HOV vehicle sticker ( decal )

I applied for my sticker on December 3rd and yesterday I got the application back from DMV saying that the vehicle type on the registration was inconsistent with my app. I never looked on the registration but the dealer put type "G" in the MP box. DMV sent me a Statement of Facts form (REG256)that the dealer has to sign and submit to change the motive power.

Right now I may be the only gas powered RAV4EV. LOL It is a good think I didn't try to go in one of the diamond lanes on the freeway without a sticker.

Yet another reason to do some dealer bashing here . . . I swear what little added value the dealers add to the purchase of a RAV4 EV, can be measured on the head of a pin! And what about dealers charging an exorbedent amount for a so-called "document fee", yet we still have to pay the $8 DMV fee for the HOV sticker. as well as file the paperwork ourselves. :?

Ampster said:

I applied for my sticker on December 3rd and yesterday I got the application back from DMV saying that the vehicle type on the registration was inconsistent with my app. I never looked on the registration but the dealer put type "G" in the MP box. DMV sent me a Statement of Facts form (REG256)that the dealer has to sign and submit to change the motive power.

Right now I may be the only gas powered RAV4EV. LOL It is a good think I didn't try to go in one of the diamond lanes on the freeway without a sticker.

Click to expand...

Nope, you're not the only one. I just got my tags a few days ago and hadn't applied for HOV access yet. I thought I'd apply this evening and thanks to your post, I wont waste my time. My dealer has type "G" in the MP slot as well. SOOOO, can you expand on the new 'process' please?

Fox example, do I have to submit the form REG256 separately and wait for new registration paperwork, or can the form REG256 be turned in WITH the HOV application?

Thanks!

Jscifres said:

Ampster said:

I applied for my sticker on December 3rd and yesterday I got the application back from DMV saying that the vehicle type on the registration was inconsistent with my app. I never looked on the registration but the dealer put type "G" in the MP box. DMV sent me a Statement of Facts form (REG256)that the dealer has to sign and submit to change the motive power.

Right now I may be the only gas powered RAV4EV. LOL It is a good think I didn't try to go in one of the diamond lanes on the freeway without a sticker.

Click to expand...

Nope, you're not the only one. I just got my tags a few days ago and hadn't applied for HOV access yet. I thought I'd apply this evening and thanks to your post, I wont waste my time. My dealer has type "G" in the MP slot as well. SOOOO, can you expand on the new 'process' please?

Fox example, do I have to submit the form REG256 separately and wait for new registration paperwork, or can the form REG256 be turned in WITH the HOV application?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Funny...the exact same thing happened to me. I submitted my paperwork in the middle of November, and received my original application and check back in mid December, along with a request for a Statement of Fact. I had the dealer sign it, along with an official stamp from the dealer, and sent everything back before the Christmas holiday. I occasionally look at my checking account to see if the $8 check had been cashed. Nothing yet. I think it would be prudent to turn in your form REG256 along with your application. It would save you a month of waiting. Good luck!

I am going to the dealership today to have them sign the statement of facts. In the meantime I got my personalized plates (TOY TSLA) so the original application has changed. I also noticed that I made a mistake and left out a digit on the VIN# so I will submit the original plus the updated one with the new plate and VIN info just in case.

I was the first RAV4EV sold from this dealership and I have experienced lots of little glitches because this car is so unique.

Ampster said:

I am going to the dealership today to have them sign the statement of facts. In the meantime I got my personalized plates (TOY TSLA) so the original application has changed. I also noticed that I made a mistake and left out a digit on the VIN# so I will submit the original plus the updated one with the new plate and VIN info just in case.

I was the first RAV4EV sold from this dealership and I have experienced lots of little glitches because this car is so unique.

Click to expand...

Thanks for starting this thread Ampster. It's going to save me a lot frustration, and hopefully others too.

Can you please post a picture of the dealer's comment's/signature when you have it? I looked at the form and there doesn't appear to be any dealer specific signature space. It appears to be something that a normal owner could submit, and simply check the box under the Emissions section which states that the car is smog exempt due to it being electric (check box)

Does the dealer need to use the large comment section to describe their mistake?

thanks!

The instruction sheet I received from the DMV requests that the dealership complete Sections G & H of Reg 256. For section G, the sample response given was:

"Due to a clerical error on the Report of Sale, the motive power was entered as "gas (G)", when the actual motive power for this vehicle is "100% electric (E)". Please correct. No fraud intended."

