Symptom
Emissions test readiness monitors incomplete
The self-tests the vehicle must complete before an emissions test can be assessed have not finished. A vehicle in this state is rejected rather than failed, and clearing codes shortly before a test causes it on its own.
Also described as: monitors not ready, readiness not set, not ready for test, incomplete monitors, drive cycle not complete, تست معاینه فنی اماده نیست, monitores incompletos, readiness incompleto, no listo para itv, الفحوصات غير مكتملة, المونيتور غير جاهز, الاستعداد غير مكتمل
What this usually means
A vehicle in this state is rejected rather than failed, and the distinction matters — nothing has been measured and found wanting. The self-tests the vehicle must complete before its emissions can be assessed have simply not finished, so there is nothing to assess.
Clearing codes shortly before a test causes it on its own, and that is by far the commonest reason a car arrives in this state. A code reset wipes the monitors, and they only re-run when their own conditions are met — so the well-meaning act of clearing a light before a test is exactly what guarantees a rejection. The same applies to a battery disconnection.
The monitors need specific conditions, not merely mileage. Each one — catalyst, evaporative system, oxygen sensors and their heaters, exhaust gas recirculation, secondary air — has its own criteria: a range of fuel levels, a range of ambient and coolant temperatures, sustained cruise, idle periods, and often a cold start with a genuine overnight soak. A week of short journeys can complete almost none of them.
The evaporative monitor is the one that most often refuses, because its conditions are the fussiest — typically a fuel level between roughly a quarter and three-quarters, a settled temperature, and a period after switch-off.
A monitor that will not complete however the car is driven is reporting a fault, not a drive-cycle problem — usually the very fault whose code was cleared. Read pending codes, which appear before a fault is confirmed and are the earliest evidence available.
Most vehicles will show monitor status on a scan tool for nothing, so this is checkable before booking a test rather than discovered at one.
Working through it
| What you find | Likely cause | How to confirm it | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Codes were cleared, or the battery disconnected, shortly before the test | The reset wiped the monitors — the commonest cause by a wide margin | Read monitor status on a scan tool. Several showing 'not complete' after a recent reset is the whole finding. | Drive the vehicle's published drive cycle, or a mix of cold starts, sustained cruise and idle, then re-check status before rebooking. |
| Only the evaporative monitor is incomplete | Its conditions are the fussiest — fuel level, settled temperature, and a period after switch-off | Check the fuel level; roughly a quarter to three-quarters is typically required. Note ambient conditions. | Set the fuel level in range, park overnight, and drive normally. This one often completes only after a cold soak. |
| Monitors incomplete after a week of ordinary driving | The journeys are too short or too uniform — mileage alone does not run the monitors | Compare the driving pattern against the monitors' requirements: cold starts, sustained cruise, idle periods. | Drive a deliberate cycle rather than more miles. A single well-chosen hour beats a fortnight of commuting. |
| One monitor never completes however the car is driven | A fault rather than a drive-cycle problem — often the very fault whose code was cleared | Read pending codes as well as stored ones. Pending appear before a fault is confirmed and are the earliest evidence. | Diagnose the pending fault. Driving more will not complete a monitor the car keeps failing. |
| Monitors incomplete with a lit engine management lamp | An active fault is suppressing the monitor that depends on the affected system | Read the code first. A monitor cannot complete while its own system is faulted. | Repair the fault, clear, then run the drive cycle. In that order. |
| Checking before booking a test | Nothing — this is the check that avoids the wasted appointment | Read monitor status on a scan tool. Most vehicles report it for nothing and it takes a minute. | No repair. Book once the monitors are complete rather than discovering it at the test station. |
-
Codes were cleared, or the battery disconnected, shortly before the test
- Likely cause
- The reset wiped the monitors — the commonest cause by a wide margin
- How to confirm it
- Read monitor status on a scan tool. Several showing 'not complete' after a recent reset is the whole finding.
- What fixes it
- Drive the vehicle's published drive cycle, or a mix of cold starts, sustained cruise and idle, then re-check status before rebooking.
-
Only the evaporative monitor is incomplete
- Likely cause
- Its conditions are the fussiest — fuel level, settled temperature, and a period after switch-off
- How to confirm it
- Check the fuel level; roughly a quarter to three-quarters is typically required. Note ambient conditions.
