KTag, other EZ Pass tags

Twice in the last couple of months I've had occasion to travel on the Kansas Turnpike.  Each time I went through the KTAG lane so I don't have to stop and pay tolls with cash (it's also cheaper.)  Both times I got a notice from the Turnpike authority that I was being billed by my license plate being on file rather than the overhead scanner reading my tag.  

I made a third trip just this past week with a new tag (I was told that the placement of my previous tag was wrong) and I checked my account and there was no record of my trip.  The representative I talked to today asked me what kind of car I was driving and I told her it was my '94 Roadmaster wagon.  She checked her records and found that 91 - 96 Buick Roadmasters have something in the windshield that prevents the scanners from reading the tag.  So if you're planning on traveling on a turnpike and having a scanner read your tag, it isn't going to happen in your Roadmaster.  (Other cars that she mentioned that had the same problem were some Mercedes and some Land Rovers.)

The state of Kansas has a different kind of tag that attaches to your front license plate holder that the scanner will pickup.  Just an FYI if you're planning on using a pass tag or have had problems in the past.  

Ed

I mounted my internal one in the moonroof and I think it worked every time. Also mounted an external one to inside back of my front grille and that one worked every time. Sticking it out on the front bumper is a guaranteed smash.

I have heard it's a problem with cars that have a heated windshield. Something about that blocks the rfid from the toll tags.

The Sungate windshield glass in the Roadmaster, Caprice, and Olds wagons incorporates a metal film that blocks infrared, but also RF transmission. You can either use an external transponder on the car, or hold it out the drivers window.

Your garage door openers often won't work then nose-in towards the garage door for the same reason, but work just fine out the side windows.

Only the windshield has the Sungate film.

NJ has my license plate associated with my tag, and if the tag is not read the plate photo is billed the same as the tag rate. They would not allow me to use the windshield mount tag. The license plate mounted tag is ugly, and does not always get read.

My experience with the plate tag was the same. It registered about 1 time in 10. Now I just hold the pass out the window. In NY, you just buy the EZ Pass transponders at the rest areas. No one cares what car you stick them on as long as they are registered users of a particular pass.

I've had my windshield replaced in my 96 Roadamster Wagon - any way to determine if the new windshield is a "sungate" or not?

It would have this decal.  Aftermarket replacement glass would not likely have the same metallic film.  

To be sure, just nose in to someones garage and try to get their opener to work through the front windshield.

Thanks - I'll check that out

IL has a bumper mounted unit that attaches on the two top holes of the licence plate. See if your state offers the same thing. It is one of those things you have to research because they don't openly advertise it. We had the same problem with ours until someone told us about it in a passing conversation.

A little late to the thread, but I encountered this issue years ago, and switched my EZ Pass to be mounted on the inside vista roof glass - it's worked great. Never an issue.

dmg4 wrote:

I just hold the pass out the window.

That is exactly what I had to do yesterday with the 1996 FWB that I bought a year ago and on which I've put about 7.5k miles already. The car has the original A23 heat-reflective windshield, but I'd never noticed an issue (probably because the car's tag is linked to my Pass box). I encountered a gated toll booth for the first time yesterday, and the gate would not lift. Then I remembered that the previous owner of the 1996 RMW that I bought ten days ago had warned me about it.

I just found this thread -- and see a good solution for the wagon (Vista roof). Thank you all!