My Jeep failed PA inspection because..

[four low]

Glad to hear you were able to work it out. Never take them to the dealership. In the dealerships defense, they are held to a higher standard and have much more to lose if they fail a secret inspection by the state. Without the inspection station it makes it difficult for them to pass through used cars. On top of that, it is a nice source of income for them as they follow the letter of the law to T and prey on people that don't know better and charge them to fix items like the ones you had. Most people just pay them and move on.

The entire inspection is a joke anyway. How many vehicles do you see driving down the road with 4 different tires on them, doors hanging off, no exhaust, duct taped headlights, etc.? Here in Colorado, we don't have a safety inspection, just emissions and really high yearly taxes based on vehicle cost according to the State. My JLUR is $935 a year. I purchased a motorhome last year and the fee was $7,680 for one year!!! Next year it drops to $7,400. I paid 30% off MSRP for the RV, but they charge you based on MSRP. Adding salt to the wounds is that 1 out of 5 vehicles here is running around without a plate, expired plate, or a temp plate from 8 months ago. Apparently, the cops don't pull over for this.

You are paying over $7 THOUSAND DOLLARS per year as a Tax on that Motor home ?? Is that a " Personal Property " tax on EVERY vehicle you own as well ??

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[JeepinJason33]

You are paying over $7 THOUSAND DOLLARS per year as a Tax on that Motor home ?? Is that a " Personal Property " tax on EVERY vehicle you own as well ??

You get charged for each vehicle by the state. You have to pay this each year to get your plates renewed. It is paid to the DMV. Older vehicles like my daughters 2001 XJ are around $100, but for the first 5-7 years on a newer vehicle of $60,000-$70,000 MSRP you pay nearly $1,000 each year and it only goes down a bit during that time. The motorhome had a $350,000 MSRP and it weighs 30,000 pounds so you get beat to hell on it.

For reference, my SRT was going to be $1,570 to register here in Colorado. At the time, I also had a residence in Texas. I drove it to Texas as that is where I was going to keep it and it was $135 all in down there! I am setting up another residence now as I am expanding our business to Texas and will drive the motorhome there this year to get plates in Texas. The problem is, up here in Denver there are people that patrol the storage areas and look for out of state plates and report them to the police and the fine is huge if you can't show proof of a real residence. I will also change my drivers license to Texas as well. That is where people generally get in trouble. They don't change over there drivers license.

 

[JeepinJason33]

Couldn't you just disconnect the lights at the housing and say "they aren't connected"?

When I lived in PA, if you had lights on the bumpers, even aftermarket, they had to work. And if they worked, they had to go off with the high beams and the rears could only go on with the reverse lights. Stupid law that the dealerships and some stickler inspection centers would nab you on like they did the OP. Taking it to the local guy got around all of that as they did not inspect as closely to the rule.

 

[four low]

You get charged for each vehicle by the state. You have to pay this each year to get your plates renewed. It is paid to the DMV. Older vehicles like my daughters 2001 XJ are around $100, but for the first 5-7 years on a newer vehicle of $60,000-$70,000 MSRP you pay nearly $1,000 each year and it only goes down a bit during that time. The motorhome had a $350,000 MSRP and it weighs 30,000 pounds so you get beat to hell on it.

For reference, my SRT was going to be $1,570 to register here in Colorado. At the time, I also had a residence in Texas. I drove it to Texas as that is where I was going to keep it and it was $135 all in down there! I am setting up another residence now as I am expanding our business to Texas and will drive the motorhome there this year to get plates in Texas. The problem is, up here in Denver there are people that patrol the storage areas and look for out of state plates and report them to the police and the fine is huge if you can't show proof of a real residence. I will also change my drivers license to Texas as well. That is where people generally get in trouble. They don't change over there drivers license.

I remember the Tax Patrols in Connecticut, which has a personal property tax on EVERYTHING ; they would go to airports, Boatyards, Camper Storage yards, looking for the culprit, and proof of residence . Personal Property taxes add a lot to the cost of living, consider this BEFORE you move.

 

[Whaler27]

Because your "Off Road" lights could be turned on anytime, potentially blinding oncoming drivers, whether on purpose or accidentally, that risk has to be eliminated.
Ditto with the rear " work lights". It lighting doesn't conform to DOT or State regulations, no pass. You might be upright, responsible, and all that, but Laws are enacted as protection from those that are not. Sad but True.

I still don’t get it, because hooking the lights up to a high beam relay still won’t prevent the driver from intentionally blinding traffic - but I’m glad the OP has gotten past this.

I like the convenience of having aux lights switchable only when the high beams are on, because everything comes on and off with one switch, but that doesn‘ make sense for fog lights.

 

[Whaler27]

I remember the Tax Patrols in Connecticut, which has a personal property tax on EVERYTHING ; they would go to airports, Boatyards, Camper Storage yards, looking for the culprit, and proof of residence . Personal Property taxes add a lot to the cost of living, consider this BEFORE you move.

