The probe goes back into the exhaust

This article is dated as shown. Laws, fees and prices have changed since then. Check the figures before you rely on them.

How it was before and how it will be now

All cars built before 2006 had to have their emissions measured only at the exhaust pipe with a probe, while cars built from 2006 onwards could undergo a simplified check. Using an OBD adapter. The technician connected the OBD adapter and checked the control units for fault codes; if faults appeared, the technician resorted to measuring CO and CH with the probe. According to the statistics this was the case for 15% of cars. If the measurement showed no deviations, the car passed the inspection without any problems.

This will all change soon: from now on the measurement will have to be taken only with the probe. In 2015 the technical inspection association (VdTÜV) identified a number of faults that do not show up in the control units but have a strong effect on the environment. During the checks 1,750 cars were also tested. Only 1.9% of the cars tested via diagnostics showed faults. The same cars, checked at the exhaust pipe, rose to 7.1%. This means that around 1 million cars with poor emissions are on the road in Germany.

Manipulation by owners leads to this

For example, some tuning companies remove various emission-related parts from the car and, by manipulating the software, prevent any fault codes from appearing in the control units, but a measurement on the test bench with an exhaust gas analyser will reveal everything.

What will all this lead to?

During the inspection the technician will have to connect the exhaust gas analyser and carry out additional steps, so the price of the inspection itself will rise. At present an inspection costs around 95 euros depending on the test station; after the changes it will cost around 102 euros.