MA Inspection FAIL - refer MAC
May 31, 2014, 02:59 PM
#121
ok this happened to me today went for inspection on tuesday after the car sat all winter and was reject for all my emission test not failing but coming up as unsupported. Owner said to drive about 120 miles and go back so i went back today and the told me to call the number for MAC . My question is should i just go there and hope they just give me a pass and go on to get my sticker.My mods are all listed below thanks
Jun 3, 2014, 11:37 AM
#122
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ok this happened to me today went for inspection on tuesday after the car sat all winter and was reject for all my emission test not failing but coming up as unsupported. Owner said to drive about 120 miles and go back so i went back today and the told me to call the number for MAC . My question is should i just go there and hope they just give me a pass and go on to get my sticker.My mods are all listed below thanks
Sep 5, 2014, 07:55 PM
#124
I saw this powerpoint about the MAC centers posted on an Audi forum. I thought I'd share it here. I was disappointed to see that an Evo was singled out as one of their test cases. The wording is pretty poor, but the second slide seems to insinuate that they have a bank of VINs pre-determined and are sending certain cars to MAC centers even if they don't find anything wrong at a regular inspection station.
Sep 10, 2015, 02:45 PM
#125
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I hate to bring a thread back from over a year ago... I got my RA straightened out suspension wise, I went in for a sticker today and low and behold- fail for emissions. Realistically, all I have is a COBB stage 3 tune and a HF cat. It showed for Cat and O2 systems not supported. Ok, I get that... my bad for not returning to stock tune before testing. So I called the number, made the apt at the Bourne station for testing. Within 30 mins I got a call from the testing center. Man seemed decent enough, and had full knowledge of my car. My only trouble is that I am being told I must have the ECU factory reflashed, uninstalling the tune will not work. It looks like you guys have been through this for several years. I'm willing to roll back to the dealership, but does this sound right?
Sep 11, 2015, 04:05 AM
#126
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Update
I have to admit, that after a nights sleep and some time to think about this situation, so items are still bugging me. So the local inspector cannot retest the car- ok, so I must take it to a specialized center-ok. First off, you have to call a state number for more information. That number is recorded, an only after you make an appointment for evaluation will the operator disclose the physical location of the testing center. In less than 1/2 hour the testing location calls me to discuss it. And although courteous enough, I did not give my phone number out so not only was the conversation recorded but my number logged as well?
Anyone who resides or knows the commonwealth has to get this... So there is a private state run facility in an undisclosed location with state employees and state retirement? All to accomplish what the dealer or the mom and pop gas station that does stickers could do?
More: I stand corrected... Google is my friend! Apparently after looking into this, it is run by a private company (Parsons). As a matter of fact, they are hiring on craigslist...
Anyone who resides or knows the commonwealth has to get this... So there is a private state run facility in an undisclosed location with state employees and state retirement? All to accomplish what the dealer or the mom and pop gas station that does stickers could do?
More: I stand corrected... Google is my friend! Apparently after looking into this, it is run by a private company (Parsons). As a matter of fact, they are hiring on craigslist...
Last edited by SPSERG; Sep 11, 2015 at 04:29 AM.
Sep 15, 2015, 06:48 PM
#127
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Yeah it's incredibly unfortunate and I was going to come on and ask the same thing. I just got my car rebuilt at a shop in NH and he said I should pass with Tephra, but I had a suspicion that you won't be able to pass without a stock tune. Now what I've heard is that there are 3 different roms that come from the factory, and if the one you use is different than the year before, you also fail to pass inspection. I'm going to have to drive out 2 hours to get the car inspected. Let me know how it goes at MAC. Good luck
I have to admit, that after a nights sleep and some time to think about this situation, so items are still bugging me. So the local inspector cannot retest the car- ok, so I must take it to a specialized center-ok. First off, you have to call a state number for more information. That number is recorded, an only after you make an appointment for evaluation will the operator disclose the physical location of the testing center. In less than 1/2 hour the testing location calls me to discuss it. And although courteous enough, I did not give my phone number out so not only was the conversation recorded but my number logged as well?
Anyone who resides or knows the commonwealth has to get this... So there is a private state run facility in an undisclosed location with state employees and state retirement? All to accomplish what the dealer or the mom and pop gas station that does stickers could do?
More: I stand corrected... Google is my friend! Apparently after looking into this, it is run by a private company (Parsons). As a matter of fact, they are hiring on craigslist...
