of our carbon dioxide emissions come from transport, mainly private cars. Transport is one of the biggest growth areas of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions.
Vehicle emissions also reduce visibility because of smog and haze, and stain buildings.
It's estimated that vehicle emissions contribute to the death of nearly 400 New Zealanders every year and that the overall effects cost the country $442 million each year.
Vehicle emissions testing is already in almost all developed countries. Countries that use stationary vehicle smoke checks as part of their emission testing programme include the United Kingdom and several US states, including Nevada and California.
In addition to tuning your car other strategies include like car pooling, riding the bus or a bike to work, and leaving the car at home on short trips and walking instead. When you do use your car, do as much as you can on a single trip. For further information about the fuel economy of your vehicle see the Land Transport NZ Fuelsaver website - www.fuelsaver.govt.nz.
A study prepared for the Ministry of Transport found that driving in congested traffic increased emissions of well maintained petrol vehicles by four or five times that of smooth flowing traffic.
Avoid short trips (less than 3km) – they do not provide enough time for emissions equipment to begin to work properly and can raise emissions by up to 20 times.
For those travelling higher kilometres, especially in the city, an alternative fuel, such as LPG may offer cost savings as well as reducing both harmful and climate related emissions.
Drivers can turn their engines off when they are not using them. Contrary to popular belief it does not harm the engine to turn it off and restart it after it has warmed up. If you are going to be stopped for more than 30 seconds it is a good thing to turn off your engine.
If you are starting your car up in the morning it is not necessary to let it idle any longer than it takes for the engine light on the dash to go off. Driving off slowly will warm the engine just as safely and not waste fuel.
Metering is a way of more exactly measuring exhaust emissions using specialised equipment. It is possible that some form of measuring exhaust emission levels will be introduced in the future. The visible smoke check was chosen as a way of keeping inspection costs down while providing a workable check. It is an inexpensive way of identifying the very worst polluting vehicles on our roads. The visible smoke check will ensure that vehicles entering New Zealand or already on our roads are not heavy polluters.