In CA do the police officers have the right to tell you to pop the hood? We said no, but he demanded it. As it turns out he said it was all good under the hood, but we had no cats. now to the referee. Will there just be a fine we can pay without swapping all the parts out? Thank you.
Pop the hood.
- Thread starter mr 347
- Start date
i am also curious to hear any ca peace officers feedback on this. the last two times i have been pulled over, i was asked to pop the hood, and of course i complied.
what i found interesting however, was that in both cases the officer made statements or gave opinions about the engine hardware which were untrue, due to what i perceived was his lack of automotive mechanical knowledge. i do realize that most officers can be given only general, broad training on this subject.
what i found interesting however, was that in both cases the officer made statements or gave opinions about the engine hardware which were untrue, due to what i perceived was his lack of automotive mechanical knowledge. i do realize that most officers can be given only general, broad training on this subject.
Last edited:
Same as above.
Got pulled over while sitting at a stoplight.
My turbo 5.0 was open DP so I was in the wong
Had to pop the hood. A second officer gets called in. All they pointed out was my fuel pressure regulator. He tried to grab my oil feel line while asking if it was nitrous. I reached out and stopped his hand before he burnt himself.
Funny thing is that they never mentioned the turbo and it was staring us right in the face.
Got pulled over while sitting at a stoplight.
My turbo 5.0 was open DP so I was in the wong
Had to pop the hood. A second officer gets called in. All they pointed out was my fuel pressure regulator. He tried to grab my oil feel line while asking if it was nitrous. I reached out and stopped his hand before he burnt himself.
Funny thing is that they never mentioned the turbo and it was staring us right in the face.
Yes officers can look under a hood to make sure the vehicle is in compliance. It is a SAFETY inspection that falls under the 2800 CVC sections.
People mistake it with a search, which it is not. It's an inspection. If you refuse, you can be taken to jail for 148 PC - delay an officer in the performance of their duties. Which would result in the vehicle being impounded pursuant to 22651 (h) CVC (driver arrested). At that point, an inventory search of the vehicle would be conducted.
People mistake it with a search, which it is not. It's an inspection. If you refuse, you can be taken to jail for 148 PC - delay an officer in the performance of their duties. Which would result in the vehicle being impounded pursuant to 22651 (h) CVC (driver arrested). At that point, an inventory search of the vehicle would be conducted.
Most officers aren't full out gear heads. They are normal people that do the best they can with what they know. They may not know the specific parts, but unless you have a sleeper, aftermarket parts tend to stick out. And at that point, a trip to the state ref would be in order to sort it out to make sure it's in compliance.Same as above.
Got pulled over while sitting at a stoplight.
My turbo 5.0 was open DP so I was in the wong
Had to pop the hood. A second officer gets called in. All they pointed out was my fuel pressure regulator. He tried to grab my oil feel line while asking if it was nitrous. I reached out and stopped his hand before he burnt himself.
Funny thing is that they never mentioned the turbo and it was staring us right in the face.
Put a second latch on the hood. Pop it from inside and let them figure out how to open it. Probably not wise in dealing with cops, but might be interesting when they ask for help.
Best answers I have seen on this topic! Also, just an observation, most of the time the Officers who are gearheads aren't the ones doing the inspection because they already know that the car isn't stock (and some can appreciate it).
I was pulled over for a "compliance inspection' and was told to open my hood.
The officer was NOT very knowledgeable. He wanted to write me up for various "equipment failures" and didn't want to relent even after I showed him the California EO# on each and every item.
I even had Ford's original sales literature showing that the car COMES with a supercharger. I finally just had to refuse to sign off on the tickets until a superior officer came out and told him what an EO# was.
It took over an hour but I was finally released. And I even told the superior officer that the patrolman needs a little education if he is going to be permitted to perform roadside inspections. I wonder if he actually got any training?
The officer was NOT very knowledgeable. He wanted to write me up for various "equipment failures" and didn't want to relent even after I showed him the California EO# on each and every item.
I even had Ford's original sales literature showing that the car COMES with a supercharger. I finally just had to refuse to sign off on the tickets until a superior officer came out and told him what an EO# was.
It took over an hour but I was finally released. And I even told the superior officer that the patrolman needs a little education if he is going to be permitted to perform roadside inspections. I wonder if he actually got any training?
Refusing to sign a citation can be bad for you in some jurisdictions... Automatic go to jail. Signing a cite isn't agreeing with a citation, it's just a promise to appear. By refusing, you indicate you are refusing to go to court.
The officer may have been in the wrong for issuing the citation(s), but you were in the wrong for not signing.
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2002
- Messages
- 2,908
^this.
its what court is for, to argue your side of the story not on the side of the road. Im glad it worked out for you though.
Inspecting under the hood uncovered a lot of stolen engines in civics back in the day.
its what court is for, to argue your side of the story not on the side of the road. Im glad it worked out for you though.
Inspecting under the hood uncovered a lot of stolen engines in civics back in the day.
Where in the Bay Area was this and were you doing anything illegal when he pulled you over? Just curious.
Is this the FiveOGirl from West coast fords? This is Dave Black88GT. This car was my sons 03 terminator. I believe he is in the San Mateo area and it was a Sheriff. Funny, cause I ran my 88 around with NO smog equipment for years, and this never happened to me. LOL
Sorry. No.
If an untrained officer can be totally wrong in his ability to determine the legality of a part that has the EO# cast right into it he needs to be educated on the spot by a superior officer.
It isn't my requirement to take a day out of my life to appear in court to let him know he has made an error and must fess up to it.
If an untrained officer can be totally wrong in his ability to determine the legality of a part that has the EO# cast right into it he needs to be educated on the spot by a superior officer.
It isn't my requirement to take a day out of my life to appear in court to let him know he has made an error and must fess up to it.
Have to agree with oldmodman. If an officer doesn't know what he's doing and making guesses about what he's seeing under the hood, then he needs to be educated. Something similar happened with a friend who has a bone stock Boss 302 that a cop said was too loud and he assumed it was an aftermarket exhaust. He refused to sign the ticket and demanded a supervisor.
Forget all that "write a ticket and let the courts sort it out" nonsense. It's a waste of everyone's time.
It was all cleared up in the end.
A little off topic, but this reminds me of the night I got a ticket for the 100% stock exhaust in my '99 SVT Contour years ago. "I don't care what you say, Steve, Contours do not come from the factory with dual exhaust".
In San Jose, in reality, only an officer that has been trained in what to look for will cite with the requirement of a smog referee. Usually, those citations are issued out as a deterrence to the street racers that gather, and the truly obnoxiously loud cars.
It's a good thing I never got pulled over in CA with my SHO and asked to pop the hood. I don't think they'd know what to do if they saw the 3.0 Yamaha motor sitting in a Taurus. I never had the 95 in CA but I think the response to seeing this wouldn't have been optimal even with out of state plates:
I definitely wasnt in compliance so I didn't bitch. Wouldn't have made a stink either way; Im a LEO and would see this CHP on calls.
I explained why I was open DP (just installed engine) He just suggested that I go home because they look for street racers on Fri/Sat evenings.
Yup that would be me! How's it going Dave!? So he got pulled over for loud exhaust? Or was he doing something to attract attention?
Last edited:
Users who are viewing this thread
