Receiving a state inspection for a vehicle isn’t purposeless.
The law helps protect motorists throughout the year.
However, regular state inspections aren’t required in some states, such as Maryland. Drivers are only expected to have their vehicle checked when they purchase it.
This contributed to a recent incident that brought a Maryland family to Steve’s Auto Repair & Tire.
State inspections can help prevent problems
The lower control arm of the family’s Hyundai Sedan rusted and broke off while they were traveling. A lower control arm is connected to the frame of the vehicle and the steering knuckle by the lower ball joint.
Having their vehicle checked regularly could have prevented the issue.
“If they had been coming in for a yearly inspection, there would have been a better chance this would have been caught,” the General Manager at Steve’s Auto Repair & Tire said.
The broken part didn’t lead to any injuries.
“Fortunately — in this case — they weren’t going too fast and didn’t hurt anyone, but imagine if they had been going down the highway like this,” the General Manager said. “So, this isn’t just about the individual, it’s about the safety of all drivers on the road.”
Steve’s Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Goodyear tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including BMW and Mercedes. Services include oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
Traveling during late hours can be stressful and dangerous.
Addressing hazy headlights can improve safety and visibility.
Over time, a vehicle’s headlamps can grow foggy as their clear coat finish wears off and the headlight cover becomes pitted.
Steve’s Auto Repair and Tire in Woodbridge has the ability to restore them.
Restoring and replacing headlights
According to Steve’s Auto Repair and Tire Manager Jon Conner, changing a headlight cover can fix the issue. Some lights must be replaced entirely.
“You can make an appointment with us and we will evaluate the headlights on your car, truck or SUV and give you a recommendation if they can be restored or need to be replaced,” Conner said.
The headlamps don’t just impact a driver’s safety or ability to see at night. They can also cause issues in an annual check up.
“During a state inspection, headlights are checked for alignment and for candle power — or how bright they are,” Conner said. “For example, the headlights might require an 8,000 candlepower rating to pass the inspection. If it gets to low, you can actually fail it.”
Steve’s Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Goodyear tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including BMW and Mercedes. Services include oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
If you’re in the market for a new vehicle beware of “flood cars,” especially following the devastating hurricanes in Texas, Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
“‘Flood cars’ are one of the things we saw after 2008, was that the Midwest had their big floods out there through Missouri and Iowa…and Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana,” said Steve’s Auto Repair & Tire Owner ST Billingsley.
Flood cars are vehicles that have been salvaged from disaster areas, which are cleaned up, auctioned, and resold to often unsuspecting consumers across the United States. And in some cases, these cars have clean CarFaxes that don’t even have information about the flood water damage in the vehicle, making it difficult for buyers to make an informed decision.
“There are places that do a really good job of cleaning them up, even to where you can’t even smell where water’s been in it,” said Billingsley.
And buying one of these flood cars can be a costly mistake.
“They have the car, it looks good, it’s what they wanted – and then they’re frustrated because they’re going to the mechanic all the time because of these weird issues,” said Billingsley.
Buyers of these cars will run into issues like their car battery going dead for no apparent reason, the car horn blaring or the doors locking sporadically, rust, and other electrical problems – sometimes intermittently.
According to Billingsley, this is a result of water getting into the wire harness and shorting out terminals and fuse boxes in the car.
“Especially with the way these cars are computer controlled – all of the electronics – there are multiple fuse boxes in all of these vehicles. Some are low, some are high up in the car. When that water sits in there, corrosion starts to build up,” said Billingsley.
While it may be difficult, there are ways to tell if the car you’re interested in may be a flood car.
“When you have the car up in the air, and having somebody looking for items like this…if you just bent down to look, you wouldn’t necessarily see any dirt or any water lines,” said Billingsley.
Trained technicians can spot residual mud and dirt, as well as waterlines underneath the dash, if they have the vehicle up on the rack. There are also voltage tests and related components that can be tested to determine if the car is working properly.
Want to avoid buying a costly flood car? Taking a car you’re interested in to a shop like Steve’s Auto for a pre-purchase inspection is an important step. Our qualified technicians will fully inspect the vehicle from top to bottom, noting any issues or potential issues, and make sure you’ve got as much information as possible as you decide whether or not to continue with the purchasing process.
Steve’s Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Goodyear tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including BMW and Mercedes. Services include oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
As a consumer you do not always have the ability to know what your car will need other than the visual items that you can see but here are some things to keep in mind prior to going to the state inspection station.
Look at your tires to check the tread depth, turn your wheels to the side and look for inside and outside tire wear, run your hands over the surface of the tire and see if they are wearing evenly. If there is more wear on either the inside or outside, chances are that your car is out of alignment, if the tires treads are the wear bars in three locations, your tires will most likely fail state inspection. Use a Penny to gauge the tread depth, if you can see Lincoln’s Head, they are too low on tread and will most likely fail.
Check all of your lights, have a family member operate all of the lights to confirm if any bulbs are not working. Look at the tag lights (these lights illuminate the license plate) this is often overlooked by the car owner, they must be in working condition and are very inexpensive replacements. Check the reverse lights, marker lights (the orange ones located on the sides of the vehicle) brakes lights, including the third brake light. Also condensation in the headlight assemblies that affect the light pattern can cause you to fail as well. Making sure all bulbs are in good working order can save you from a rejection sticker at the inspection station.
Make sure the mirrors are not cracked or missing, the horn works and works correctly (not muffled) and if you hear a loud exhaust noise from under the car that is not normally there you may want to get that looked at before you go for inspection.
Another overlooked item is the seat belts, check to see if they work properly and latch. Check that the drivers window works, the other ones do not have to but this one does.
Now for a confusing one: lights on the dash. These go back and forth depending on the State Police manual. As of February 2014, the ABS (antilock brake system) light CAN be on, The Airbag light has to come on for a bulb check then go OFF. The parking brake light has to work when the parking brake is applied and the high beam indicator has to work.
These are some of the items you can check in your driveway before taking you vehicle in for a Virginia State Inspection.
Below are some state inspection items that are more easily checked at a shop.
State inspection check
Suspension system. At Steve’ s Auto, we do a free inspection of these items every time you bring your car in for service with us. If you see any fluids in your driveway, take note of the color and get it checked out. If your rack and pinion is leaking (this is your steering component) you will fail inspection.
Ball Joints and other suspension items are also part of a state inspection. Even though as a consumer you cannot tell if they are bad, there are some tell tale signs to listen for. Clunking coming from the front end is a good indication that they may be getting worn out. Loose tie rod ends are also a wearable item and it does affect your alignment and tire wear as well.
Brakes are also one of the items the state inspector will be looking at. If you have noticed any squealing or grinding you may need brakes, have a pre-brake inspection done so there are no surprises when you go to get it inspected. It requires removing at least 2 of the wheels and getting a measurement of thickness on the pads and rotors to determine if it will pass. The state legal limit is 2/32nds, if it’s below the 2/32nds specification, it will fail.
Steve’s Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Goodyear tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including BMW and Mercedes. Services include oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
