unhappyI'd done things right for this smog check scenario. I'd run Guaranteed to Pass engine treatment through the previous tank. I'd taken it out for a run on the freeway to warm it up, since when the engine is cold, it's likely to fail the test. But it was to no avail. Now I get to figure out how to collect on the guarantee on the fuel treatment.
I had to release the "doghouse" engine cover in order for them to do the smog check. This involves removing the between-seats console that Lisa built to hold the ham and CB radios (and also a couple of cup-holders), and also removing the glove compartment console, which sits over the engine cover. Then you have to loosen a pair of captive screws inside the engine compartment and two latches inside the van itself. When I got in the van to leave, the cover seemed to be back in place -- the latches were strapped down -- but as I drove away, I realized that something was not right and the cover was not completely secured.
The smog shop is only a couple of blocks from my apartment, so I opened the windows (to make sure there wasn't a buildup of engine fumes inside and limped back home and opened things up. Turns out the smog shop hadn't re-secured the captive screws. Worse, because they forced it back into place, they'd bent the holding bracket for one of the screws. Fortunately, I was able to eventually bend it back where it belonged, and after twenty or thirty minutes of poking around, got the engine cover secured again. I won't reinstall the glove compartment until after repairs are made, because I'd just have to remove it again or pay a mechanic to do so.
At least I still have more than a month before the registration is due, so I've got time to get the repairs done.