What is Inspected in a Virginia Safety Inspection?
So you are about to take your vehicle in for it's annual safety inspection. If you have a vehicle that is older, perhaps you are concerned that your vehicle may not pass the safety inspection. This blog post will go through in fair detail what elements of the vehicle will be inspected, so that if you know it is likely that your vehicle will fail that part of the inspection, you can fix the issue prior to the inspection. If your vehicle fails, a rejection sticker will be placed on the vehicle and you have 15 days to remedy the issue and have the vehicle reinspected in Virginia.
The purpose of the annual safety inspection in Virginia is to ensure that the vehicle is safe to drive which benefits everyone in the state. Many people fail an inspection because items included on the inspection that are subject to wear, are worn past acceptable toleraance. Before we go into a full list, here are some important toleracnes for disposables on your vehicle.
- Tires
Tire tread depth greatly affects the ability of your vehicle to maintain traction. Your vehicle will fail if your tread depth is less than 2/32 of an inch. A simple way to check is to place a penny with Lincoln's head facing down. If the top of Lincoln's head is covered by the tread of your tire you tread is still above 2/32 of an inch.
- Brakes
Unfortunately there is not an easy way to check for brake wear. But there are indicators of wear that don't require that you remove the wheel of your vehicle. If your brakes are significantly worn you may begin to hear a scratching or wooshing sound. Most brake pads have small metal tabs towards the bottom of the pad which will make contact with the rotor if you have drum brakes or the disc in the case of disc brakes. It is important to have your brakes serviced if you suspect you are hearing this noise both for safety reasons, but also because the metal tabs will over time affect the surface of the brake drum or disc which will require that they are repaired in addition to installing new brake pads. The tolerance for brake wear is the same as tire 2/32 of an inch in Virginia.
- Warning Lights
If any dashboard warning light is on, this is a good indicator that some other issue may exist which would cause your vehicle to fail. Sometimes a light may not require much expense to actually fix. For example, the Check Engine light can point to an emissions systems failure. A common cause of emissions failure is a bad gas cap, as the fuel system has to remain pressurized to work properly. So a simple replacement of the gas cap can cause the Check Engine light to turn off. In general, you should take your vehicle in to repair the vehicle so that the warning light is extinguished prior to a safety inspection.
- Electric, Mirrors, Wiper Blades & Windshield
If any of your headlights, turn signals, brake lights, or mirrors are broken you will fail the safety inspection. In addition, any cracks, scratched or broken glass on your windshield or other windows will cause your vehicle to fail. In particular, your left from window must be operable. Any lettering or shading of the windshield cannot extend further than 3 inches or the AS-1 line. In addition, if your windshield wiper blades are too worn or inoperable, you will also fail inspection.
The safety inspection does look very closely at other areas of your vehicle such as the suspension and frame. Older vehciles are more likely to fail due to issues with these areas.
Complete List of Inspected Areas
- Brakes
- Parking Brake
- Brake
- Headlights
- Other Lights
- Signal Device
- Steering & Suspension
- Tire, Wheels, & Rims
- Mirrors
- Horn
- Windshield & Other Glass
- Windshield Wiper & Defroster
- Exhaust System
- Rear License Plate
- Hood & Area Under Hood
- Pollution Control Devices
- Driver's Seat
- Seat Belts
- Air Bag & Airbag Readiness Light
- Doors
- Fuel System
- Floor Plan
If you need an emissions test in Virgina, how do you actually get one? There are 2 options available. A company name RapidPass places emissions testing sensors on Virginia roadways. They change the location of the sensors, but if you see that you have driven through one, you can check if your vehicle emissions information was captured by the sensors at https://www.rapidpassvirginia.com/VaPublic/ If it has, then you can have that emissions test filed with the Virgnian DMV for a fee. The other option is to have an emissions test done by a licesnsed Emissions Testing locaiton in Virginia. Many people do this at the same time they have thier vehicle safety inspected. But not all safety inspection locations do emissions tests. A great way to find an emissions testing location near you or within a certain zip code is at https://virginiaemissionstest.com.