Honda Civic SI - CAI and Readiness Monitors
Abstract
2007 Honda Civic SI has a non CARB legal CAI installed. This caused the following issues with the car:
- Since this car is registered in California, all parts on the engine must either be from the factory or be CARB legal. This car had a non-CARB certified Cold Air Intake (CAI) installed. Therefore, whenever the car had to be smogged, the illegal CAI had to be removed and the factory intake had to be re-installed.
- With the CAI was installed, the car ran in a rich condition.
Description
My friend calls me in a very concerned tone. He told me that his son’s car passed all SMOG tests except for the Catalyst Readiness Monitor did not complete. He didn't understand what this meant and thought maybe it would be expensive to resolve.
I then asked him what he did. After disconnecting the battery, he said that he helped his son remove the CAI and re-installed the factory intake. His son drove the car through the weekend, and then took it in during the week for a mandatory SMOG test. It failed due to the Catalyst Readiness Monitor not completing. In an effort to reset the PCM, he disconnected the battery. His son drove it a day or so and took the car in again for a SMOG test, but it failed again because the Catalyst Readiness Monitor did not complete.
This is when my friend called me. My first step was to explain what
Readiness Monitors were. My second step was to explain to him that only if the Catalyst Monitor found an error would it require work. Since he didn't have a shop manual, we had to research the drive cycle for his car. After much time, we found the following:
DriveAccord.com.
2007 Honda Civic SI Drive Cycle
- Make sure the gas tank is nearly but not completely full (around 3/4).
- Make sure the vehicle has been parked with the engine off for 8 hours or more.
- Make sure the ambient temperature is between 20°F and 95°F.
- Without touching the accelerator pedal, start the engine, and let it idle for 20 seconds.
- Keeping the vehicle in Park (automatic transmission) or Neutral (manual transmission), increase the engine speed to 2,000 rpm, and hold it there until the temperature gauge rises to at least 1/4 of the scale (about 3 minutes).
- Select a nearby lightly traveled major highway where you can maintain a speed of 50 to 60 mph (80 to 97 km/h) for at least 20 minutes. Drive on the highway in D (A/T) or 5th/6th (M/T). Do not use the cruise control.
- When traffic allows, drive for 90 seconds without moving the accelerator pedal. (Vehicle speed may vary slightly; this is okay.) If you cannot do this for a continuous 90 seconds because of traffic conditions, drive for at least 30 seconds, then repeat it two more times (for a total of 90 seconds).
- Then drive in city/suburban traffic for at least 10 minutes. When traffic conditions allow, let the vehicle coast for several seconds without using the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal.
My friend's son executed this procedure and the Catalyst Readiness Monitor executed and passed. In the next couple of days following, he took it in for a SMOG test and was issued a passing SMOG certificate.
What Went Well
- My friend learned that a CAI can affect the PCM’s model of the engine
- My friend learned about Readiness Monitors
- After research and carefully driving, the car finally executed all Readiness Monitors completely and correctly
What Could Have Gone Better
- We learned that the drive cycle must be followed to the letter
Related Links
Related Videos
GeekDIYMechanic – Readiness Monitors Overview