[How To] Read The Under The Hood Emissions Label | 2022

What's up guys, Oscar Gomez here from Master Automotive Training, smartautotraining.com. Are you a smog tech or a student going to smog school? Better yet, are you at home just wanting to learn more about your car? Go ahead and stay tuned guys, I'm going to show you guys step by step on how to read an emissions label. Go ahead and grab your tools guys, let's get ready, let's hit it. Alright guys, so the first label we're going to go ahead and break down is a pre-2006. After 2006, the EPA came out with a new setup for the actual label, so we're going to start with the old one first. So always the first thing you want to do when you're looking at the label is first identify the year of the actual vehicle. So if you notice here in this text here in the center, this vehicle conforms to US, EPA and California regulations applicable to 1996 model year. So this means that this is a 1996 model year. You can always verify that with the 10th character on the VIN or you can look on the door jamb label just to verify the manufacture year. The next thing we want to pay attention to is notice this one says EPA, US, EPA and California. California emission regulations always supersede federal emissions, which would be US, EPA. Because it says US, EPA and California, you're going to say this vehicle is California emissions certified. Also too, if you look right below that, it says this vehicle is OBD2 certified and certified to meet the exhaust emission standards certification for California. So this means that this vehicle is OBD2 certified, which started in 1996. So obviously this vehicle would be part of the OBD2 type vehicles. Next thing we're going to look at here is right here at the bottom. We can read that this vehicle has TWC, HO2S and EGR and SFI. So this would mean that it has one 3-way catalytic converter, one heated O2 sensor, an exhaust gas recirculation valve or EGR and sequential fuel injection. So these are the emission components that you would look for to try to identify on this specific vehicle. Also Ford usually puts it in pretty big writing and says here that this vehicle is equipped with a catalyst. So it's there in your face so it's letting you know this vehicle does have a catalytic converter. Right above that, you can see that it says 2.3 liter. That means this vehicle is a 2.3 liter engine. Right next to that is 1FM1045AYPBA. That is the EPA's engine family certification. So that means that this engine, that is the number that was issued to it by the EPA for its emissions and engine certification. That engine family digit or information can be used by parts manufacturers, parts house to know what components are specifically installed on this vehicle. There will be a video later on down the road where I am going to break down how to look at these engine family numbers so this way you guys have an idea of what we're referring to. Also to it, it also displays just the spark plug gap and spark plug number just in case you need to replace them but that's not important for smog check purposes or for any type of maintenance information you might need for your vehicle. Also too, during the smog check process, the smog machine will ask you if the ignition timing and idle speed are adjustable. The one thing you always want to look for is, notice it says this vehicle is equipped with electronic engine control systems. Engine idle speed, idle mixture, and ignition timing are not adjustable. That would mean that this vehicle is computer controlled 100%. If idle speed is too high or too low, there's nothing you can do about it. It's all computer controlled. The computer is the one who's designating that information and setting that information to the RPM wherever it wants it based off of these sensor inputs. If the idle speed is too high, then the PCM usually will set a trouble code for it to let you know or let the driver know there's a problem that needs to get addressed. Alright guys, so now that we've looked at the labels pre-2006, let's take a look at the labels after 2006. So the first thing I want you guys to look at is this vehicle conforms to 2014 MY. So that means that this is a 2014 model year vehicle. So obviously it's going to be a lot easier to pinpoint the information as you guys can tell there's a lot less information on the label, easier to read, and easier to identify. Again this is a 2014 model year vehicle. The next thing we're going to notice is it says U.S. EPA T2B5LDV OBD CA2 Fuel Gasoline. Right below that it says California ULEV2 PC OBD is California 2 Fuel Gasoline. This means under U.S. federal law, this is a light duty vehicle with OBD2 system in California compliance. In California, this vehicle is considered an ultra low emission vehicle tier 2 passenger car with California tier 2 OBD2 emissions with a gasoline type fuel system. Again, because we do have a California certification, this would indicate that this vehicle is California emission certified. If it only said U.S. EPA light duty vehicle OBD2 California tier 2 OBD2 certified and under California it said not applicable or not for sale in California, then this vehicle would not have California specific emissions. Right below that you notice that it says no adjustments needed. So all the controls on this vehicle are in fact computer controlled. Ignition timing, RPM, idle mixture, that is all computer controlled. If they're high or out of spec, you will have a check engine light for it and that would cause a vehicle to fail at that point. It's out of your control if the RPM is high, you can't control that because it is computer controlled. Following that on the right hand side, you can see the emission components located on this vehicle. We have DFI, direct fuel injection, heated O2, HO2S, apostrophe 2, so that means we're looking for 4 heated oxygen sensors. Right after that we have WTWC which is a warm up 3 way catalytic converter, usually a little bit smaller and usually in the front. And then we have followed by a 3 way catalytic converter. So this vehicle, if you're doing a visual inspection, you should be planning on seeing 2 catalytic converters. One smaller one in the front and one normal size in the rear. And that again dictates the emission configuration for this specific vehicle. On the group and the EVAP group, you can notice that our group or engine family is EKMX V02.44HE. So this would mean that this is a 2.4 liter vehicle because we see a 2.4 here in the center of the engine family. It's not listed separately so that's the one we're going to go based off of. The EVAP family located below that again is a standard or a stamp that's issued by the EPA. We will be getting into that in a different video. And that's it guys. These labels are very simple to read, very basic and a lot easier to understand. I know a lot of my students and a lot of technicians in the field have had more trouble with the older version, the pre-2006, than the newer version, the post-2006 labels. I hope this video was really helpful for you guys. If you guys like it, make sure you guys give it a great thumbs up. And that's it guys. By looking at the under the hood label, it gives you a general idea of what emission components are on the vehicle for you to make a better decision. Is this component on the car or not? And then you can pass it if you need to if you're doing a smog inspection or to give you the information you need just to know more about your car. If the information made sense to you, go ahead and comment down below which part of the emissions label was the easiest for you to read. Go ahead and comment that right now. If you like this information and you want to help others in the industry as well, make sure you guys are sharing it, make sure you guys are liking it, and make sure you're subscribing so this way you can get the top of the top, creme de la creme, the best information out there in the smog industry today. Also too guys, I put a link down below if you guys are looking for an acronym sheet for the most common acronyms on the emissions label, go ahead and click on that link so that way you can get your free PDF about it. Guess what? It's 100% free. As always guys, a good technician is always learning. Signing off here, Oscar Gomez, SmartAutoTraining.com.