Smog check near ZIP 89509 (Old Southwest Reno)

Old Southwest Reno's ZIP code covers the established neighborhoods around Virginia Lake and along Plumas Street, Lakeside Drive and Moana Lane, south of the Truckee River and west of Virginia Street. Older homes here often come with an older car in the garage, kept on the road for years. Nevada tests those cars differently from newer ones, and the line falls at a model year most owners know by heart.

At a glance

• About 11 minutes to Reno South (4993 Longley Ln) by Moana Lane; 13 to Reno Northwest (6100 Mae Anne Ave).
• 1996 and newer light-duty cars get the OBD II plug-in test.
• 1995 and older keep the two-speed tailpipe test; 1967 and older are exempt.
• 16,788 households and 1.79 vehicles per household (ACS 2020-2024).

Moana Lane east, McCarran north

For most of 89509 the shortest trip is east on Moana Lane toward Kietzke Lane and I-580, then on to Longley Lane near the Reno-Tahoe airport: about 11 minutes in light traffic by OpenStreetMap routing. Reno Northwest on Mae Anne Avenue is about 13 minutes north by McCarran Boulevard, across the river and I-80. Two minutes is a small gap, so the second location is a fine choice on a west-side day.

Three test paths by model year

Nevada sorts a gasoline vehicle by its age. A 1996 or newer light-duty vehicle has OBD II built in, so the technician scans the VIN and plugs into the port under the dashboard; the result goes to the DMV in real time. A 1995 or older vehicle, and any heavy-duty vehicle, gets the two-speed tailpipe method instead. A 1967 or older vehicle is exempt altogether (DMV).

Owners of a 1990s car sometimes assume an older car gets a pass. It does not: a 1968 to 1995 car still tests every year, by tailpipe. The older vehicles and the tailpipe test page explains how that test works and what a failure looks like.

A failing older car and the waiver

A 1968 to 1995 vehicle that fails for carbon monoxide or hydrocarbons over the standard, and still fails after repairs, may qualify for a waiver. In Washoe the DMV asks for receipts showing at least $200 spent at a 2G station (the DMV's term for an emissions repair station), or at least $200 in parts bought by the owner within 14 days of the first failed test, before the DMV Emission Lab will consider it. Money spent before the first failed test does not count, so test first.

Smoking vehicles and tampered emission equipment do not qualify for a waiver (DMV).

The ZIP by Census count

ACS 2020-2024 estimates count 35,632 people in 16,788 households in the 89509 ZIP code area, a median age of 41.4, 1.79 vehicles per household and 55.6 percent of homes with two or more. The mean commute is 18.5 minutes, among the shortest in Washoe.

• Reno South: Monday to Friday 8 am to 5 pm, Saturday 8 am to 3 pm, closed Sunday, (775) 828-6996.
• Bring the renewal notice, the odometer reading, and leave nothing plugged into the OBD port.