- What fixes it
- Set the fuel level in range, park overnight, and drive normally. This one often completes only after a cold soak.
-
Monitors incomplete after a week of ordinary driving
- Likely cause
- The journeys are too short or too uniform — mileage alone does not run the monitors
- How to confirm it
- Compare the driving pattern against the monitors' requirements: cold starts, sustained cruise, idle periods.
- What fixes it
- Drive a deliberate cycle rather than more miles. A single well-chosen hour beats a fortnight of commuting.
-
One monitor never completes however the car is driven
- Likely cause
- A fault rather than a drive-cycle problem — often the very fault whose code was cleared
- How to confirm it
- Read pending codes as well as stored ones. Pending appear before a fault is confirmed and are the earliest evidence.
- What fixes it
- Diagnose the pending fault. Driving more will not complete a monitor the car keeps failing.
-
Monitors incomplete with a lit engine management lamp
- Likely cause
- An active fault is suppressing the monitor that depends on the affected system
- How to confirm it
- Read the code first. A monitor cannot complete while its own system is faulted.
- What fixes it
- Repair the fault, clear, then run the drive cycle. In that order.
-
Checking before booking a test
- Likely cause
- Nothing — this is the check that avoids the wasted appointment
- How to confirm it
- Read monitor status on a scan tool. Most vehicles report it for nothing and it takes a minute.
- What fixes it
- No repair. Book once the monitors are complete rather than discovering it at the test station.
Codes that produce this symptom (162)
Listed with the codes that most typically present this way first — the likeliest place to start.
- P0036 O2 Sensor Heater Control Circuit — Bank 1 Sensor 2 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0042 O2 Sensor Heater Control Circuit — Bank 1 Sensor 3 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0043 O2 Sensor Heater Control Circuit Low — Bank 1 Sensor 3 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0044 O2 Sensor Heater Control Circuit High — Bank 1 Sensor 3 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0054 O2 Sensor Heater Resistance — Bank 1 Sensor 2 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0055 O2 Sensor Heater Resistance — Bank 1 Sensor 3 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0056 O2 Sensor Heater Control Circuit — Bank 2 Sensor 2 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0057 O2 Sensor Heater Control Circuit Low — Bank 2 Sensor 2 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0058 O2 Sensor Heater Control Circuit High — Bank 2 Sensor 2 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0060 O2 Sensor Heater Resistance — Bank 2 Sensor 2 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0061 O2 Sensor Heater Resistance — Bank 2 Sensor 3 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0062 O2 Sensor Heater Control Circuit — Bank 2 Sensor 3 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0063 O2 Sensor Heater Control Circuit Low — Bank 2 Sensor 3 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0064 O2 Sensor Heater Control Circuit High — Bank 2 Sensor 3 Typical of this code Moderate
- P00D2 O2 Sensor Heater Control Circuit Range/Performance Bank 1 Sensor 2 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0136 O2 Sensor Circuit — Bank 1 Sensor 2 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0139 O2 Sensor Circuit Slow Response — Bank 1 Sensor 2 Typical of this code Moderate
- P013A O2 Sensor Slow Response - Rich to Lean Bank 1 Sensor 2 Typical of this code Moderate
- P013E O2 Sensor Delayed Response - Rich to Lean Bank 1 Sensor 2 Typical of this code Moderate
- P013F O2 Sensor Delayed Response - Lean to Rich Bank 1 Sensor 2 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0140 O2 Sensor Circuit No Activity Detected — Bank 1 Sensor 2 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0141 O2 Sensor Heater Circuit — Bank 1 Sensor 2 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0142 O2 Sensor Circuit — Bank 1 Sensor 3 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0143 O2 Sensor Circuit Low Voltage — Bank 1 Sensor 3 Typical of this code Moderate
- P0144 O2 Sensor Circuit High Voltage — Bank 1 Sensor 3 Typical of this code Moderate
Information, not instruction
CarGeek is a reference, not a service manual. Its pages are written from public sources and from what other people have found, never from a manufacturer's own service information, so they can be wrong or incomplete for your particular vehicle. Some of what they describe carries real risk: high voltage, fuel under pressure, stored energy, hot and moving parts.
Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
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