In sort of a pickle, I have to reigster my car in a few days and when I went to start it it was dead and it has to get inspected tomorrow. I had to change out my battery yesterday and have to get my car inspected tomorrow. I have tried multiple drive cycles to get my car "ready" but according to the MIL light on my dash (it stays on after it blinks when the key is switched on) I still haven't completed the drive cycle. Does anyone know the true drive cycle so I can get my car ready. It seems like everyone I see online is a bit different and have trouble pin pointing which one is the correct one for my car. Any tips or help would be greatly appreciated.

 

"Drive Cycle" is a bit of an inaccurate term. There are "monitors" that have to run (and pass). These are just CARB emissions requirements but everyone uses them. It is O2 heater, O2 sensor, Catalyst, EGR, EVAP monitors have to run and the criteria and time for each individual one to run can differ greatly. We usually advise about 100 miles of mixed Interstate/Highway and around town driving. Not done in one session, but over the course of a few days. They CAN be done in a shop environment, BUT that is pretty time consuming.

 

Well I got it done in one day after changing the battery last night. I started my car up after driving about 15 miles last night, let it idol again this morning, and everything checked out. Even managed to get it inspected today. So if anyone ever googles this and it comes up here is how I did it.

Cold start car, let it run with the AC on full blast, and the rear defrost on, and headlights. Let it idol for 3 minutes. Drive car for 5 minutes with constant gas at 40-55 mph never going under, or over and never hitting the break. Let the car coast until its under 20 mph. Stop car, put it in park and let idol for 10 seconds. Then turn car off for one minute. Do this one more time on the way back. Next morning, start car, let it idol with AC, headlights, and defrost on for 3 minutes. I just changed my battery and I was glad this worked for me. (If you go over or under 40-55 or hit the breaks) you have to start over. This is a lot easier than being told to drive for a few hundred miles. (I also did this with betwee 1/4 tank and less than 3/4 tank of gas)