Expert: Rob Painter - 10/10/2010

Question
i have a 2008 cadillac and the service enigne soon came on will this make the car fail the inspection. i fully understand after reading another persons question you answered that it has to be checked.

Answer
Hello,

You did not state where you are
located for the inspection. In Wisconsin, inspection was not required, but if your car was registered and kept in only 6 counties of 72, in order to get new plates, every two years the vehicle would have to pass an emissions test. If the check engine or service engine soon lights were illuminated, the car would not pass.

Since I don't live there anymore and to demonstrate how stupid this is, a DMV person told me long ago-it didn't matter if the car was registered in one of the six counties. There was a place on the registration that said: "vehicle kept in" and all you would do is pick one of the 66 non-emission counties. An address was not needed.

How stupid is that? In the 30 plus years I lived there and all the different cars I had, I only once wasted my time doing this.

Now, in the great State of Texas, every year an inspection is required. This includes safety and emissions. No critical telltale dash lights can be illuminated. In your case a service engine soon light would cause it to fail.

All this light does is gives you a symptom and not the problem. There could be one or two of hundreds of different issues that can cause this light to activate. It could be as simple as a faulty fuel filler cap or it could be a problem costing hundreds of dollars to correct.

You do not need to take to the dealer and get you eyeballs ripped out.

I would suggest taking the car to a service center. They can scan the vehicle's computer to find out exactly the cause. If you are really lucky, not only can they diagnose and repair, but they may also be able to do the state mandated safety inspection too.