Smog Preparation Service
Proactive care prevents emissions failures. Your personal mechanic, David Jr., performs a comprehensive pre-inspection, identifying potential issues before they cause a failure at the official ADEQ testing station. He then consults with you on any findings, providing a clear path to a first-time pass. Disclaimer: Apex Automotive is a diagnostic and repair facility. We do not administer, give, or conduct emissions tests. By appointment.
A smog preparation service is a proactive, pre-test evaluation designed to identify and resolve potential emissions failures before you visit an Arizona testing station. Rather than discovering problems at the test — which costs you the test fee, a retest fee, and wasted time — a smog prep appointment at Apex Automotive catches issues in advance so you pass the first time.
At our Gilbert facility, David Jr. performs a comprehensive pre-test simulation that mirrors what the ADEQ emissions testing station evaluates. The process begins with a full OBD-II scan to check for stored, pending, and permanent diagnostic trouble codes. Any active code will cause an automatic failure. Pending codes, while not yet triggering the check engine light, indicate a fault that is one drive cycle away from becoming a confirmed failure — these must be addressed before testing.
The next critical step is readiness monitor verification. Arizona requires that all applicable OBD-II readiness monitors show READY status. For 2001-and-newer vehicles, only one monitor may be NOT READY. For 1996-2000 vehicles, up to two may be NOT READY. If your vehicle's battery was recently disconnected, if codes were recently cleared, or if a repair was recently performed, monitors may not have completed their self-tests. David Jr. checks each monitor's status and, if needed, guides the vehicle through the manufacturer-specific drive cycle to set them.
Beyond the electronic evaluation, smog preparation includes a visual and functional inspection of emissions-related components: gas cap seal integrity, catalytic converter condition, EVAP system hose connections, EGR valve operation, and PCV system function. For pre-1996 vehicles or those requiring a tailpipe test, we perform a preliminary exhaust gas analysis to check HC, CO, CO2, O2, and NOx levels against Arizona thresholds.
Apex Automotive is a diagnostic and repair facility — we do not administer, perform, or conduct emissions tests. Our smog preparation service ensures your vehicle is test-ready before you spend money at a testing station. By appointment only — call David Jr. at (480) 588-2250.