The dealer then signs and dates Section H.

Hope this helps.

Thanks everyone for this heads-up.

My useless car dealership (Piercey) made this mistake in their Report of Sale DESPITE me telling 3 people along the car buying process (including the guy who handles the car registration report of sale) that they needed to be sure to put down electric as the motive power... to which each one consistently waved their hands around and gave me the ol' "don't worry, we know what we're doing!"

Still, this forum is a time-saver because I'll go straight to Piercey with a REG256 form.

Thanks!

My Dealer (Toyota Carlsbad) did a little better. They had me listed as a Hybrid. Luckily I noticed it the next day and they corrected it.
At the time, I was concerned about getting my 2500 from the state. I'm still waiting for my HOV sticker.

BTW, California assembly bill AB266 passed the assembly recently with a solid passing vote and goes to the senate -- extends solo HOV stickers thru 2017 for plug-in hybrids (green stickers) and thru 2019 for electrics/hydrogen/naturalgas (white stickers). Hope it passes the California senate and no veto by Jerry Brown in mid-October (the latest he can veto).

^^^
Woah! If that passes, it'll be interesting to see how it affects PHEV vs. EV sales.

And what happens at the end of those dates otherwise? They send people to come peel our stickers off...?

It was good planning on someone's part to make the stickers different colors. It allows subsets to be phased out (like the yellow ones).

The white stickers currently go to CNG, FCVs and pure EVs . The green ones to Plug-in hybrids.

It will be a great day when EVs are so prevalent that incentives for them will not be needed. I think we are a long way from that.

arnold

Vach said:

And what happens at the end of those dates otherwise? They send people to come peel our stickers off...?

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They just expire. Nobody comes and peels them off for you.

I still have the useless yellow stickers on my Prius. Mr. Roadshow of the San Jose Mercury News had a yellow HOV sticker removal "party" but I wasn't in the state when it happened.

cwerdna said:

Vach said:

And what happens at the end of those dates otherwise? They send people to come peel our stickers off...?

Click to expand...

They just expire. Nobody comes and peels them off for you.

I still have the useless yellow stickers on my Prius. Mr. Roadshow of the San Jose Mercury News had a yellow HOV sticker removal "party" but I wasn't in the state when it happened.

Click to expand...

I think they might be difficult to remove... have seen some attempts and not with much success. That's why I am thinking of putting on magnetic material and sticking on the body when needed... which is almost never as there are no HOV lanes here in Ventura County.

Careful/patient use a of hair dryer or heat gun to remove. They made them a little difficult to remove to discourage theft.

arnold

arnolddeleon said:

It was good planning on someone's part to make the stickers different colors. It allows subsets to be phased out (like the yellow ones).

Click to expand...

You're welcome.

The original legislative proposal (AB2628/2004, Pavley) was to admit hybrids (yellow stickers) into the white sticker program, despite them not meeting the low-emission requirements. We (then the Production Electric Vehicle Drivers Coalition) got a meeting with Pavley where we expressed concern about how the ultimate success of hybrid sales would lead to the clogging of the carpool lanes and necessitate the demise of the entire program (although we were not against admitting hybrids under the then-current law if they met the emission standards). In exchange for PEVDC's support of her bill, two changes were negotiated - the "cap" on the number of vehicles in the program, and that a different section of the law would cover hybrids, perhaps with a different color sticker. This opened a can of worms and led to a meeting with the DMV, CHP, and Pavley where everyone was debating the new stickers size, shape, and color. The CHP wanted the fourth sticker for easier enforcement. By the time the debate got to the color, I piped up with "I don't care, let's just make them yellow", and thus they were...

To this day, I regret not suggesting hot-pink.

SO... I'm the one responsible for the "ugly yellow stickers". I had nothing to do with the white or green ones.

To clarify everything, a white sticker denotes the vehicle is a zero-emissions model. That is, one that is powered by an electric battery, hydrogen fuel or natural gas. Qualifying vehicles include the Nissan Leaf and the Ford Focus Electric. There is no limit on the number of white stickers that can be issued. Green stickers denote that the vehicle is a qualifying plug-in hybrid, such as the Chevy Volt or the Toyota Prius Plug-in. Only 40,000 of these stickers will be issued. As of the first day of the year, nearly 9,000 green stickers had already been issued.