• Inspection Facts from 2009
• AirCare Works! Messaging
• AirCare Certified Technician receives 10th Quality Repair Award
• Jimmy Wong Takes Over the AirCare Research Lab
• Top Customer Queries

TOP STORIES

Inspection Facts from 2009

The following are some inspection statistics from 2009. 

• There were 473,034 total inspections on 423,111 individual vehicles.
• AirCare's busiest month was March where 42,530 emissions inspections were performed. December experienced the lowest number of inspections - 29,337 inspections.
• Vehicles inspected in the month of June experienced the highest failure rate - 12.05% compared to the 11.01% average for the year.
• AirCare performed nearly 51,000 less inspections than last year.

AirCare Works! Messaging

On AirCare.ca, a webpage has been created to show motorists and residents of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley the impact AirCare and emission related repairs have on the air quality in this region.  To make it easy for visitors to find the page a button with the "AirCare Works! Find Out How..." tag is prominently featured on the homepage of AirCare's website.  To further advertise this new web feature, 10' by 20' billboards have been erected at the Surrey, Coquitlam and East Vancouver AirCare inspection stations to direct motorists to the website.  Those interested in reading more on how AirCare works can follow this direct link: AirCare Works!

AirCare Certified Technician receives 10th Quality Repair Award

Teen Yau Tse of Carline Brake & Muffler (Richmond) recently earned his 10th Quality Repair Award.  Teen's achievement qualifies him as an AirCare Master technician, which is acknowledged in his repair shop with a banner displayed over the repair bay.

Jimmy Wong Takes Over the AirCare Research Lab

Jimmy Wong, Project Engineer, has taken over operation of the AirCare Research Lab from AirCare's Emissions Testing Specialist, Brad Coupland.  Brad will focus more of his attention on automotive technical support and repair centre performance auditing.  Currently, Jimmy is working on particulate matter testing from diesel and gasoline fuelled vehicles.

Top Customer Queries

The AirCare program has been in operation since 1992.  Most motorists have become knowledgeable about AirCare policy and procedures.  The following are the top 3 questions viewed on AirCare.ca and the answers:

What vehicles are exempt from AirCare?
The following exemptions are in effect during 2010:

• 2004 and newer model year vehicles
• Vehicles with vintage plates
• Motorcycles, snowmobiles, amphibious vehicles and ATVs
• Farm fleet and agricultural vehicles
• Motor homes with a net vehicle weight over 3500 kg.
• Vehicles with collector plates* (except new applications for collector status)
• Electric vehicles
• Hybrid vehicles

How much does an AirCare test cost?

• 1992 and newer vehicles: $45
• 1991 and older vehicles: $23
• Idle-only test: $23
• Re-inspections: $23
•  Visa, MasterCard, debit card and cash accepted.

What is a conditional pass?
If you have your vehicle repaired at an AirCare Certified Repair Centre and the vehicle still fails its re-inspection, your vehicle qualifies for a conditional pass. This will allow you to re-license and insure your vehicle for up to one year. Conditional passes allow motorists to defer the cost of expensive repairs over time instead of all at once, but not to indefinitely allow that vehicle to continue to operate with excess emissions.

If your vehicle fails its inspection and your repair shop indicated the defects that are not yet repaired, you should have these repairs done as soon as possible.

If your repair shop did not indicate that further repairs are required, you should return to the shop for a re-evaluation of your vehicle.

It is always recommended that motorists authorize complete repairs on their vehicle. A vehicle that has its emission system defects fully repaired rarely fails subsequent emissions inspections.

OPERATIONAL STATISTICS
December 2009 (YTD) 
Total Inspections: 29,337 
Pass: 25,300
Fail: 3,862
Conditional Pass: 175

2009-Year-End Statistics
Total Inspections:  473,034 
Pass: 404,764
Fail: 65,971
Conditional Pass: 2,299