Hello,

My wife has a 2003 Ford Escape. The car runs great. Last year, I took it to the dealership and had a full tune up (plugs, boots, coil, gaskets, fuel filter, air filter, throttle body and MAF cleaner, etc.). I also had steering gear replaced at the same dealership. A few months later, I had a check engine light come on. Eventually, it started to flash. I bought an OBD-II computer which indicated that I had P0302 Cylinder 2 misfire. This was confirmed at a different shop; so, I had the fuel injectors replaced.

About two days after picking up the car, my check engine light came on...again. Sometimes, it would go off. In fact, the check engine light was off more than it was on. The car drives well with no real issues, so I didn't worry about it.

However, a few weeks ago, I realized that my smog was coming up. So, I prepped for it. I followed tips online. However, I also disconnected the battery to clean the terminals (thinking that this would be helpful). Unfortunately, I didn't realize that it would need to perform a drive cycle. I went to the smog place and failed due to the OBD-II Monitors Not Ready indication (specifically listing "Evap System" and "Catalyst" under Not Ready).

He asked me if I had recently disconnected or replaced the battery. I told him that I had cleaned the terminals the night before. So, he said that there was no problem other than the vehicle needing to be cycled. So, he told me to drive it for 120 miles. So, I drove the Escape for 200 miles; however, my OBD-II tool continued to read that it was not ready. In fact, it had the P1000 ("Monitor Checks Not Complete - More Driving Required") code as well as a pending P0136 (O2 sensor circuit bank 1 sensor 2) code. The P0136 code was also included under "Stored" codes.

So, I found some online instructions to perform a drive cycle for the Ford Escape. After I was completed the instructions (driving it in different ways), I hooked up the OBD-II and the P1000 code was gone. However, the P0136 code remains under "Pending" and "Stored." This is confusing for me.

The check engine light is NOT on. In fact, I clicked to check my systems. Under "Since DTCs Cleared," everything seems fine. It states, "Oxygen Sens Mon - OK" and "Oxygen Sens HTR - OK."

Is anything wrong? Is this simply something that is stored that should be cleared?

The smog will recheck my vehicle one more time at no charge. Should I risk it and bring it to him?

 

What really should be done is to have the vehicle checked with a capable scan tool and verify the O2 sensor on the #1 cyl side after the converter is getting the correct info and responding accordingly..
Don't know if smog equip will pick up pending codes or not. maybe only hard codes.

 

Thanks.

I suppose that my issue isn't as much with the "Pending" code as it is with the one "Stored" code (which happens to be the same as the "pending" -- P0136). I've read conflicting information about whether "Stored" codes are the same as "hard codes."

For last week's smog, the only "fail" was due to the OBDII listed as "not ready." Everything else was a "pass" (other than two "not applicable" results).

This is a California smog too. I'm not even sure whether or not that one code would make a difference anyway. Like I said, the "Check Engine Light" is NOT on.

 

I believe if the light is not on, your chances of passing are pretty good.

 

Does anyone know if a "stored" code is the same as a "hard" code (that might result in failing a smog)?

 

If you have a stored code and no check eng lite, it could mean the problem was present at one time, but not presently, whereas a hard code means the problem is still present.

 

Pending means the fault has happened at least once, Ford likes to see the same issue at least twice within a certain time/mileage frame to make sure it wasnt just a random glitch.
Stored generally means a pending code or a fault that occurred, was fixed and the computer has not seen the fault lately but still records it in case you need it for diag purposes.

I dont think most states fail for pending codes.

 

After I return from the smog test, I'll report back my results.

 

So, I took my second smog test today....and passed.



This is despite the fact that the P0136 (O2 sensor) code was still listed under both PENDING and STORED.

Now, this is in California. I suppose that smog rules vary from state-to-state. However, if this passed in California's extreme "big brother" climate, then I suspect that it will pass in most other states.

Thanks for the advice, Hanky and Scott Butler.

 

Thanks for the update.