44036.2. (a) To ensure uniform and consistent inspection, tests, and repairs by all qualified smog check technicians and licensed smog check stations, and to ensure consumer protection, manufacturers of motor vehicles shall provide, or cause to be provided, all emission control system service information that is necessary to properly inspect, test and repair those vehicles. Unless otherwise provided, that information shall be required for all 1980 and newer model-year vehicles and shall consist of all of the following:
(1) General specifications showing the make, model, and classification of the vehicle.
(2) The identification, location, and description of all emission control equipment on the vehicle.
(3) The manufacturer’s recommended visual and functional inspection procedures for each emissions-related component.
(4) Air injection and evaporative emission purge strategies.
(5) All vehicle manufacturer-specific data stream information, excluding bidirectional control information and reprogramming information unless required by state or federal statute or regulation.
(b) Beginning with the 1998 model year, all emissions-related information required by this section, including diagnostic, service, and training information supplied by vehicle manufacturers to any franchised dealer, shall be provided in an electronic format that is readily accessible, or that can be made readily accessible, to private diagnostic assistance service information vendors or intermediaries, if that information is provided or made available in this format by manufacturers to dealers. In determining the allowable format, the state board shall ensure compatibility with any service information format requirements specified by the Environmental Protection Agency.
(c) (1) The state board shall require motor vehicle manufacturers to provide the service information necessary to comply with this section as a condition of certification.
(2) Should the manufacturer fail to provide the service information necessary to comply with subdivision (a) for any vehicle within an engine family within one year of its retail introduction, the state board may withhold certification for all engine families for subsequent model years, until such time as the manufacturer provides the necessary service information.
(3) The department shall periodically conduct surveys to determine whether the service information and tool requirements imposed by federal and state law are being fulfilled by actual field availability of the information and tools.
(d) The manufacturer shall make accessible, through the vehicle’s standard data link, the version number or part number of the vehicle’s current computer memory program to allow smog check technicians to determine if the manufacturer’s most up-to-date program is installed in the vehicle’s computer. This requirement shall apply to all vehicles with reprogrammable computer memory in the vehicle’s computer beginning with the 1999 model year. Until the manufacturer provides an electronic computer program identifier system, the manufacturer shall use a mechanical identification system to identify the computer’s current program.
(e) (1) Those manufacturers that do not use reprogrammable technology for the vehicle’s computer shall use either a mechanical or electronic identification system to identify the current program of the vehicle’s computer.
(2) The manufacturer shall also provide or cause to be provided an engine family reprogramming cross-reference to aid smog check technicians in determining the proper computer memory program for that engine. The cross-reference shall either be published by the manufacturer or made available to private diagnostic service information vendors or intermediaries for compilation and distribution.
(f) (1) The information required to be provided under this section shall be limited to only that information which is made available by manufacturers to franchised dealers or other persons engaged in the repair, diagnosing, or servicing of motor vehicles or motor vehicle engines needed to make use of the emissions control diagnostic system prescribed under Section 207 of the Federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and such other information including instructions for making emission-related diagnosis and repairs. If any of the emissions-related service information required by this section is provided to the manufacturer’s franchised dealers in advance of the specific requirements of this section, that information shall also be made available by manufacturers, directly or indirectly, to smog check stations and repair technicians. Manufacturers shall only be required to provide information to vendors or intermediaries in the same manner and format as provided to franchised dealers.
(2) The service information shall be made compatible with computer systems commonly used in the aftermarket repair industry. In addition, the vendor or intermediary may offer the information by other common distribution means when electronic means are unavailable. No information or format will be required in the service information beyond that which is provided by new car manufacturers to franchise dealers.
(g) The provisions of this section that apply with respect to 1994 and newer model-year vehicles shall become inoperative if the state board determines that the Environmental Protection Agency has adopted rules relative to the provision of emissions-related service information for 1994 and newer model-year vehicles.
(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 380, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1997.)
Structure California Code