Safety Check Scam?

[hikatz]

Went to another station for safety check, he did mention ball joints still okay, but will have to be changed later, this gives us time to budget for it! Truck passed and sticker on! He also mentioned (his opinion) neither of the problems from the previous inspection should have stopped us from getting the safety sticker.

[csgray]

nana valley,
Many, many people who live in Puna work in Hilo and when doing business like getting safety checks it is easier to swing by after work than it is to try to get it done in Puna on the weekend. If there were more actual family wage jobs in Puna it would be different.


Carol

[lawaia_808]

Safety check stations in Hilo....Nick's garage is good, but they haven't renewed their license last I checked....Since then, I've been going to the Chevron station downtown across from Sack and Save, the girl who works there knows her business...Would not go to the Puainako 76 across from KTA....Too many bad experiences I've heard and encountered myself, especially from people with older vehicles...It seems the older Japanese man who does the inspections there has a habit of hunting for easy fails, things like rust on your bumper or no license plate lamp....Yet I've seen him neglect to check much more crucial items, such as the seatbelt bolts, headlight aim, and suspension on modified trucks.....You'll be fine if you have a newer vehicle, but that inspection station failed my 1995 Ford F250 for having surface rust on an otherwise structurally sound bumper...When I contested him about it, I was told quite rudely to go fix it and not come back until it's fixed....I work farm for a living and not having a legal vehicle to take product to market puts a hurt on my family....Just sharing my experience and hoping you won't have to go through the same...aloha..

[birdmove]

When it comes to items like ball joints, drag links, steering box play and such, it is very much to the discretion of the inspector. One tech may call them bad, the next one will say they are okay. I have never had an inspector go under my car and check anything.

Jon in Keaau/HPP

[leilanidude]

The new safety check process also involves the taking of pictures of your vehicle - which serves to validate some of the reasons why the safety check can now be denied on your old junk vehicle. Rust holes are not allowed at all. Tires sticking out from the wheel wells, bald tires, cracked or broken windows.... all not allowed and the pictures are evidence. When the tech turns the key to the ON position, the various check lights for engine, airbag, etc., must come on and then go out when the vehicle is started. Th techs no longer want to risk getting caught and losing their license.

[lawaia_808]

Hello...Yes you are correct about some items being much to their discretion....They can measure tint with a light meter, visually verify a turn signal...but there are no tests for subjective issues like steering box play or rust except the inspector's own experience which may be insufficient/inaccurate...I have worked on many a Ford truck, and in my case you could have hit that bumper all day with a 10lb sledgehammer and it would have held up...Try doing that to the newer composite bumpers which are made to crush on impact...The problem I see is DOT just lumps way to many items together without distinguishing between those that are crucial to safety, and those that serve a more non-critical or aesthetic purpose....For anyone interested here is a link to their 2013 Vehicle Inspection Manual for Inspectors...

http://hidot.hawaii.gov/highways/files/2...9-2013.pdf

As you can see it would take an inspector almost an hour to check every item in that manual (which they don't)...So while it may be in the interest of an inspection station to look for all types of fails, it is not to our best interests and safety that they neglect to check critical items, and yet submit a fail for something non-critical..

[birdmove]

I come to this thread having spent 24 years working on the big rigs (Kenworths, Freightliners, Internationals, etc) in the Seattle/Tacoma area of Washington State. The annual Wa. State inspection on these big trucks took about an hour. I was authorized by the Canadian DOT to inspect US based trucks that entered Canada. The Canadians had an inspection that made ours look like a cakewalk. The sent me a very fat book with the parameters, tolerances, etc. To do every item as specified took me about 6 hours. They even had a mathematical formula for the amount of play that a steering wheel could have. First, you measured the diameter of the steering wheel. Then you measured the amount of free play when turning the wheel back and forth. Then you looked up in the charts, and it either passed or failed. These were, of course, commercial vehicles, and it was vital to make sure they were up to specs. I think our shop rate was about $85 an hour back then. But, you can learn a lot about a vehicle in much less time.

Jon in Keaau/HPP

[HI_Someday]

I didn't know that Hawaii has Safety Inspections for cars. I learn something new every time I log in here, thanks! Just a little off topic question; do any of you have a classic car and if so, how does the registration differ from newer cars in relation to a safety inspection?

I looked at the DMV site and it mentions an inspection for "Hot Rod" cars, but is worded slightly different than that of a modern car and doesn't elaborate on what this inspection entails. I've got a 47 year old car that I would bring with me, but it is a 47 year old car. Like most things, people included :-), parts wear in time, have looser tolerances, etc... and are not comparable to new(er).

[Wao nahele wahine]

I second Paul's Repair for the safety inspection.

Wahine

[rainyjim]

I do Paul's repair also. Place looks like it could use the help. But the cashier ladys at the windows are just about as helpful as a concrete wall.