So I took my car to the repair shop, fearing the worst. It turns out that
the light has been on because 2 sensors were rusted out. It was explained
to me that in most normal cars, one could just buy replacement sensors. In
my car, it’s part of a bigger and more expensive package. I have to replace
the canister. The part is $451.50. Labor is $60. Toss the cost of the
inspection, and the bottom line is $540. Also, my front brake pads are
described as paper thin. It passes… but barely. They turned off the light
and gave me a 10 day extension, and we’re going to see if the light stays
off or not, before they order the parts. Trust me, the light will come on
again. But at least it gives us some breathing room until next paycheck. We
have to pay our rent with this paycheck. There isn’t enough to do both
right now.
This morning I stopped by the repair shop to tell them that the light was still off. The mechanic that actually worked on my car, yesterday, came out with his portatble computer and hooked it up to the car. Apparently, not all of the parameters have been reset yet, so he couldn't put an inspection sticker on yet. He said that I should drive it more and come back on Monday. I would bet anybody's bottom dollar that by then, the light will have come on. Either way, I wanna get this thing resolved, so I will have to fork over $540 anyways.
I found this description on the Internet to describe what the mechanic was talking about:
"Drive your vehicle for one week under normal driving conditions. During this period the emissions computer is gathering data and re-learning your vehicle's emissions components and systems. The emissions computer OBDII (on-board diagnostics) system must complete at least one drive cycle (in some cases two or three). A drive cycle is a sequence of internal tests which the emissions computer runs while your vehicle is being driven. This insures all emissions systems are functioning properly. Proper "readiness flags" are set as the computer completes it's cycles."