Gave the E36 to the old ball and chain

[Garageaholic]

So i decided to give the 1997 328is e36 to my girlfriend and i went to get it inspected.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=140655&highlight=1997+328is

Turns out that since I just replaced the battery and all the CEL codes were reset, the car can't pass inspection because the car hasn't been driven for 90-120 miles for the ECU to reset. (this is true, i haven't driven it that much yet)

Is this true? have any of you heard of this?

[FredK]

Yes. It must be driven a few times for the OBD-II to log that all systems check out.

If you reset it and drive it into the station, the OBD-II will say Not Ready.

[E30SPDFRK]

Yup. I have to drive cars around at work all the time to set the readiness so they can be inspected. 90-120 miles is way overkill though, usually 15-20 minutes at 55mph will do it.

[payney8]

lift rear wheels off ground. chock front wheels. large brick on throttle. i dare you

[Garageaholic]

Hey guys. thanks for the comments. I have a quick update.

Drove the car for about 500 miles (all highway) and still reads 3 codes (not ready)

O2 Sensor
Secondary Air
Catalyst

I'm going to remove the battery cable and then go for a drive tomorrow morning for about 30 minutes. See if anything transpires.

I don't think that the catalytic converter, O2 sensor, OR the secondary air readings are causing problems becuase I got over 30mpg on that 500 mile trip...

Wierd.