Hey guys, I have a 2004 stratus that sat for about a year when I bought it. I did the timing belt on it (2.4 DOHC sedan) and now I can't get it inspected because 2 sensors wont get "ready" I put about 400 miles on the car and it still won't pass NC inspection. I was told that the ECU may need to be re-flashed by a dealer, does anyone know the steps required to do this outside of a dealer? If anyone can help me or has had a similar problem please let me know, thanks.

 

Which two sensors and have you scanned for codes? It may seem logical after driving 400 miles that all the emission monitor tests whould have completed. But, some require very specific conditions be met before running their respective tests. Some have multiple tests that need to run successfully before changing it's status to ready. They may have not met the specific conditions yet so they haven't run.

If you haven't scanned for codes, I would do that first. You may find a pending code lingering that can help direct you to the problem.

If you have access to the right scanner, you could try reading the mode 6 data for the sensors that aren't ready. See which test (TID) has either failed or is still waiting for the right conditions to be met.

The dealer reflash may work but it may not either. A reflash won't fix a bad sensor. I'd run some diagnostics on it to see if you can isolate the problem first and fix them before having it reflashed.

 

I scanned the car with a generic scanner and there are no trouble codes present. The cat and O2 sensor are the only 2 that aren't met. Speaking to them at the dealership they are no help what so ever, they want $125 an hour for diag. I have unplugged the battery to reset it and hopefully I can put enough miles on it by tomorrow, as my 10 day permit runs out at that point.

 

AHH!!! Shouldn't have disconnected the battery. This may have reset the monitors. Now, ALL of them have to run again if that's the case. You may need to put A LOT of miles on it now to make your deadline.

You'll need to mix it up a bit. There are drive cylcles that will get most of them to run quickly. These involve accelerationg to highway speed, cruising at highway speed for five minutes or so, slowing down to less the 20 mph, stopping and idling for few minutes, and some stop & go city driving will help. Start with a cold engine and let it idle until warmed up before driving it.

The EVAP, O2, and CAT monitors are sometimes the trickiest to complete. The EVAP monitor for example requires your fuel tank to be within a certain range like 1/4 to 3/4. So, if the tank is full or near empty, it won't run. Most times it can take a awhile for these three to complete.

Good luck and I hope you pass.