Anyone who resides or knows the commonwealth has to get this... So there is a private state run facility in an undisclosed location with state employees and state retirement? All to accomplish what the dealer or the mom and pop gas station that does stickers could do?
More: I stand corrected... Google is my friend! Apparently after looking into this, it is run by a private company (Parsons). As a matter of fact, they are hiring on craigslist...
Oct 7, 2015, 05:40 AM
#128
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MAC referral
I thought I would follow up on my experience , and let each member draw their own conclusion. No flaming please... I have a few years experience , and am no conspiracy theorist but sometimes the hard questions have to be asked. So here we go:
First off, everyone saw that I got tagged during annual inspection. Pretty basic Cobb accessport and very minor mods.
When I left the service station here on the Cape, I felt like I had just committed a capital crime. The inspector would not tell me anything other than to hand me a pamphlet. Drive home in disgust and look up the state website . The mass website will not tell you the exact location or let you do much of anything . You have to call the number. Ok, it's Friday- I have a reject sticker and it's pouring rain outside, why not? Call the state number and it's a recorded line. Quality assurance? Ha sure. I am a very polite person on the phone , but I started to get a little frustrated with the operator. They will not disclose the location of the MAC shop until you make an appointment . So I made the appt, and then the questions started. What modifications have I made to the car? I wasn't going to disclose anything, but they were nice enough to let me know I had some open recalls... see where I'm going?
10 minutes later my cell phone rings. It's the MAC center. Not only do they record the conversation , but log your phone number as well. Made the appt for a few weeks out. Again, what modifications have you made? Is this an evo? None, and no its a Ralliart. Make sure you have the dealer reflash the ecu to factory stock. Why I asked? The inspector stated he needed the paperwork from the dealer to prove it.
Well, I had my appointment with cape Mitsubishi, who was awesome by the way! They were doing the etacs recall so they set everything to stock, but I had to schedule another appt to finish the etacs, it seems it was giving them trouble and they didn't want to hold me up on a Saturday. Very fair, so off I went.
Now, with my computer and some time I wanted to see what this mac was all about. After all, it all seemed a bit shady to me.
So, after a few minutes I found that the center is actually run by the parsons corporation. They do enhanced emissions programs in MA and NJ . When you look at what other programs they run, that's when I started to get a little concerned. You see, parsons is also a government contractor. Their website is quite open about what Intel and cyber work they do. No secret about it but when you see that they are hiring covert inspection station observers it begs me to ask the question. What information is being gathered, and how is it being shared? Terms like cyber, covert and intel? Hmmm.
Down and dirty ... so I showed for the appointment as scheduled. I was 10 minutes late, and worried about it. Knock on the storefront door and no answer, so I wait. Finally an answer, and I was told to bring my car around back to the garage bay. Now in fairness , the gentleman was quite pleasant even though I was on the defensive. First check , window tint- is it factory ? No, I responded but it's within legal limits. Despite this, the meter came out. Ok, it's good he said but it looks very dark... well, it's a black car with black interior in a dimly lit bay, what do you expect? Next step, start it up and I will plug in. Do you have the paperwork from the dealer? No, it's stil, a work in progress... well, well, well, um, ah. Look, I said I can call the dealership and put you on the phone with the service manager to verify it. Well, I guess it's not necessary then was the response. Doing me a solid, maybe. So the obd verified all functions were supported and I would be unflagged in the computer.
Then I saw my folder... it had all of my inspection reports going back to when I bought the car in 2010. I had to ask the question , "what data are you gathering on me". Oh its just related to the emissions testing. Ok, well you have all of my personal information, including my cell phone what else did you pull off my computer ? I was told nothing but emissions. That statement still doesn't sit very well with me. I left, got a passing inspection sticker and had all the recalls completed. Car is finally good to go.
Call me what you will, and I am sure some of you will. I know there is a lot of data on my ecu and it's not from watching to many csi reruns. The company administering this enhanced test does work for the government and writes the software? Personally , I have a pretty boring life and aside from having too high of cholesterol look listen and watch whatever you want on my life but there are very strict laws about what is legal and what is not and I don't want any of that info in the wrong hands. OPM already lost most of it to hackers !
Should I drop it? Probably. Lots of other things to worry about... just keep in mind that this program is running at the behest of your government. I fully support and defend the constitution, and that's why I am concerned about what's going on here.
