There are multiple monitors, and tne OBD spec allows seeing of the status of each individually . . . so I suspect that thr smog check station chooses to nlt confuse thier staff with useful info, but rather just 'go/no go' since any not ready is a fail most places. The good news is that any actual OBD-II scantool should read the specifics . . . In the use, if VWdidn't speak basic OBD, it would be illegal . . . the point of OBD is that *everything* in the US speak it. About the only issue I could think of would be anolder scanner that can't speak CAN protocol. Oh, and since OBD codes are unrelated to the tool used, you should be able to lok up your code online. More significantly, check readiness monitors . . . not the same as scanning codes!