Readiness For Inspection/Maintenance (I/M) Testing - Ford Taurus Owner's Manual

Maintenance and Specifications
3. The fuel cap may not have been securely tightened. See Fuel filler
cap in this chapter.
These temporary malfunctions can be corrected by filling the fuel tank
with good quality fuel and/or properly tightening the fuel cap. After three
driving cycles without these or any other temporary malfunctions
present, the Check engine/Service engine soon light should turn off. (A
driving cycle consists of a cold engine startup followed by mixed
city/highway driving.) No additional vehicle service is required.
If the Check engine/Service engine soon light remains on, have your
vehicle serviced at the first available opportunity.

Readiness for Inspection/Maintenance (I/M) testing

In some localities, it may be a legal requirement to pass an I/M test of
the on-board diagnostics system. If your indicator is on, refer to
the description in the Warning lights and chimes section of the
Instrument Cluster chapter. Your vehicle may not pass the I/M test with
the indicator on.
If the vehicle's powertrain system or its battery has just been serviced,
the on-board diagnostics system is reset to a "not ready for I/M test"
condition. To ready the on-board diagnostics system for I/M testing, a
minimum of 30 minutes of city and highway driving is necessary as
described below:
• First, at least 10 minutes of driving on an expressway or highway.
• Next, at least 20 minutes driving in stop-and-go, city-type traffic with
at least four idle periods.
Allow the vehicle to sit for at least eight hours without starting the
engine. Then, start the engine and complete the above driving cycle. The
engine must warm up to its normal operating temperature. Once started,
do not turn off the engine until the above driving cycle is complete.
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2005 Taurus (tau)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA (fus)