Check Engine Code P0456: Tag Expires in 22 Days

Maintenance/Repairs
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THE LATEST (HIGH DRAMA!!)

So, today was the day I went to DPS to get my emissions waiver, so I could register my vehicle (now 6 days expired). My apartment tows vehicles out of registration (with a 10 day notice sticker on your windshield), so it was imperative that I get this done.

The place was a 45 minute drive from my house and they only see people once a week, by appointment only.

I arrived with all my paperwork in order, happy to finally have this registration issue behind me.

The guy processed my paperwork and said, “OK, I just need to do a physical inspection, and then we’ll be done.”

I gave him the keys, and he came back a few minutes later and said, “I can’t pass you. You have a loose brake light cover on one side, and the other one’s cracked. I can’t pass that.” Said the covers need to not let water in. (The cover was on there solid and wasn’t going to come off; it was just loose on top and there was a slight gap.)

I went and looked at it with him and said the crack was pretty tight and wouldn’t let water in. He said it can’t let white light thru. We tested it, and he said, OK, he would allow that brake light cover. But the other one wouldn’t pass.

So I said, “What if I run to the auto parts store real quick and get some glue and glue it in place?” He said he had appointments all afternoon, and the next appointments were next Thursday. I told him I was in a bind because of the situation with my apartment and the towing. He gave me his cell phone number and said to call him if I get it fixed and we’ll see where we’re at.

This was at 11:00, and he was going to lunch at 11:30, and had a 12:30 appointment scheduled when he returned.

So I ran to AutoZone and bought some epoxy and applied it to the brake light cover and stood there for 10 minutes holding it in place, just to make sure it sets. (It said it sets in 1-2 minutes, but to not disturb it for 15 minutes, so I wanted to be sure.)

After 10 minutes I drove back and told him it was fixed. This was 11:20. He got his paperwork and took the car to the inspection bay and did an inspection.

Came back ten minutes later and said I passed! Said he almost didn’t pass me because of my windshield wiper blades. Said they needed to be replaced, but he had an inch of leeway, so he passed me!

I then went online and registered the vehicle. (Whew!)

So, thank God for this nice guy being willing to work with me and help me out!

And it seems that the place that did the inspection probably didn’t even do a physical inspection. If they had, I would have addressed those issues ahead of time.

Anyway, all’s well that ends well.

Next week I take it back to the place for Round 3 of trying to get the evap issue fixed. But, at least now with the car registered, the time pressure is off the situation, which is great.

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So thank God for this nice guy that worked up to his lunch, passed the tail light and gave me a break on the windshield wiper blades. All so that my car would t be towed because of a failed inspection.

Really now be honest. Isn’t this all a little silly among adults? When you really stop to think about it? Yeah I know a lot of people gin up excuses for how great a system this is, but isn’t it a little silly when you really stop to think about it? And it is your money paying for it all. Do they inspect your hair cut too to make sure it is off your collar?

We can’t say scam for fear of a fight but can we saw cost benefit analysis?

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Well, technically, it was the fact that he was willing to let me come back a second time and go again, even though I had already failed the inspection, and that he gave me his personal cell phone number, and, yeah, that he gave me a break on the windshield wipers.

I realize that wasn’t your point. But I just wanted to make clear how much he did when he didn’t have to, and that he could have just said “make another appointment.” So I appreciate what he did, regardless of whether the “system” is right or wrong. He was still a great guy!

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Do you mean to say broken taillight lenses are no big deal? Only a matter of time before the bulb gets wet and fail.

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I’m guessing if your car passed the emissions test nobody would have complained about the tail-light problem. But this is Texas’s punishment for those not passing emissions and wanting a waiver. The DMV instead inspects the safety-related items. Calif DMV also insects for these sorts of safety items, but when taking driver’s license driving test. Other than causing you to run about in a last minute dash, no harm done. And it’s a good thing to get the tail-lights sealed so water can’t leak and damage the electrics, will save you $$$ in the long run. Sounds like you are now good to go.