First off, everyone saw that I got tagged during annual inspection. Pretty basic Cobb accessport and very minor mods.
When I left the service station here on the Cape, I felt like I had just committed a capital crime. The inspector would not tell me anything other than to hand me a pamphlet. Drive home in disgust and look up the state website . The mass website will not tell you the exact location or let you do much of anything . You have to call the number. Ok, it's Friday- I have a reject sticker and it's pouring rain outside, why not? Call the state number and it's a recorded line. Quality assurance? Ha sure. I am a very polite person on the phone , but I started to get a little frustrated with the operator. They will not disclose the location of the MAC shop until you make an appointment . So I made the appt, and then the questions started. What modifications have I made to the car? I wasn't going to disclose anything, but they were nice enough to let me know I had some open recalls... see where I'm going?
10 minutes later my cell phone rings. It's the MAC center. Not only do they record the conversation , but log your phone number as well. Made the appt for a few weeks out. Again, what modifications have you made? Is this an evo? None, and no its a Ralliart. Make sure you have the dealer reflash the ecu to factory stock. Why I asked? The inspector stated he needed the paperwork from the dealer to prove it.
Well, I had my appointment with cape Mitsubishi, who was awesome by the way! They were doing the etacs recall so they set everything to stock, but I had to schedule another appt to finish the etacs, it seems it was giving them trouble and they didn't want to hold me up on a Saturday. Very fair, so off I went.
Now, with my computer and some time I wanted to see what this mac was all about. After all, it all seemed a bit shady to me.
So, after a few minutes I found that the center is actually run by the parsons corporation. They do enhanced emissions programs in MA and NJ . When you look at what other programs they run, that's when I started to get a little concerned. You see, parsons is also a government contractor. Their website is quite open about what Intel and cyber work they do. No secret about it but when you see that they are hiring covert inspection station observers it begs me to ask the question. What information is being gathered, and how is it being shared? Terms like cyber, covert and intel? Hmmm.
Down and dirty ... so I showed for the appointment as scheduled. I was 10 minutes late, and worried about it. Knock on the storefront door and no answer, so I wait. Finally an answer, and I was told to bring my car around back to the garage bay. Now in fairness , the gentleman was quite pleasant even though I was on the defensive. First check , window tint- is it factory ? No, I responded but it's within legal limits. Despite this, the meter came out. Ok, it's good he said but it looks very dark... well, it's a black car with black interior in a dimly lit bay, what do you expect? Next step, start it up and I will plug in. Do you have the paperwork from the dealer? No, it's stil, a work in progress... well, well, well, um, ah. Look, I said I can call the dealership and put you on the phone with the service manager to verify it. Well, I guess it's not necessary then was the response. Doing me a solid, maybe. So the obd verified all functions were supported and I would be unflagged in the computer.
Then I saw my folder... it had all of my inspection reports going back to when I bought the car in 2010. I had to ask the question , "what data are you gathering on me". Oh its just related to the emissions testing. Ok, well you have all of my personal information, including my cell phone what else did you pull off my computer ? I was told nothing but emissions. That statement still doesn't sit very well with me. I left, got a passing inspection sticker and had all the recalls completed. Car is finally good to go.
Call me what you will, and I am sure some of you will. I know there is a lot of data on my ecu and it's not from watching to many csi reruns. The company administering this enhanced test does work for the government and writes the software? Personally , I have a pretty boring life and aside from having too high of cholesterol look listen and watch whatever you want on my life but there are very strict laws about what is legal and what is not and I don't want any of that info in the wrong hands. OPM already lost most of it to hackers !
Should I drop it? Probably. Lots of other things to worry about... just keep in mind that this program is running at the behest of your government. I fully support and defend the constitution, and that's why I am concerned about what's going on here.
Jul 28, 2016, 04:35 AM
#132
I failed mid to late last year for the 3rd time in a row.. funny thing because nothing has changed on my tune for the last 4 years.... I called to make an appointment and they told me to go to the dealership for a factory flash and for paperwork with it. Well unfortunately I'm not going to do that, I have cams and fuel upgrades and my car won't run properly on a factory flash.
The MAC center hotline wouldn't tell me any information so I gave up on them. I don't drive the car enough to need to worry about getting pulled over for the inspection sticker. Until they revoke my registration for no inspection (I'll register it in VT if that's the case) I refuse to abide by their new policy. Every other time I have gone in there I never needed paperwork for a factory flash and passed fine.
