CA DMV problem (sigh) (1 Viewer)

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Feeling for your troubles.....

Tho the registering out of state option is the easiest, if you plan on driving it here in CA you run the risk of starting this process all over.

If a vehicle is operated in CA for an extended period of time it has to be registered here. Which means if you get cited for anything the clock starts. As long as you don't get pulled over you are ok.

Perhaps petitions to legislature are in order. :rolleyes:

good luck.
 
It appears that all light-duty diesels will be required to be smog tested, but no one has been able to definitively give me an answer about older vehicles. The one point that I have kept coming back to is that diesels in CA are not smog-exempt, they simply are exempt until 2011 from being tested - big difference. I was so close to pulling the trigger on the 1HZ motor, but that would have been a very expensive gamble.

In Vancouver, British Columbia and area they have been smog testing light duty diesels like the 3B for at least 10 years. I have NEVER even been close to failing with my Toyota diesels (3B both naturally aspirated and turbo'd as well as a naturally aspirated "L" engine).

The test criteria is less than 30% opacity, whatever that means exactly I'm not sure, and I am generally below 5% and often at 0% on regular diesel fuel.

I have had an '84 BJ60 that was in need of a rebuild that had so much blowby that occasionally folks would ask if it was on fire!! If the blowby was low enough or not visible so that I was allowed into the building to be checked, it too passed easily!

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about smog testing on the diesels unless you've messed around with fuel delivery or injection timing. In the end, if you meet the emissions standards as they applied on the date of manufacture you should be OK.
 
Maybe these new diesel emissons testing will act in our favor as it will provide an outlet for proving it passes some smog criteria. As it sits now, they ask for a letter from Toyota. As Toyota was never required to provide such testing from the beginning they have no way of providing such a letter. New diesels are manufactured for California so there's no problem. They want some evidence to support smog compliance for a state that has no smog reg's regarding diesels. It's a catch-22 for the motorist. So once the smog testing becomes required one could simply bring a certificate of emissions as we do with our gassers every other year,then no problem.
 
I feel your pain. This is exactly the scenario that happened to me when I first brought in my BJ42, but I was able to get the clear title from CADMV by throwing all my RI paperwork at them. It looks like somebody at CADMV has gotten wind of these imports and they are clamping down. My situation was relatively easy, Diesel42's was harder, and now your situation seems impossible. So CA DMV in its infinite wisdom seems to have banned diesel LCs from Cali.

The irony in my situation is that my BJ42 is now going back to Canucklandia to its new home. One less diesel LC in Cali.

Wish I could help, but you're doing everything I did, but it's no longer working with CA DMV so I have nothing to add...

B
 
rip out the diesel. Stick in a smelly 454 with a couple 02 sensors and cats to comply with the regulations and pollute like crazy.

Their heads must be up there asses.






Actually I stand by my first comment of making your truck a 1960's FJ40. Too early for smogging...
 
My 84 came from CA and has CA emissions stickers under the hood so I know it had to pass some kind of test. To register in CT was a simple test. The DMV had a list of places that test diesels. You'd think that they would atleast test you and then deny. But to not let u test at all dosen't add up.Mabe u can copy these stickers;) Good luck.
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My 84 came from CA and has CA emissions stickers under the hood so I know it had to pass some kind of test. To register in CT was a simple test. The DMV had a list of places that test diesels. You'd think that they would atleast test you and then deny. But to not let u test at all dosen't add up.Mabe u can copy these stickers;) Good luck.

Moe, I don't know where those stickers came from or who made them up but they most definitely DO NOT apply to a 3B engine which is what I assume is in your BJ42!

You'd have a tough time finding an EGR valve or a purge tank or any of the other stuff that your sticker talks about (unless someone has really gone to town on that engine).
 
Moe, I don't know where those stickers came from or who made them up but they most definitely DO NOT apply to a 3B engine which is what I assume is in your BJ42!

You'd have a tough time finding an EGR valve or a purge tank or any of the other stuff that your sticker talks about (unless someone has really gone to town on that engine).

I hear u. It's a 3B, but none of that stuff is on the engine. I can only asume that the stickers were necessary to get the vehicle regestered in CA.
 
HAHA!! Don't forget the fact that the sticker says a 1984 vehicle conforms to 1997 regulations! I love it... Also I think I see its listed as 132cu. in... Missing a few liters there, I think, heehee.

As it stands, none of this will work for me now. I was going to put on fradulent stickers and have it reinspected, however I got friendly with one of the women in the Tech Compliance division and she warned me that the file is going to stay open. I don't give the DMV more credit for intelligence than due, but I suspect that even they would catch me on this one...
 
Just my advice, but you need a pre 75 frame and title. That is the only way to beat this foolish and irresponsible state law.
 
I have "sold" the vehicle to a member of my family in another state. I will be "borrowing" it indefinitely here in CA.

A frame swap might be more :banana:'s than I'm capable of.
 
hey boys- i just finished importing a 60 with a 2h into cali. from b.c. and had no problems. but, according to my canadian r.i., if the vin doesn't have the full 17 digits, they won't even try. there's something about california just flat out denying trucks with those other numbers. also, she was telling me that if you get a truck into california without all the appropriate paperwork done from the exporting country, california is famous for just saying 'no'. as for the future emissions testing, i have heard that it will be a 2-tier test, with older cars and trucks having one set of standards and newer vehicles having a tougher set of standards. i just haven't heard if there is an age beyond which you don't have to test. we'll see. currently my truck is in the shop getting a checkup, but when i get it back, i'll see about a picture of those emissions stickers. sorry to hear about all the troubles you're having. i feel sort of guilty that mine has gone so well. although without this forum and the archives, i never would have been able to make it happen.

geoff
 
Plates in hand!

