This week at Atomic Auto we saw the same thing happen twice, and we really hate to see people in this spot. Two families each bought a used car from a dealer, signed the usual as-is paperwork, and within days or weeks had a car in trouble. Neither of them did anything unusual. They bought cars that looked fine on the lot and inherited problems those cars had been carrying all along.
It’s hard on everyone. It’s hard on the family, who just made a big purchase and now can’t trust it. It’s hard on us, because by the time a car like this reaches our bay, the good options have mostly narrowed. What stings most is that both are the kind of situation a little homework before signing is meant to catch.
So this article does two things. It tells you what to do if this has already happened to you, and it shows you how to keep it from happening in the first place.
If you’re in this spot right now: stop before you pay anyone to fix the car. For a hybrid, get it to an open DEQ station right away and keep the failed-test report. Oregon dealers have a legal duty to sell a car that can pass DEQ, and that duty holds even on an as-is sale. An EV doesn’t get tested, so that route won’t help; for an EV, you’re relying on what the dealer knew and didn’t tell you. We’re a repair shop, not lawyers, so read the rules below and talk to one if real money is at stake.
Car one: a 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid that told its owner to stop
The first was a 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid, bought as a teenager’s first car. A few days in, it started dropping into what the owner described as “like a protective mode,” and sent us a photo of the dash. The message on the screen read:
Hybrid System Warning! Safely Stop and Do not Drive
That message doesn’t tell you what failed. On these cars it can come from a long list of causes, and we’d want a scan before guessing at any of them. (We explain why a hybrid warning isn’t automatically a dead battery in what “Check Hybrid System” really means.) What mattered most in that moment wasn’t the diagnosis. It was the order of operations.
Our advice was to find an open DEQ station that same day, take the car in, and get a fail sheet. It sounds like a strange first step for a car that won’t behave, but it’s the one step that puts real leverage in the buyer’s hands, and we’ll explain why below. Once the paperwork is in hand, the goal is the dealer taking the car back. On an older Kia hybrid, whose parts and diagnostic tooling get harder to find with age, that is usually the best outcome for the buyer. We explain why in what we’ve seen in ten years of servicing Kia hybrids.
Car two: a 2016 Chevrolet Spark EV with a worn-out battery
The second car came to us: a 2016 Chevrolet Spark EV, bought used, that had already broken down twice. The Spark EV is what’s often called a compliance car, built in small numbers to meet state rules, and it’s one of the cars we put on our list of dead-end compliance cars. Here’s what our technician found on the first pass:
I scanned the vehicle for fault codes and retrieved numerous codes:
P0ABC EV battery voltage sensor circuit low voltage
P0AFA EV battery system voltage low voltage
C12FE ABS pump pressure loss
He also found a high-voltage battery connection that hadn’t been seated all the way:
I inspected the interlock for the HV battery. I found that it was not fully seated. Because the clasp is broken, the handle would not move into the proper position to lock in the mounting tabs.
Seating it got the car to ready up and take a charge, so it went out on a test drive. It didn’t make it far:
I test drove the vehicle several miles with no issues, when the vehicle unreadied, a low voltage message came on, and the vehicle barely coasted to the side of the road.
A fresh scan came back with P0A7F, battery pack life. The freeze-frame data showed why:
The freeze frame for the fault code show very nearly a volt difference between the highest battery module and the lowest.
His conclusion:
It appears that the EV battery has a deterioration problem and requires replacement.
On most EVs that’s an expensive answer. On a Spark EV it’s worse, because new packs have been hard to get for years. When the shortage first surfaced, a GM spokesperson told GM Authority the company was “experiencing a temporary disruption in the supply of new Spark EV packs.” About two years later, GM Authority reported that some owners were still waiting, some had taken buybacks, and GM’s statement had narrowed to “available replacement packs to eligible Spark EV owners.” Our customer told us the dealer said there was no new pack to be had, and that a used one would be needed. Even when a new pack can be ordered, the number is sobering: GM’s list price for the Spark EV high-voltage battery (part 24278905) is an MSRP of $30,286.87 as of this writing. That’s the part alone, before labor and the programming the listing says it requires. That leaves the buyer hunting for a used pack with no way to know how much life is left in it, for a car they’d owned only a few weeks.
Why the DEQ step matters so much
Most buyers never hear this part. In Oregon, “as-is” limits what a dealer owes you, but it doesn’t erase everything.
The dealer has to sell a car that can pass DEQ
Oregon’s Department of Justice rule on dealer disclosures, OAR 137-020-0020, says this plainly in its official commentary:
“When a dealer sells a vehicle to an individual that is registering the vehicle in a metro area that requires that the vehicle pass DEQ emissions testing to be roadworthy, the dealer must ensure that the vehicle can pass the DEQ emissions test at the time of sale.”
State law backs it up. When a dealer hands you a temporary permit on a car that still needs to pass DEQ, the written notice they give you has to say that “the vehicle dealer is required to ensure the vehicle complies with the pollution control equipment requirements” (ORS 803.625(3)). That same notice says you agree to “immediately notify the vehicle dealer if the vehicle does not pass testing.”