Oh no, another story … lol … some years ago I accidentally backed into a wooden post, cracked a tail-light plastic lens. Couldn’t find a matching lens replacement , at least not easily, so decided to just fix it. Used super-glue, then topped w/ clear 5 minute epoxy. That combo worked like a champ. After the glues had cured for a week I tested it. Put a lawn sprinkler on top of the car, let the water hit the rear half. All water hitting rear window or trunk lid runs from there into a channel, and around the trunk, then runs directly over the tail-lights to the ground. So it’s a pretty good test. Not a drop of water got into the tail-light, all water flowed over the tail-lights & onto the ground.

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When I was talking to the guy and he was making a fuss about the crack in the tail light lens, he was a bit apologetic, saying, “We’re the DPS. We’re the ones who make the rules, so we have to make sure you adhere to them.” I kind of got what he was saying. I think it was a question of that he could risk his job if he did sloppy work, so he had to be a stickler.

And, again, I think if the guy who had done the inspection initially had mentioned those things, he would have saved me a lot of hassle. Maybe he didn’t even know those violated any rules.

That’s a good story about the tail light lens! I’m going to put some epoxy on the lens with the crack in it, just to keep the crack from getting any worse. So that should take care of it.

Monday I’m back at the place for Round 3. I’m dreading it. But hopefully they’ll get it this time.

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UPDATE

Well, I dropped the car off today at the place. Now that the registration’s done, I figure I’ll just leave it with them for as long as it takes and hopefully get this dealt with finally.

Last time they had driven it 50 miles and there were three monitors not ready when I picked it up. Then the code came back after about 20 more miles. So this time I’m not going to worry about picking it up until all the monitors are ready and everything’s been tested.

Another interesting development: when the code came back it was a P0455 code (major evap leak), whereas originally it was a P0456 (tiny evap leak). Then this morning, before I took it over there, there was a new code in addition to the P0455: P0442 (small evap leak).

Online it says that’s usually due to a loose gas cap. But the gas cap is new and I tightened it fully when I gassed up. However, when I got it inspected last Thursday, maybe the guy didn’t put the gas cap back on fully? Who knows.

Anyway, I feel relieved to have the registration done, and the car at the shop, and I’m not going to worry about it until they call me. Hopefully this will be the end of it.

Thanks again, everyone, for your insights and supports through this.

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UPDATE

So, I dropped the car off on Tuesday. Figured they probably wouldn’t get to it that day, but maybe the next day.

It’s now Friday, 2 PM. So I figured I’d call them before the weekend. Manager says, “He’s just about to bring your car in to take a look at it.”

I say, “I dropped it off Tuesday. It’s been three days.”

He says, “Well, we had some other work we had to get done first. But he’s bringing it in now.”

The interesting thing is that the last time I dropped it off, when I called after a couple of days, I was told the exact same thing: “He’s just about to bring it in to look at it.” And he did.

So it seems that with this place you need to keep in contact with them.

When I first called it took the manager a minute to remember which car I was talking about. So I think they just parked it in the back and kind of forgot about it.

Anyway, the manager was very nice and somewhat apologetic. He said the mechanic is working tomorrow. So I think I might pop down there tomorrow and talk to him and see what’s going on.

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Take some doughnuts :sunglasses:

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So I went to the place and talked to the mechanic. he still hasn’t looked at it. LOL he said he’ll do a new smoke test in a half an hour. I told him I’d come back in a little while, and he said fine. Definitely not a high priority for them!

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Just got back from the place. Said he did another smoke test and found another leak. Said he didn’t find it the first time because it was right next to the place where he had glued the holes, so he thought the smoke was all coming from that spot.

He said the new leak he found is from a round valve that sits on top of the tank. Said the whole tank needs to be replaced. Said they’d get one from a junk yard, rather than get a new one.

I asked if he could just replace the valve, and he said he wasn’t sure. Said they usually just replace the tank. I told him I’d call on Monday to get a price. I took the car home with me.