This is mind boggling. Connecticut taxes the crap out you when you buy something and then continues to tax your ownership of that thing forever!? It thought you were kidding, so I looked it up:

”Personal Property can be defined, in the most general terms, as anything and everything that is owned (excluding land and anything permanently affixed to the land or any interest in land). There are three Connecticut General Statues that help to define Personal Property:”

Wow.

So my tractor, my washer and drier, my TV, my guns, my couch, my socks… everything, every year, forever. In my state the only thing you never really own is your land.

 

[four low]

This is mind boggling. Connecticut taxes the crap out you when you buy something and then continues to tax your ownership of that thing forever!? It thought you were kidding, so I looked it up:

”Personal Property can be defined, in the most general terms, as anything and everything that is owned (excluding land and anything permanently affixed to the land or any interest in land). There are three Connecticut General Statues that help to define Personal Property:”

Wow.

So my tractor, my washer and drier, my TV, my guns, my couch, my socks… everything, every year, forever. In my state the only thing you never really own is your land.

Why I left the Frying Pan for the Fire ; Connecticut to New York, that's North, not the pitiable collection of NYC and environs.

 

[DadJokes]

Because your "Off Road" lights could be turned on anytime, potentially blinding oncoming drivers, whether on purpose or accidentally, that risk has to be eliminated.
Ditto with the rear " work lights". It lighting doesn't conform to DOT or State regulations, no pass. You might be upright, responsible, and all that, but Laws are enacted as protection from those that are not. Sad but True.

What about all the HID and LED lights blinding most people out there? Selective outrage by the “helpful” gub’ment. Some aux lights are just that, auxiliary with a brightness not even touched by an HID to the face. lol

 

[Sublime]

Odd that they're so picky about lights having to work. When my truck gets inspected by the DOT whether randomly or the required annual the only lights that are required to work are the lights required to be there. They don't care one bit about aux lighting.

 

[gsbrockman]

gets inspected by the DOT whether randomly or the required annual.

Someone say random?

 

[Bill_P]

This is true… Can’t fail you for lights that aren’t needed to pass and are not connected, right?

In VA they will. I had to completely remove, or cover with "an OEM type device", all of the lights on my Jeep before I took it for inspection. Disconnecting them doesn't work because the inspector told me if they were on the Jeep, they had to work. The law used to say if they weren't connected they were considered reflectors but I guess that changed too. I couldn't cover the ones in the bumpers because they don't make a cover for them and they stopped letting you cover them with Duct tape last year. I talked to a local dealership who said if it was an auxiliary light they didn't care so that's where I'm going from now on. The guy who wanted to fail me was a local indy shop.

 

[TheBirdie72]

You know how they say some people will become police officers just because they get to boss people around and flaunt their power? Well, I think you become a mean, stingy *Jeep* inspector because:

A. The police thing didn’t work out​

B. You are butt hurt because the more experienced mechanics won’t let you work on any of the fun stuff​

C. You are jealous of some of the vehicles that people bring in​

D. You haven’t gotten laid in a while​

E. All of the jobs at the DMV that cause people grief were already taken​

F. You drive a Bronco​

G. You are a Sheldon Cooper type​

​

 

[JeepinJason33]

You know how they say some people will become police officers just because they get to boss people around and flaunt their power? Well, I think you become a mean, stingy *Jeep* inspector because:

A. The police thing didn’t work out​

B. You are butt hurt because the more experienced mechanics won’t let you work on any of the fun stuff​

C. You are jealous of some of the vehicles that people bring in​

D. You haven’t gotten laid in a while​

E. All of the jobs at the DMV that cause people grief were already taken​

F. You drive a Bronco​

G. You are a Sheldon Cooper type​

​

I was just driving through the emissions testing station here in Denver with my daughter and asked her the same thing. Why would anyone want this job, it is cold, repetitive, smelly, and does not pay anymore than Target or Walmart. I am not putting those people down as I am glad they are working there, just don't get it. I did not see any Bronco's in the parking lot so they were all smart.

 

[Heimkehr]

...my Jeep failed PA inspection because my only manually operated non-DOT off road use only forward aux lights can be turned on without first turning on the hi beams

Can confirm.

Some years ago, I was advised by the inspecting technician -- at a dealer -- that our Honda would have failed the State inspection due to my installation of manually switched driving lights that weren't wired in such a manner to extinguish when the high beams were turned on.

In lieu of failing the vehicle, he disconnected the switch (thus disabling the lights' function) and gave us our new windshield sticker. He quietly mentioned what he did and how he did it, with an unspoken wink. I thanked him as I slipped a piece of green paper in his hand while shaking it.

I caught a break and that was that.

Next time, check in with me before taking your modded Jeep to a dealer for the annual inspection. I may have the necessary workarounds.

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