Smog Fail - OBDII not ready

Hi guys! As the title says, the truck failed smog today because "its OBD system was not ready to test."

The tech showed me that the EVAP and CAT systems have not been reset.

He recommended the following for the next few days:
1) Drive the truck between 55 to 65
2) Allow the truck to idle and warm up before driving in the morning
3) Keep the gas between 1/4 and 3/4 tank
4) Do not turn on the A/C

The tech seemed trustworthy and has great reviews. He offered to test the OBD system before a retest. I just want to run the following by you guys to get your thoughts and make sure I do what's needed before the retest.

1) I disconnected the battery last week to clean the MAF sensor. I haven't driven the truck much since then so the drive cycle reset recommended by the tech seems like it could fix the problem. Is there anything else needed to complete the OBD drive cycle?
2) I got CEL P2238 (o2 sensor) last year two or three times and reset it each time. No CEL for the past 4 to 6 months. Could this affect the OBD test?
3) Does having an ultragauge connected prior to testing affect anything? I've disconnected it for now just to be safe.

Any info is appreciated! Thanks!

 

without the toyota scan tool to throw it into test mode the fsm will give the speeds and time rpms to travel . I use my actron scanner to tell me obd systems are inc, ok, or n/a. Im sure some more knowledgeable people will chime in.

 

Unless you've recently had the check engine light come on for some other reason, I'd bet the info the technician gave you was correct and will solve the problem! Last year I had the same thing happen because I had recently unhooked the battery and forgotten to then drive enough for all the sensors to reset. Just drive it for a few days under different road conditions and speeds and I'd bet it will pass the next time!

 

I'm reviving this because my ScanGauge II is saying my Tacoma is "not ready" and I need to smog it. I haven't reset any codes in awhile, though I did replace my battery terminal last week. I just finished driving the truck 500+ miles round trip (Mostly highway, but was in some city traffic too. Speeds on the highway from 50-80mph) with my motorcycle in the bed just this last weekend...any ideas on why it won't go into "ready" mode?

 

Have you tried disconnecting the scangauge and driving without it?

Then reconnect it after to see if the error persists.

 

Does the scangauge say what system isn't ready?

Before driving the truck in the morning, start the truck and let it idle until it reaches operating temp. Also, drive the truck constantly at 60 to 65 (5th gear if you're a manual) for 10 to 15 mins. These are the two things that helped set my system.

 

I am having the same issue at this point I have driven 274 miles in a combination of freeway speeds of 60 to 85 miles an hour 50 to 70 miles around town on city streets at varying speeds got frustrated and look up the exact Drive pattern or whatever they call it the you supposed to do and it is ridiculous you are supposed to drive between 40 and 60 something miles per hour for 150 seconds then idle for 2 minutes then drive at 25 miles an hour for 40 seconds then idle for 10 seconds and do this 10 times I don't know where to go do this as people will either be honking at me or trying to drive around me this is very frustrating so I am purchasing a scanning tool that says you can leave it plugged in while you drive and the lights will indicate when they have reset

 

By the way this is on a 2002 Toyota Tacoma I no longer own the 2014 I bought a new 2019 in November

 

I'm in the same boat.

That's just the fast way to get everything to reset. If you just do like the OP's 1st post in this thread says you should be all set.

I forgot about the 1/4-3/4 fuel tank thing and filled my tank the other day. Crap.

Also, you own a 1st gen and a 3rd gen? That's the best Tacoma.

 

Did you get the plug in tool? I'd like to ask where. Went through this today and saw the drive pattern. Assumed it was a troll!
I can't wrap my head around it and I have 7 days to get this smog done.
TIA.

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld

 

You need to drive your truck under normal conditions for at least 100 miles after disconnecting the battery.
This is just basic for everyone. Not speaking to any of the other advice, I don't know about scangauge.

 

I did. 2 weeks ago smog tech said to drive it 100miles and I drove a total of 175 in the past week and I hadn't disconnected the battery.

 

This year’s registration I had to smog check the truck.

I replaced the cat converter, replaced a sensor, and some loose hoses.

Drove it 1000 miles, did a free check at O’Riely’s with thier scan tool, Cat and Evap not ready.

drove another 1000 miles, EVap not ready.

After two different smog places, and after buying my own scanner, I thought I was ready.

A third trip to the smog station, the tech said everything is good but the drive cycle is not ready.

the solution is to follow the drive cycle procedures exactly how it is defined or pay extra at the smog place to run it through the drive cycle on their rollers.

I paid an extra $30 for the drive cycle and was done with it.

 

Omg that wasn't offered to me as an option or I would have done it.
O'Reilly isn't doing the obd readers here because of covid. I may just buy 1.

 

running these monitors requires the parameters to be correct 2 times.

 

the day you plan to take it to smog it drive it the whole day then go before they close and smog it.

 

I forgot to update the thread. So after I brought truck to smog shop last weekend, I took it home and put the old,, original gas cap back on then i unplugged the battery for 2 hours. Reconnected it and drove it 70 miles on the freeway. Then on Friday, I went to the gas station and put enough gas (92 octane) to fill it a bit higher than half a tank. I then drove about 3 miles in stop and go traffic until I reached the freeway.. I then drove on the freeway for approx 50minutes between 50 and 60mph. Stopped, had lunch then immediately drove it a few miles to the closest smog shop. Had to ask guy to plug in OBD reader to check (they don't like doing this) and he said it was ready. It passed in 10minutes! A big relief since Toyota wanted to charge me $300 to diagnose! Thanks for all tips and tricks!

 

good deal. Glad it passed. I hate emission test

 

Thank you. I was so stressed out over it because reg is due in a day or 2. I have no way of knowing what made it pass. I think it was driving slower on the freeway with foot on pedal whole time. I think that got the cat converter hotter.