Here the strange thing, though: originally I had a P0456 code (tiny evap leak) and he glued up the tiny holes that were leaking.

Then, after picking up the car, I got a P0455 code (major evap leak), and also a P0442 code (small evap leak).

So if that valve was leaking the whole time and was the reason for the major evap leak, then why didn’t the car throw a P0455 code originally?

Anyway, I guess it doesn’t matter.

So, does that sound right, that the entire tank would have to be replaced to replace that part? Interested in what you guys think. Thanks!

Here’s a picture of the part he glued the first time. (The white spots on the gray are the glue.)

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And here’s a picture of the part he says is leaking, which requires the entire tank to be replaced:

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FINAL UPDATE?

So I thought I’d close out this way-too-long thread with what will hopefully be the final update on this saga with the evap leak and this car place.

As noted in last post, they said the part that was leaking required the whole tank to be replaced. I talked to the manager on Monday and he said he’d get me a quote for the work.

I texted him Tuesday about it and didn’t hear back. And then I texted him Thursday and didn’t hear back.

So, at this point, I’m done with this place.

Honestly, given all that happened with this place, I more than likely wasn’t going to use them for the work anyway. But I wanted to get a quote from them anyway. If their price was much lower than whatever other place I go to, then I would consider using them. But, otherwise, I more than likely would go somewhere else.

And honestly I feel such a relief to not have to deal with them anymore. Nice people. But with all the issues I’ve had with them, I’m just glad to not have to deal with them anymore.

So that should be the end of this saga. Thank you to everyone who participated in this thread. I really appreciate all the input and support I received here. It really helped a lot. Thanks so much!

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Please return when you have the final solution!

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OK, will do. But, here’s my plan.

Right now the two types of codes I have (evap leak and underperforming cat) won’t harm my car to drive around with them. So I plan on waiting until next year to deal with this any further. The reason? I may need an emissions waiver next year as well. And the emissions waiver requires me to spend money within 90 days of the tag expiration to either diagnose or try to repair the problem. So it makes sense for me to wait until next year before dealing with it, so any moneys can be applied to that.

In the meantime, I’m going to try Cataclean to see if it’ll help with the cat issue.

Thanks!

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Interesting. Wondering what would motivate Texas politicians to impose that requirement? It seems like the sooner an owner got started on an emissions repair, the sooner they’d be done, and the cleaner the Texas air. Incenting a delay on cleaner air doesn’t make logical sense. There must be another motivation??? Any ideas?

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California and Nevada also allow 90 days to test and repair a vehicle before the registration expires. A smog certificate is good for 90 days, you don’t have to wait until the last week before expiration to have the test performed.

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My guess is that it is to prevent people from using old repair receipts a second time. By having the receipts be recent it ensures it applies only to the current year.

I looked up the statute, and it’s a little different than I thought. It actually reads:

repair must be performed after the initial emissions test or have been performed within 60 days prior to the initial emissions test;

So, actually, it could be as soon as 150 days before the registration expires. So May 2023 would be the soonest I could do it and have it count towards next year’s emissions waiver, should I need one.

Having 5 months to work on it before the tag expires will be nice, in case I have to go through the same thing again next year of getting the monitors ready, etc.

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It’s hard to tell in the pictures but it appears as though someone slathered that hose connection nipple with hard epoxy to try to seal the leak. The type of plastic used to make fuel tanks is notoriously (at least for me) hard to patch. Hopefully, that epoxy is compatible with the plastic. If it is hard, it won’t flex with the plastic as it expands and contracts due to thermal changes. If it’s not adhered really well, likely will open up again. And if they had to push the tube back on after that repair in that limited space, could easily damage the seal of that patch. Especially if it wasn’t cleaned properly beforehand (look around it). I might have chosen a flexible, non-acetic RTV type of product to seal any leaks there. Good luck in the future, hope you have better luck testing next time!

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Yes, that’s what they did. Then code came back, they did a 2nd smoke test, and said smoke was coming out of the valve.