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OBD and Inspection and Maintenance

Regulatory and Technical Resources

This page provides regulatory and technical information on OBD and inspection and maintenance checks, including archives of past documents. The Clean Air Act requires 33 state and local areas to conduct vehicle inspection and maintenance programs to control vehicle emissions and help meet national air quality standards. A majority of these state and local areas have already incorporated the use of OBD technology into vehicle inspections, and more are planning to do so in the future.

NOTE: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, available as a free download, to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more about PDF, and for a link to the free Acrobat Reader.

Regulations

Primary Contact:
Holly Pugliese
Phone: 734 214-4288
E-mail: pugliese.holly@epa.gov

Final Implementation Guidance: Performing On-Board Diagnostic System Checks as Part of a Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program (PDF) (37 pp, 321K, EPA420-R-01-015, June 2001)
The final guidance document entitled, "Performing On-Board Diagnostic System Checks as Part of a Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program," contains EPA's recommendations regarding the effective implementation of OBD-I/M checks in I/M programs. The recommendations contained in this guidance are consistent with EPA's amended OBD-I/M requirements, published April 5, 2001 (66 FR 18156).

Contact:
Dave Sosnowski
Phone: 734 214-4823
E-mail: sosnowski.dave@epa.gov

Final Rulemaking: Amendment to Vehicle Inspection Maintenance Program Requirements Incorporating the On-Board Diagnostic Check (March 2001) (also available as PDF file, 25 pp, 208K)
The Final Rulemaking document entitled, "Amendment to Vehicle Inspection Maintenance Program Requirements Incorporating the On-Board Diagnostic Check", was signed March 28, 2001, and published in the Federal Register on April 5, 2001. It provides several options for extending the deadline for implementing OBD checks in I/M programs. The rule also revises failure and rejection criteria and provides the interim method for estimating OBD check credit under the MOBILE5 model.

Contact:
Dave Sosnowski
Phone: 734 214-4823
E-mail: sosnowski.dave@epa.gov

Inspection Maintenance Program Requirements Incorporating the Onboard Diagnostic Check: Response to Comments (PDF) (50 pp, 78K, EPA420-R-01-003, January 2001)
Provides EPA's response to comments received on the September 20, 2000, notice of proposed rulemaking entitled, "Amendments to Vehicle Inspection Maintenance Program Requirements Incorporating the On-Board Diagnostic Check," not otherwise addressed in the final rulemaking action associated with that proposal.

Contact:
Dave Sosnowski
Phone: 734 214-4823
E-mail: sosnowski.dave@epa.gov

Effectiveness of OBD II Evaporative Emission Monitors - 30 Vehicle Study (PDF) (50 pp, 100K, EPA420-R-00-012, Revised October 2000) (or, September 2000, 62 pp, 1MB)
A technical report containing analysis of evaporative emission data on induced failures and subsequent repairs on 30 OBD vehicles of 1996 - 2000 model years. Both the original study and a revised version with new data from a follow-up test that Ford Motor Company conducted in September 2000 are available.

Contact:
Martin Reineman
Phone: 734 214-4430
E-mail: reineman.martin@epa.gov

Evaluation of On-Board Diagnostics For Use in Detecting Malfunctioning and High Emitting Vehicles (PDF) (38 pg, 120K, EPA420-R-00-013, September 2000)
A technical report providing comparative test results on over 200 model year 1995+ vehicles, including OBD, IM240, and FTP results.

Contact:
Ed Gardetto
Phone: 734 214-4322
E-mail: gardetto.edward@epa.gov

Analyses of the OBD II Data Collected from the Wisconsin I/M Lanes (PDF) (30 pp, 173K, EPA420-R-00-014, September 2000)
A technical report analyzing the lane-reported IM240 and OBD test results on over 116,000 vehicles participating in Wisconsin's current I/M program.

Contact:
Ted Trimble
Phone: 734 214-4289
E-mail: trimble.ted@epa.gov

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Policy Documents

OBD Policy Workgroup, Findings and Recommendations (PDF) (25 pp, 238K, November, 2002)
This document is the final report of the OBD Policy Workgroup, established under the Mobile Source Technical Review Subcommittee, of the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (a Federal Advisory Committee).

Contact:
Lori Stewart
Phone: 202-564-1104
E-mail: stewart.lori@epa.gov

OBD Policy Workgroup, Technical Appendix (PDF) (219 pp, 1.5MB, November, 2002)
This document is a compilation of the presentations to the OBD Policy Workgroup between December, 2001 and the Workgroup's last meeting in October, 2002.

Contact:
Lori Stewart
Phone: 202-564-1104
E-mail: stewart.lori@epa.gov

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Technical Documents

IM OBD Vehicles Readiness Exception List (PDF) (6 pp, 194K, EPA420-F-08-009, January 2008)
This document lists vehicles that appear to be "Not Ready" for testing using the onboard diagnostic (OBD) system found on 1996 and newer vehicles.

Contact:
Gene Tierney
Phone: 202 343-9267
E-mail: tierney.gene@epa.gov

On-Board Diagnostic Hand-Held Scan Tool Technology: Adherence to the Society of Automotive Engineers Requirements for Scan Tools and an Evaluation of Overall Scan Tool Capability (PDF) (27 pp, 69K, EPA420-R-00-017, October 2000)

Contact:
Arvon Mitcham
Phone: 734 214-4522
E-mail: mitcham.arvon@epa.gov

Revised Diagnostic Link Connector (DLC) Database (with mapping diagram and diagram explanation)
December 2001
DLC spreadsheet with mapping diagram and explanation: 103K XLS
DLC spreadsheet only 68K XLS

Contact:
Arvon Mitcham
Phone: 734 214-4522
E-mail: mitcham.arvon@epa.gov

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