Equipment Problems Bring Frustrations To Newtown’s Sole Emissions Testing Facility

By Kaaren Valenta

A malfunctioning piece of equipment shut down part of Newtown’s only motor vehicle emissions testing facility this week, forcing the cancellation of dozens of customer appointments.

“What a headache this is,” said Cathy Amaral-Freitas, general manager at Amaral Motors on South Main Street on Thursday morning. “The problem is with Agbar [Technologies] and the state [Department of Motor Vehicles]. I don’t have an estimated time when this will be fixed. Nobody at the state or Agbar has returned my calls.”

Ms Amaral-Frietas said that when the emissions equipment at Amaral Motors was tested on Monday morning, the dynometer, which tests 1979 through 1995 model year vehicles through a tailpipe probe, was not functioning correctly.

“We kept getting error messages on the computer,” she said. “A repairman came from Agbar and removed a large piece of the computer that contained a big circuitboard and a couple of hoses.”

Newer model vehicles, made since 1996, are tested by using a computer hookup, called On Board Diagnostics (OBD), but they also are potentially affected by the equipment breakdown.

“If the computer detects a problem, such as if the vehicle’s check engine light is on –– and it can come on for a gazillion different reasons –– then we have to stop and use the tailpipe test, which we now cannot do,” Ms Amaral-Frietas said. “We have to abort the test and tell the customer, ‘I’m sorry, we can’t complete the test.’”

Lynn Hyman, office assistant at Amaral Motors, said she was on the phone all week, first rescheduling customer appointments, then canceling them. “I made 27 calls for Monday and Tuesday, and 26 for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday,” she said.

Ms Amaral-Freitas said she was told that the vendor that makes the part delivers five of them every three weeks to Agbar. Fourteen emission stations are on a waiting list for the part, and Amaral is number 13 on the list, she said.

“They are getting five of them this Friday. Let’s do the math. I’m looking at possibly being down 10 to 12 weeks,” she said.

Amaral Motors is one of 258 independent stations statewide that are participating in the new emissions program that was launched by the DMV last October. The system, operated by Agbar Technologies under a contract with the state, replaced the state’s 20-year-old centralized emissions testing program that was disbanded after some emissions personnel in Bridgeport were accused of taking bribes to pass vehicles that otherwise would have failed the testing.

Models that are four years old or newer (currently model years 2001–2004) and those that are 25 years old or older are not required to have an emissions test. All others must be tested every two years; the cost is $20.

The new test also is much more extensive than the test done under the previous emissions testing system, Ms Amaral-Freitas said.

“The emissions regulations are so tight that a lot more vehicles are failing than used to fail,” she said. “People who haven’t kept up with the [vehicle] maintenance are in for a shock. It’s a far more intensive test than anyone thinks.”

Amaral Motors is referring customers who need the tailpipe probe test to the other area emissions testing stations.

“There are nine stations in Danbury, two in Bethel, two in Brookfield, and one in Monroe,” Ms Hyman said. “We recommend that if [the customers] can’t get an appointment before their due date, they should take whatever they can get and then call [the Department of Motor Vehicles] and tell them what happened. There is no reason why the customer should be penalized.”

But Ms Amaral-Freitas said the equipment breakdown is only part of the problem. Another problem is that vehicle owners are showing up at the deadline, thinking that they can get a test without an appointment.

“I got a fax earlier this month from the DMV saying that 30,000 notices are going out every week to vehicle owners telling them to call to schedule their emissions appointments,” she said. “But people aren’t reading the letter. It takes at least 30 to 40 minutes for the test so customers must call and make an appointment.”

“Many people are used to waiting until the last day, even if they had to wait three hours at an emissions station to get the test. But that’s not how the system works anymore. You have to call for an appointment immediately when you get the letter.”

When vehicle owners receive the letter from the DMV, they have 45 days to obtain the test. If the test is not done on time, a late fee will be added and the vehicle’s registration is in danger of not being renewed.

Ms Amaral-Freitas said there also still is confusion about the emission stickers on cars.

“People need to scrape off these stickers –– they don’t mean anything anymore. An emission test isn’t scheduled until you get a letter from the DMV.”

She said her staff spends a large part of each day explaining the new system to customers who often get angry with Amaral Motors for the problems they are having.

“People don’t read the letter and don’t want to look at the website or call the 800 number for an explanation,” she said. “And they are very upset if their vehicle fails the rest. They are screaming at us. But we don’t make up the numbers, we just perform the test.”

So far Amaral Motors is losing money doing the tests, she said.

“We were given the equipment but we had to pay for the plumbing, electrical, phone lines, and dig the hole for the dynometer. We supply the manpower [to do the testing] and in this weather we are losing heat every time we open the garage doors.”

“I am sorely disappointed that the state and Agbar went full force into doing this without testing it on a smaller scale first,” she said. “It is frustrating to us on all fronts.”

Efforts by The Bee to reach the DMV for a response were unsuccessful.

Anyone who needs general information about the emissions testing process can call the DMV automated information line at 800-842-8222 or 203-805-6244, email emissions@dmvct.org or check the website www.ctemissions.com.