Courtesy of a state without its head up it own ass.

:beer:
 
Amaurer,
can you give a few more details as to what exactly happened?
Which state did you use? Is it possible to try and register the truck later in Cal. as a move from another American state? Do you need to surrender your plates while that would occur?

Perhaps you will just decide to hold things as they are indefinitely....
 
The executive summary is:

- if the truck has a less-than-17 digit VIN, you get to speak with CA's tech compliance unit.

- north american trucks excluded, they will ask for compliance testing (different from smog testing)

- there are no licensed diesel compliance testing labs

- they'll refund your $ and cancel the registration

- *if you try things like I did without registering in another state FIRST, there is no going back, your VIN is forever taboo'd in CA* unless...

- if, when registering in another state after being denied in CA, that state issues a 17-digit VIN, then you CAN re-register in CA.

- i registered in Illinois. there were no problems, they actually have a checklist of the import epa/fmvss exemption forms that we know and love, and expect them. plates issued on the spot.
 
The executive summary is:

- if the truck has a less-than-17 digit VIN, you get to speak with CA's tech compliance unit.

- north american trucks excluded, they will ask for compliance testing (different from smog testing)

- there are no licensed diesel compliance testing labs

- they'll refund your $ and cancel the registration

- *if you try things like I did without registering in another state FIRST, there is no going back, your VIN is forever taboo'd in CA* unless...

- if, when registering in another state after being denied in CA, that state issues a 17-digit VIN, then you CAN re-register in CA.

- i registered in Illinois. there were no problems, they actually have a checklist of the import epa/fmvss exemption forms that we know and love, and expect them. plates issued on the spot.

Congrats on getting your BJ42 registered. I was following your story. What a pain in the a%$#. :mad:

Interesting that a few vendors on EBay are selling non-Canadian diesel LandCruisers and saying there is no problem on getting them into Cali.After reading your story I am having doubts.

Bob
 
Congrats on getting your BJ42 registered. I was following your story. What a pain in the a%$#. :mad:

Interesting that a few vendors on EBay are selling non-Canadian diesel LandCruisers and saying there is no problem on getting them into Cali.After reading your story I am having doubts.

Bob

If the sellers have registered a non-canadian cruiser in another state before CA is told of the VIN number then there will be no problem reregistering it in CA.

The reason is that CA will try to exclude all non-canadian diesels, but a non-17 digit VIN carries no information about the country of origin. so if you get a title from another state (instead of the country of origin), there is no way for CA to know where it came from and thus you're clean.
 
If the sellers have registered a non-canadian cruiser in another state before CA is told of the VIN number then there will be no problem reregistering it in CA.

The reason is that CA will try to exclude all non-canadian diesels, but a non-17 digit VIN carries no information about the country of origin. so if you get a title from another state (instead of the country of origin), there is no way for CA to know where it came from and thus you're clean.

Good to know. Thanks for the info...
 
The executive summary is:

- if the truck has a less-than-17 digit VIN, you get to speak with CA's tech compliance unit.

- north american trucks excluded, they will ask for compliance testing (different from smog testing)

- there are no licensed diesel compliance testing labs

- they'll refund your $ and cancel the registration

- *if you try things like I did without registering in another state FIRST, there is no going back, your VIN is forever taboo'd in CA* unless...

- if, when registering in another state after being denied in CA, that state issues a 17-digit VIN, then you CAN re-register in CA.

- i registered in Illinois. there were no problems, they actually have a checklist of the import epa/fmvss exemption forms that we know and love, and expect them. plates issued on the spot.


Very Interesting, I can concur with most of this, I have many from other countries and one thing that has been helpful everytime for me is I brought them in from anther state. Trying to bring one directly into CA is the hardest process in the whole country and should not be done unless you are sure you will have not problem. My Bj42 came from Arizona and had not problems. Welcome to the Diesel owners of California :)

Cheers,

Michael
 
I'm interested in this "less than 17 digit VIN" business.

My BJ has " BJ40 039567" stamped on the RH chassis rail (numbers altered to protect the inncocent)

On a plate on the firewall, it says the model number is BJ40RV-KCQ. And on that same plate it gives the "chassis number" as a repeat of what's stamped on the chassis rail.

My experience of VIN numbers is that they're usually a combination of the model number and chassis number.

But if I put BJ40RV-KCQ 039567 forward as my VIN in California - It is only 15 digits long so they'd just sit there (cross-eyed with mouth wide open). Therefore I'd first add a couple of zeros to get:
BJ40RV-KCQ 00039567​

Shouldn't be a problem doing this because the Toyota electronic parts catalogue wants one extra zero anyway (for me to successfully identify my vehicle on it).

The 17 digits would make them happy only for an instant though. -- Until their computer registers "security alert" and alarm bells and sirens start up. The "Q" would identify my vehicle as "Australian Market". A "prohibited import country" no less!!!! And I'd get the gestapo treatment (and deservedly so OF COURSE).

So the answers simple - Just substitute another letter for the "Q". (What's the letter for Canada?)

:cheers:
 

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