If your car or truck is showing a check engine light, you're going to want to have it diagnosed before you have the vehicle officially inspected. After all, the light might be signaling a serious issue that may end up putting your safety and the safety of your passengers at risk.
While an official vehicle safety inspection is a requirement (in some states, at least), you should realize that it goes far beyond satisfying a bureaucratic mandate. This process actually helps ensure the safety of motorists by weeding out vehicles that fall short of roadworthiness.
If your car or truck emits a strong fuel smell, you're going to want to have it looked at before you bring it in for official scrutiny. Chances are the inspector will flag the issue, and this may cause the vehicle to fail the inspection.
If you smell fumes in your vehicle, it is very important to have the exhaust system inspected as soon as possible. Chances are there's a leak somewhere that's allowing exhaust gases to escape the pipes and enter the vehicle's cabin.
While your vehicle's seatbelt is very effective, its supplemental restraint system or SRS (aka airbags) helps increase survivability even further. As such, any warning light that signals an SRS fault should be checked out by a qualified mechanic to ensure that the system remains functional.
If your older vehicle is a bit rough around the edges, it would be a good idea to delay official inspection until you can work out any defects. Doing so will give your car or truck a better chance of passing scrutiny, saving you the hassle and cost of getting it re-inspected.
When bringing your car in for an inspection, among the things that an inspector will check are your turn signals. Simple as they are, these components are among the most crucial when it comes to safety, so it's important that they're fully functional at all times.
One of the issues that you have to correct before you bring your vehicle in for an inspection is suspension alignment. Though it's hard to tell just by looking at components, a misaligned suspension may become apparent when the wear on the tires is scrutinized.
If you want to make sure that your older vehicle passes inspection the first time around, it might be worth your while to have a competent mechanic look it over. This "dress rehearsal" should allow you to address any flaws still present that may cause you to fail official scrutiny.
Aside from giving you the privilege of registering your vehicle (in states that require inspections), having your car or truck inspected also adds to your convenience. Because such inspections uncover hidden faults, your vehicle is less likely to break down and will, therefore, be more reliable.
One of the more important safety features of a modern vehicle is its anti-lock braking system (ABS). As such, it's crucial to have the car or truck inspected when the ABS warning light shows up because this likely means that the system is no longer doing its job.
When inspecting your vehicle's brake system, among the components a mechanic will check are your brake rotors. These discs are what the brake pads grab onto. Over time, they will wear out and become much thinner than they should be.
If you happen to be from the state of Delaware, you're going to need to have your vehicle pass an official safety inspection every year. However, if your car or truck is new, the vehicle is exempt from this policy for five years for as long as it stays with its original owner.
While mandatory annual vehicle inspections can be a hassle, they do serve an important purpose. Such requirements ultimately ensure that the roads are made safer and cleaner because the vehicles driving on them are on par with official standards.
If your vehicle is suffering from intermittent electrical faults, you're going to want to have these fixed before you have the car or truck inspected. After all, these gremlins might just decide to pop up at an inconvenient time and cause your vehicle to fail.
Tires are consumable components, so it's important to give them a once over before you subject your vehicle to a government-mandated inspection. Taking your chances with bad tires isn't something you should do because they will cause the vehicle to fail the check.
A new vehicle may be exempted from government inspection but only up to a certain point. Utah, for instance, requires vehicles to be inspected when they get to four, eight, and ten years and annually thereafter.
If a vehicle inspector discovers that your car or truck has burned out bulbs, this doesn’t mean that you’ll automatically fail the check. More often than not, these inspectors will offer to change the defective bulbs (for a fee, of course) so they can give the vehicle a passing mark.
Air pollution is certainly a major concern, so some states mandate emissions checks. Arizona, Delaware, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin, for instance, require vehicle owners to get this done every two years.
A mandatory vehicle safety inspection isn’t something you should underestimate, so you’re going to want to come in fully prepared. Typically, an inspector will poke around quite thoroughly, so something as trivial as defective wiper blades may cause the vehicle to fail.
Before you can register your car or truck, you may be required to submit it for inspection. Such a process aims to ensure that the vehicle conforms to all applicable standards and regulations and will not present a hazard to anyone on the road.
Before you proceed with a mandatory vehicle inspection, it would be a good idea to have someone qualified give your car or truck a once over first. This will allow you to uncover potential deficiencies that you may not be aware of but could nonetheless cause the vehicle to fail.