- **** this state -
The MAC center hotline wouldn't tell me any information so I gave up on them. I don't drive the car enough to need to worry about getting pulled over for the inspection sticker. Until they revoke my registration for no inspection (I'll register it in VT if that's the case) I refuse to abide by their new policy. Every other time I have gone in there I never needed paperwork for a factory flash and passed fine.
- **** this state -
Jul 28, 2016, 07:28 AM
#133
Are you f**cking serious? What ROM ID do you have on your car? I was flagged a few years ago and they tried to pull the same BS on me. If you are on 96940011 i.e the US ROM for an 05 and your readiness tests come back as supported, the ones that our vehicles do support then there is no reason you shouldnt pass.
When I was flagged I was on a euro rom and they told me I needed to be reflashed back to stock and provide proof from the dealership. Well, similar story cams injectors etc. so that wasn't happening. I went back to the stock ROM only changes being injector scaling and target idle so I could dink the car there. The guy there told me he needed to see proof that it was back to stock from Mitsu.
I told him I just asked one of the techs and they did it for me and I didnt get a receipt. He told me to go back and I said Im not going back and paying $100 for a piece of paper for proof. My car was flagged bc apparently I didnt have stock ECU which your computer picked up on so plug it in and see if its the stock one now. There is your proof. It took some arguing but eventually the guy caved.
And of course it goes without saying dont show up without a cat or EGR or any of that crap. He put my car up on the lift and inspected the cat looking to find the Mitsu logo on it.
Play dumb but stand your ground. You said it yourself nothing has changed on your car and youve passed in the past. There is no reason you should need to shell out money to prove otherwise. Good luck!
When I was flagged I was on a euro rom and they told me I needed to be reflashed back to stock and provide proof from the dealership. Well, similar story cams injectors etc. so that wasn't happening. I went back to the stock ROM only changes being injector scaling and target idle so I could dink the car there. The guy there told me he needed to see proof that it was back to stock from Mitsu.
I told him I just asked one of the techs and they did it for me and I didnt get a receipt. He told me to go back and I said Im not going back and paying $100 for a piece of paper for proof. My car was flagged bc apparently I didnt have stock ECU which your computer picked up on so plug it in and see if its the stock one now. There is your proof. It took some arguing but eventually the guy caved.
And of course it goes without saying dont show up without a cat or EGR or any of that crap. He put my car up on the lift and inspected the cat looking to find the Mitsu logo on it.
Play dumb but stand your ground. You said it yourself nothing has changed on your car and youve passed in the past. There is no reason you should need to shell out money to prove otherwise. Good luck!
Aug 3, 2016, 12:43 PM
#135
That is crazy. Problem for me is that my car is my DD so not having a sticker means its only a matter of time until I get pulled over for it. Im struggling right now to get my car inspected. I have all the emmisions stuff I need on the car but I need to drive it around to get all the readiness checks to be supported. My problem is that by the time I get them supported my car throws a p0300 or 304 or whatever the flavor of the day is for the infamous misfire code. So then I have to clear it and start back over. Such a PITA!
Almost every other state allows up to 2 things not ready but of course here its up to 1 as long as its not the cat. Getting 6 functions to ready status comes quick but the friggin EGR and EVAP take longer. I checked this morning on my way to work realized my car was ready to be inspected starting driving over to get it inspected and then my CEL came on so I turned around and headed to work...
You know what else I was thinking about the other day. I thought it was always innocent until proven guilty. Well, if that is the case then they cant make anyone provide proof that our cars were flashed back to stock from the dealership. They would have to prove that they are not. Now Im not a lawyer so Im sure the argument is something like "oh well driving is a privilege not a right so that doesn't apply". But still the whole thing really grinds my gears.
Almost every other state allows up to 2 things not ready but of course here its up to 1 as long as its not the cat. Getting 6 functions to ready status comes quick but the friggin EGR and EVAP take longer. I checked this morning on my way to work realized my car was ready to be inspected starting driving over to get it inspected and then my CEL came on so I turned around and headed to work...
You know what else I was thinking about the other day. I thought it was always innocent until proven guilty. Well, if that is the case then they cant make anyone provide proof that our cars were flashed back to stock from the dealership. They would have to prove that they are not. Now Im not a lawyer so Im sure the argument is something like "oh well driving is a privilege not a right so that doesn't apply". But still the whole thing really grinds my gears.