Province Reducing Household Costs and Combating Air Pollution
Ontario is eliminating the $30 Drive Clean test fee for light-duty vehicles, such as most cars, vans, SUVs and light trucks, as of April 1, 2017.
Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Glen Murray, made the announcement today at Start Auto Electric Ltd. in Toronto. Eliminating the Drive Clean fee will save people money and make it easier for owners to ensure their vehicles are running efficiently with minimum emissions.
The province is also implementing other changes to strengthen the Drive Clean Program and ensure that more vehicles are repaired within two years of emissions problems being identified, including:
- Eliminating testing requirements for light-duty vehicles when they are re-sold
- Prohibiting back-to-back conditional passes for vehicles that fail their emissions test
- Ensuring that only fees paid for direct emission system repairs count towards the $450 repair cost limit, the amount required for a conditional pass.
Ontario’s Drive Clean Program tests 2.3 million vehicles per year. It helps reduce emissions that cause smog and poor air quality – cutting emissions from vehicles by about one-third each year, which ensures cleaner air and better health for everyone in the province.
Improving air quality while lowering costs for Ontario households is part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.
Quick Facts
- Drivers whose vehicles do not pass the regular Drive Clean test will have to pay for any subsequent retest.
- Drivers who want to subject their vehicle to a Drive Clean test outside of the regularly required tests will also have to pay the test fee.
- Vehicles are a major source of smog-causing pollutants and other toxic contaminants, some of which are known human carcinogens. According to the Ontario Medical Association, smog contributes to about 9,500 premature deaths each year.
- Since its introduction in 1999, the Drive Clean program for light-duty vehicles has reduced approximately 400,000 tonnes of smog-causing pollutants from the air we breathe.
- Vehicle owners can find out if they are eligible for a free emissions test using the new Drive Clean online tool.
- The program rules for heavy-duty vehicles, such as large trucks, motorhomes and buses, are not changing. Heavy-duty vehicle owners will continue to pay for Drive Clean tests and will still require an emissions test if the vehicle is re-sold.
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