Ontario's Drive Clean Program
Clean air is a priority for Superior Tire Auto Fitness Centres and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. In the most populated regions of Ontario, air quality is affected by many local provincial, national and global influences. Smog, that brown haze formed in the lower atmosphere, created by the interaction of volatile organic compounds and oxides, is known to initiate and exacerbate many respiratory complaints.
Transportation is one of the leading sources of smog precursors within Ontario. This source is being addressed by the initiation of a mandatory vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program to be known as Drive Clean. Inspection and maintenance programs are considered to be one of the most cost-effective initiatives available to reduce smog and produce additional benefits which will result from reducing these harmful toxic emissions.
The overall aim of the Drive Clean Program is to ensure that motor vehicles on Ontario roads emit as few pollutants as possible. Studies have shown that one malfunctioning vehicle can emit pollutants equivalent to as many as 50 vehicles meeting current new vehicle emission standards.
The Drive Clean Program will ensure that the various emission control components on motor vehicles are functioning within defined parameters by requiring official inspections every two years, a condition for vehicle registration renewal and transferring ownership.
Introduction
The Ministry of the Environment has established standards of qualification and performance to be adhered to by Drive Clean Test and Repair Facilities and the personnel affiliated with those facilities, such as participating Superior Tire Auto Fitness Centres, who will interact with the public, perform inspections and conduct repairs on failed vehicles.
The Ministry of the Environment intends that only accredited facilities will be clearly identifiable to the public as being accredited to perform Drive Clean services by allowing only these facilities to display the Drive Clean name and logo, therefore designating them as approved facilities by the Ministry. Non-approved facilities will be prevented from displaying any signs or using any advertising that implies that they are approved facilities.
Goals
- Reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds by up to 62,000 tons a year; reduce carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles by up to 900,000 tons, and; reduce microscopic particulates by 220 tons a year
- High standards of customer service and public acceptance
- Zero tolerance of fraud
Features
- Initial test fee at Superior Tire & Auto Centres and other approved facilities will be set at a maximum of $35.00, plus applicable taxes. If both GST and PST are payable, the maximum out-of pocket charge to the motorist $40.25. (PST is only applicable if it is included on the invoice for repairs).
- Re-tests will cost a maximum of $17.50 plus applicable taxes. Owners whose vehicles fail their initial Drive Clean inspection will be eligible for up to two $17.50 re-tests as long as they return to the same facility that performed the initial, failed inspection and submit repair information supported by receipt(s) and/or work order(s). If the vehicle owner cannot supply repair information or receipts, the test will be considered as the initial test and the full test fee of $35.00 is payable.
- Vehicles repaired by Superior Tire & Auto Centres or other accredited Test-and-Repair or Repair-Only facilities are eligible for a maximum repair cost limit of $450.00 (plus applicable taxes) for registration renewal. As long as an accredited repair facility completes and endorses the Repair Data Forms confirming that all possible repair cost limits have been completed, the vehicle will receive at least a Conditional Pass. In other words, even though the vehicle still fails, the owner will be able to renew their license plate permit.
- In the event of ownership transfer that requires a Safety Standards Certificate (SSC), (e.g. the owner sells the vehicle), the new owner will not be able to license the vehicle until it has passed the inspection. (The $450.00 repair cost limit DOES NOT APPLY - A CONDITIONAL PASS IS NOT VALID FOR RESALE OR OWNERSHIP TRANSFER WHERE AN SSC IS REQUIRED).
- The repair cost limit of $450.00 (plus applicable taxes) is a maximum, not a minimum. Although it is intended that vehicles requiring extensive repairs have as close as possible to $450.00 worth of repairs performed before being allowed to obtain a Conditional Pass, there will be circumstances under which this simply is not possible. Such cases would be ones where the vehicle requires major engine repairs or it needs a single component such as an air flow meter that costs more than $450.00 by itself. In these cases the customer may be required to spend no more that the diagnostic fee.
- The Repair Data Form (endorsed by a Certified Drive Clean Repair technician) must indicate the repairs that were performed and the "excess cost" item(s) that would put the total cost over the $450.00 limit. Repairs performed and recommended repairs beyond the $450.00 limit are recorded and entered into the database separately from information on the Repair Data Forms supplied.
- There may be other cases in which the parts necessary to repair a certain vehicle type may no longer be available, making it impossible to effect repairs. In cases such as this, the vehicle owner will be eligible for a Conditional Pass after taking their vehicle to an accredited repair facility and having the facility complete the Repair Data Forms, indicating that the parts needed to fix the vehicle are no longer available.
At Superior Tire & Auto Centres, we take car care and fitness very seriously. Our highly skilled master technicians are equipped with the knowledge and the tools to maintain all your vehicle needs necessary for your driving comfort and safety. We can identify and correct the problems and provide proper maintenance, whether it be emission repairs, tune-ups, brakes or the perfect tire for your car.
Gas Cap, Catalytic Converter(s) and Visible Smoke Check
Drive Clean inspection facilities will be required to inspect all vehicles presented for testing to ensure that a proper sealing gas cap is installed and that vehicles manufactured with catalytic converters are still so equipped. The vehicle will be rejected if the gas cap is missing (or cannot be removed) or catalytic converters are missing. If excessive visible smoke is apparent (more than 5 seconds of visible smoke in a one minute period at idle or at a constant 2500 rpm), the vehicle will be rejected.
The vehicle owner will be required to have the missing items installed (or gas cap access provided), and the cause of excessive visible smoke corrected prior to proceeding with the test. None of the costs associated with correcting any of the problems described above will be eligible for inclusion in the $450 repair cost limit that will be in effect during the first inspection cycle in each of Phase 1 and Phase 2 areas of the program. Superior Tire & Auto Centres will not charge the customer for determining that the gas cap or catalytic converter are missing, or that excessive visible smoke is present.
The purpose of an inspection and maintenance program is to ensure that vehicles continue to operate in compliance with the standards to which they were designed, throughout their lives. Factors such as lack of regular maintenance, deliberate tampering with emission control equipment and just normal wear and tear due to age and mileage have the effect of increasing emissions well above the original design specifications. By testing on-road vehicles regularly and requiring that defects be corrected, these vehicles will operate with emissions levels much closer to optimum.
The standards employed in inspection and maintenance programs (I/M Programs) must serve a dual purpose. First, they must be set at levels sufficient to catch vehicles with bona fide faults in their emission control systems. Secondly, though they must not be set at levels too tight that vehicles with no defects and operating normally will fail. Well chosen standards will allow the detection of high-emitting vehicles without false failures. To achieve this goal, the standards must take into account the original standards and allow for normal amount of degradation of vehicles with age and mileage.
If we wish to identify those 1990 models that are emitting well above the levels that would be considered normal, it is necessary to establish a different threshold level than that used for newer vehicles. In inspecting the vehicle fleet to identify excessive emitters, it is important to ensure that vehicles that have operating emissions below or close to their design levels do not get identified as failures. Therefore, in I/M programs the threshold limits, or cut points, are usually set well above the readings that would be considered normal.
The basic reason for this is the desire to avoid wrongly failing vehicles and that many vehicles beyond a certain age have defects which cause their emissions to be much higher than the day they left the factory. However a small number of these defective vehicles are in such poor conditions that their emissions may be more than ten times the original design level for HC and CO. These "gross emitters" account for a disproportionate amount of the total emissions attributable to motor vehicles.
Superior Advice
For the best advice on clean air emission standards, visit any participating Superior Tire & Auto Centre. We'll give you honest answers, all the current information on the Drive Clean Program and quality repairs if needed. We'll do everything necessary to keep your vehicle in shape and fit for the road ahead.
