Safety Inspection

[ap5512]

Hey - any of you know a service center that does safety inspection but is a little flexible? I went to VA Tire yesterday in Ashburn but was told my side marker lights can't be LED (which I can understand since it is illegal) but what threw me off was that they tried to tell me that my front LED strips (above the fog light) is also not allowed. I told them it's OEM and comes from the factory like that and also pointed out how majority of the cars these days come with some kind of LED daytime running lights. Needless to say I won't be going back to them so wanted to know if you guys know a better place around the ashburn/sterling/aldie area. Thanks.

[mdm]

Why don't you do it at a Toyota or Subaru dealer. They should know what's OEM and what is not in their own cars, and safety inspection costs the same wherever you do it. (That may not solve the side markers problem, but maybe at least the front strips)

[rns294]

Is the problem that you have a sidemarker that is not amber but is lit with an amber bulb? Or do you have the stock side marker with an LED instead of incandescent?

I've been to the Fairfax Sunoco where 29 and 50 meet and they seem to just go for quantity and a little light on the thoroughness of the inspection.

[ecko04]

I've taken a few very heavily modified bikes and cars to these locations and always passed with no issues:

My go-to is Telegraph BP Auto Care nearby the Huntington Metro Station. For the past 2 years I've been taking the cars there. The only time I go to that location is for inspections. It's always the same inspector, he's very nice, works fast and I've had no issues.

I just took my bike to the VA Tire & Auto in Springfield 3 weeks ago since I had just picked it up and they were open on a Sunday, when I went. Inspection mandates that, if equipped, the rear turn signals should be 9" from the brake light. Due to a fender delete kit, mine were roughly 5" from center. Still passed and wasn't even asked about them.

One thing I will say about my mods, which include a sidemarker delete kit, is that they look factory. The same applies to the bike, if you hadn't seen a previous bike of the same model the fender delete kit looks stock, which may help with an inspector with a keen eye.

It's pretty well known that state inspections aren't uniform. Try your luck with another inspector before making any changes to your ride which may be unwarranted.