Hawaii Recon Information, Q&A Thread

Post some pics.. we'll tell you..

 

maybe this has been covered somewhere in the previous 20 pages... I just called the recon office cause their site (http://www1.honolulu.gov/csd/vehicle/faqs_recon.htm) says you can call to schedule future appointments, however, everything is now a first come, first served basis (no appointments). sooo, I guess I'll be showing up there nice and fricking early so I don't have to wait hours.

I'll be getting alignment shortly after installing my new suspension. everything I have is legal specs (tires in fender well, tint, etc.), but the only questionable thing is my stickers on my rear window. they're in the lower left and right corners, not visible through the rearview mirror. my previous safety check experience went smoothly because "they're not visible from the driver's perspective"... just wondering if that applies to recon too?

anyone care to share how their recent recon experience has been (i.e. wait time, nit-picky inspectors, etc.)? also, anyone have preference/opinions on alignment shops? I was planning on Scotty's, but I'm open to suggestions.

 

Yup first come first serve. Did mine maybe a week ago. I got there at 7am but the guys at the trailer office said wait till 8am. Had two people waiting ahead of me. Wait in your truck in the lane lined with cones. They'll come to you when you're up. Took maybe 10 mins to finish the inspection. I had license plate covers. Had to take um off. Had to pop the hood. The inspector looked around and measured the bumper heights while I paid the $15 cash at the office. I then filled out a sheet saying what was modified. Mines was basically suspension lift, wheels, and tires. After that he put the sticker on and I was out.

I went to Scotty's for the alignment the day before. Waited about 30 mins.

 

My most recent recon was so so. Took 2 months of calling (1-2 times a week), not to bet an appointment as I had one 5 months out! But to get my inspector to just call me back. When he heard my situation he agreed it would be a 5 minute deal and told me to come after closing. The inspection was quick and painless. He did make me remove a sticker that had passed recon and safety 3 previous times, but I was getting tired of it anyway. I think I would have been a lot better off if they would have done walkins.

 

Drive in before they open. I got to town around 630 and was killing time thinking they wouldnt have the gate open till 8 but I finally pulled in around 745 and there was already 10 guys ahead of me. I had stickers upper and lower left corners and he didnt say anything about them. But he also said he thought i was a cop since i walked in wearing my work pants and boots, so maybe he let me slide. Scottys is good but he charged me 140 the last couple times I was there.

 

you guys getting the recon sticker on your bumper, or on a bracket? my truck is new, so I have the 2 year safety (good to 7/16), but I wanted to eventually mount a bracket. just wondering if it'll be a pain in the ass to get the recon sticker moved to a bracket... I'm imagining it'll be like getting recon all over again?

 

If you put the bracket on the lower right area of the bumper they will put it on there for you with no problem. They won't put it on a plate next to the license plate though. Sticker can be removed if you do it right away after getting it put on though.

 

I put a plate on the lower edge of my bumper

Thanks for the info, I made a plate to slide behind the license plate for my car, it's getting painted in a few weeks and don't want it on the bumper.

 

cool, I think I might put the bracket on now, to save me the headache of moving it later.

on a side note, anyone know if the new safety check stickers are easy to peel up? not like the old style, that had the word "VOID" under it. just wondering if it would be easy to attempt to pull my 2 yr safety and move it to the bracket too...

 

Yes, that can be moved also. Its made out of the same material as the registration sticker. I've moved a couple of them with no problems just take your time.

 

just recently had a truck come into my work place 90s 4runner with Straight front conversion just got recon. even listed on the paperwork straight front. so i guess they going easy on people now? this truck was far from nice it was ugly

 

No pics?

 

Yeah my brother took his 91 toyota truck with straight front in on Tuesday, and got recon with no problem. Was in and out in 20 mins. He just had to get the truck re-weighed, alignment.

 

I'm getting alignment today, and probably go in for recon tomorrow morning, but I have three things I'm curious about before I trek across the entire island for a sticker:

- TPMS light possibly on/flashing at inspection (sensors still in stocks, but not in current setup)
- upgraded PIAA bulbs (xtreme white headlights, yellow fogs): do they check bulbs, will it pass?
- rear window stickers: not visible from driver's seat (see pic)



everything else checks out, so I'm not too worried. I just don't want to drive all the way there only to find out a blinking light or bulb will cost me another fun trip to town.

 

if you still have the original wheels, you can try reset the tpms light with your truck parked next to them. when I swapped my wheels and installed new TPMS sensors, I was able to drive almost 300 miles before the ECU noticed that the stocks were off and I reset the ECU with the new sensor IDs

as far as the TPMS light flashing, 99% sure recon won't look inside the car. it may come up for the next safety check, but it's still iffy as TPMS is required to be sold on the car after 2005, but I don't know about maintaining the system yourself later on, as the batteries inside the sensors eventually die.

it's slowly going backwards, with all those new cars with the automatic stopping and side lane warnings...because people forget how to drive or something.

 

yup, I have my stocks in my garage and I park right next to them everyday. typically the light stays off, but occasionally when I'm out for a while I notice them blinking. how do you reset them manually? I think there's a switch by my hood latch for the TPMS...

 

They aren't going to check the bulbs to see what they are as long as they aren't HID.

Rear window stickers are a tossup. They don't sit in the vehicles to see if they block view. I had a sticker that you only covered 1/4" of the top of the window from the inside that passed for almost 4 year and they made me take it off this last time. They let me keep the one on the lower right of my rear window because I busted out my flashlight and shined it from the inside so he could see it was covering the portion of the window where it is glued to the truck.

 

yup, just push and hold in that little button and you should see the light flash and turn off as long as the stocks are within 20-30ft or so

 

since your going down to recon as them. those same guys doing the recon inspections are the people in charge of safety inspections. from what i was told was TPMS light on or off does not fail safety inspection anymore. but you should confirm for yourself

 

The tpms system was mandated,fed. law, for the model year 2008+ So yes the tpms system must work.