Gallardo fails CA smog test - "catalyst" not ready

Anyone know how to solve this issue? I searched a ton and found some instructions along the lines of accelerating the car smoothly to 60 mph, then maintaining 60- 65 mph for five minutes straight in order to "ready" the catalyst.

 

I drove the car for about two hours today and tried this procedure about 10 times. Needless to say, although I executed the instructions perfectly at least three or four times ( maintaining that speed isn't easy!) my OBDII scanner still shows N/A on the catalyst, telling me that I still won't pass smog.

 

Anyone know how to fix this?

You need to drive it for another week. Two hours isn't enough. Did the battery die?

Yes, it died. But that was at least a couple of months ago. I wonder why it is taking so long? Is there an easy fix for this?

I replaced the battery and have driven in quite a bit since then. I read a few things online where people say they have driven a car a couple thousand miles and the catalyst indicator still does not show a reading!

It's probably easier to just hand whoever is doing the inspection a c-note.

It's probably easier to just hand whoever is doing the inspection a c-note.

 

Reasonably difficult to do here in CA, it's all read by a computer and not easily bypassed.

Yes, it died. But that was at least a couple of months ago. I wonder why it is taking so long? Is there an easy fix for this?

 

 

No, I had the same problem and and I drove mine for at least 500 miles and it would not clear when I changed the battery. Take it to Frank at Ragin Bull, he got mine to clear.

No, I had the same problem and and I drove mine for at least 500 miles and it would not clear when I changed the battery. Take it to Frank at Ragin Bull, he got mine to clear.

 

Great idea. I service my car with Frank, but the bad news is that he's an hour plus away and I just don't have the time to spend a half day this week going up there for the fix...

Great idea. I service my car with Frank, but the bad news is that he's an hour plus away and I just don't have the time to spend a half day this week going up there for the fix...

 

I have frequently flat bedded mine to him and back using the AAA extended plan. His shop is 101 miles from my home so it cost me $20.

I've had to deal with similar frustrations and experiences on other cars regarding getting the Catalyst to clear for CA smog. And like some posted here, I tried driving the car for long lengths of time & distances, thinking that's what was needed to clear the code (and getting more and more frustrated as I drove longer & longer without clearing it).

 

When I finally figured out the unbreakable rules, I then subsequently found I could clear the code in under 15 minutes every single time I tried.

 

1) stay in the middle of the MPH range for the test, do not come closer than 2mph to the upper or lower limit.

2) always keep your foot lightly on the gas, at no time should you depress the pedal significantly.

3) See #1.

4) Make sure you have the mph limits right on #1 .

5) See #1 & #4.

 

In a nutshell, the ECU's rules regarding the MPH speed limit ranges you need to stay within are absolute and unyielding. If your MPH goes too high or too low even by 1 mph, the current cycle is over and you're back to square one. If your speedo is even a little off and you take the car close to the lower or upper limit on your speedo, you may actually be exceeding the limits as far as the ECU is concerned. You said you have an OBD2 monitor, I suggest bringing up the MPH display and check it out while running the test on the freeway to make sure you are truly at the MPH the ECU needs you to be at.

 

As you probably know, you need to identify a stretch of freeway and time of day where you can cruise at a constant speed without issue and you need the willpower to stick to your mph limits no matter what traffic does around you including big-rigs on your tail or merging onto the freeway in front of you, etc. It will drive you absolutely nuts of course.

 

If you are following these basic steps and it's not clearing after 20 minutes tops, then perhaps the MPH limits you think work for the Lambo are incorrect. In the case of the E46 M3 for example (a nasty car to smog), 60mph was actually the upper fail limit. Cruising at 55-57mph was the way to go. Same thing for some other cars I looked into, including I think some Porsches. You mentioned 60-65mph for the Lambo, my guess is that's too high and is why you haven't cleared the test. I suggest you try 55-57mph, treating 59-60mph as the upper limit not to get too close to.

 

Side note, I often had my finger on the Hazard lights and would flip them on when someone was behind me for more than 10 seconds...

 

Caveat's: I haven't had any issues with smog for my LP, so I can only guess at the limits and exact test requirements for the car, based on having solved the issue on other cars.

 

Please report back and let us know how it goes!

Changing the batteries and then trying to pass smog is the biggest nightmare on these cars. I'm in a similar situation and it's being going on since June. I have tried everything I read and what the dealer asked me to do and it still wont reset. I think I put more miles on my car trying to reset the catalyst then I did the entire year!!

 

I just went ahead and paid for registration without getting the sticker from DMV.

Agree with SB....had to do this on my Bentley which had to drive 5 min at 55mph. It actually worked better closer to 50 mph. To add, the road you drove on has to be straight with no hills, otherwise the throttle will change too much to compensate for the hill ascent or descent.

Gonz (gmendoza) can chime in, he knows how to do all cars, including lugging an Espirit in high gear and low mph to get that cat signal to work.

Is the procedure same for a Murcielago?

Is the procedure same for a Murcielago?

 

I have found 50-55mph for a little over 5min works on my Murcie. It never sets over 60mph

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I went ahead and re-registered the car in Texas as I have a residence there as well. It was a little bit of a pain, but it's done now, and no more worrying about CA smog.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I went ahead and re-registered the car in Texas as I have a residence there as well. It was a little bit of a pain, but it's done now, and no more worrying about CA smog.

 

Not sure on the Gallardos but on the Murci mine wouldn't pass for the love of god. Drove it fast, drove it slow, accelerated hard, accelerated slow. Nothing worked. I had to take it to the dealership and they installed an update. Passed with flying colors.

Is there an update for a Gallardo?