The catch is timing
The dealer’s duty ends the first time the car passes. The same statute is explicit that once the car complies, “the vehicle dealer is not obligated to ensure the vehicle complies with future testing requirements.” There’s no fixed number of days in the law. What matters is that you test before the car’s first pass and before your temporary permit runs out. If a problem gets fixed on your dime and the car then passes, the dealer’s DEQ duty is already over. That’s why we say go today, get the fail sheet, and notify the dealer in writing.
DEQ’s own OBD testing page says that when the check engine light is on, the car “will not pass the emissions test.” So a hybrid with a fault that turns on the check engine light fails on the spot.
Where it doesn’t reach
- It applies to dealer sales, not private-party sales.
- It applies where DEQ testing is required: DEQ tests cars registered in the Portland and Medford metro areas, and hybrids registered there must test.
- Electric cars are exempt from testing. The statute (ORS 815.300(9)) exempts “Electric motor vehicles,” and adds that it “does not exempt hybrid motor vehicles.” A fail sheet is an option for a hybrid buyer, but not for a Spark EV buyer.
As-is still means disclose what they knew
Even without a DEQ angle, the same DOJ rule says that if the dealer marks the Buyers Guide “As Is,” “the dealer must still disclose material defects about which the dealer knew or should have known.” If you have records showing the dealer knew about a problem (a service history, an inspection, a note on the car), that matters. Oregon DOJ’s Consumer Protection section takes complaints about dealers.
What to do if this is you right now
- Stop spending money on the car. Every repair you pay for can weaken your case, and fixing the car to pass DEQ ends the dealer’s duty.
- If it’s a hybrid, get a DEQ test today and keep the failed-test report.
- Notify the dealer in writing (email is fine) with the report attached, and keep a copy.
- Gather what the dealer knew. Ask for the car’s service records and any pre-sale inspection. Our Spark EV owner did this before bringing the car in.
- Get a scan with the codes saved. If you bring it to us, we record every stored code before we disconnect anything, so the evidence survives.
How to avoid this in the first place
Neither of these stories had to start the way it did. Here’s what we’d do before signing for any used hybrid or EV:
- Get a pre-purchase inspection from a shop that works on that exact kind of car. A general inspection checks brakes and tires. A hybrid or EV inspection reads the hybrid system, looks at battery health, and checks for stored codes the dash isn’t showing yet.
- Take it to DEQ during the test drive. If it’s a hybrid, ask a DEQ Clean Air Station for a free “voluntary” test before you buy. Oregon DOJ recommends the same thing. If it fails on the test drive, you just saved yourself the whole mess.
- Look up the expensive part before you fall in love with the car. For an EV or hybrid, that’s the high-voltage battery. Can you still get one? What does it cost? On the Spark EV, five minutes with a parts catalog tells you a new pack lists north of thirty thousand dollars and has been hard to get for years.
- Be wary of rare and orphaned models. Low-volume compliance cars and older hybrids whose parts and tooling are drying up are where cheap prices come from, and where repairs get hard.
- Buy from a seller you trust. Here’s our list of sellers we actually trust in Portland.
We walk through all of this in more detail in thinking about buying a used hybrid or EV? Read this first. And if you’re looking at one right now, text us before you sign. We’d much rather look at a car before you buy it than after.
Frequently asked questions
Does “as-is” mean the dealer owes me nothing?
No. As-is removes the implied warranty, so a dealer isn’t promising the car will never break. But under Oregon’s DOJ rule the dealer still has to disclose defects they knew or should have known about, and in DEQ areas they must sell a car that can pass the emissions test at the time of sale.
How many days do I have after buying to fail DEQ?
The law doesn’t set a number of days. The dealer’s duty lasts until the car first passes DEQ, and you’re expected to tell the dealer immediately if it fails. In practice, test before your temporary permit expires and before anyone repairs the car.
Does this help if I bought a used EV?
Not the DEQ part. Electric cars are exempt from Oregon emissions testing. You still have the dealer disclosure rule, and Oregon DOJ Consumer Protection is the place to file a complaint.
Can a shop fix my car first and then I go after the dealer?
We’d advise against it. Once the car is repaired and passes, the dealer’s DEQ duty is over, and your best evidence is gone. Get the failed-test report and notify the dealer first.
Sources
- Oregon DOJ rule on dealer disclosures, OAR 137-020-0020, official commentary to section (3)(o)
- Dealer temporary permits and the DEQ notice, ORS 803.625(3)
- GM Authority, GM’s statement on Spark EV pack supply and the follow-up on owners still waiting
- GM parts catalog listing for the Spark EV high-voltage battery, part 24278905, via GM dealer parts sites GMPartsDirect and OEM Parts Online
- Electric vehicles exempt from emissions requirements, ORS 815.300(9)
- Oregon DEQ, Vehicles Tested and Exempted and OBD testing
- Oregon DOJ, Buying a Vehicle and consumer complaints
Questions about your car? Text us at 503-969-3134 — it’s the fastest way to reach us.
About the author: Travis Decker is the owner of Atomic Auto in Portland, Oregon, and an ASE Master Technician (L1, L3). Atomic Auto specializes in Toyota, hybrid, and EV service.