1999 Honda Accord problems

About 3 months ago my car had a maintenance check which resulted in new tires and some tubing replaced. About a month after the engine light came on and I took the car in to be told that the fuel values needed to be replaced, which I had done. About a week a ago The engine light again came on and I waited a week to take it in due to a busy schedule. I was informed that my gas tank needed to be replaced. I find it odd that my gas tank suddenly needs to be replaced when just recently fuel values were replaced. I park my car in a garage at night and there has been no gas smell nor signs of a leak. If I get this fixed it will put 2,000 to 3,000 dollars in maintenance fees. Is the gas tank really the problem? not really sure whats up.

You said you had the “fuel values” replaced. I assume you meant “fuel valves.” But still…what “fuel valves?” Are you talking about some components in the fuel vapor recovery system?

And why were you told the gas tank needs to be replaced? Usually the tank has to be removed in order to access certain components like the fuel pump, which resides inside the tank. So I find it more likely that the tank may need to be removed temporarily in order to replace another component. Unless the tank itself is actually leaking, I don’t know why you’d need a new tank.

My parents once had a VW Jetta in which mice had chewed through one of the fuel vapor recovery hoses that runs from the tank to the engine compartment. The result was that the cabin smelled like gas. The VW mechanic had to remove the tank in order to replace the hoses that had been chewed through.

However, you say you have no gas smell, and no gas leak. So get a better explanation of what needs to be done and why from your mechanic.

Thank you very much for your reply and terribly sorry about the spelling it is not my strong point. I got more information and they said they ran a nitrogen gas test which then reviled a pinhole size leak at the top of the gas tank. Its going to cost about 1200 dollars to replace. I guess the next question is should I replace it or look into getting a new car?

Why did they do this test???

Where you smelling gas??? Did you see any gas on the ground???

I still don’t fully understand this. It sounds like they’re saying the leak is at the top of the tank, where the fuel guage sender unit and the vapor recovery hoses enter the tank. But how were they able to determine where the leak is without removing the tank? As far as I know, you can’t get at the top of the tank without removing it. Maybe they have some sort of hydrocarbon sniffer probe that allowed them to pinpoint the location of the leak, but then again, maybe not. I’m dubious that they really know what’s going on.

Maybe they’re correct, but for $1200 I’d get a second opinion somewhere else.

I park my car in a garage at night and there has been no gas smell nor signs of a leak. I was not told why they ran that test.

You need another opinion. The nose is an incredibly sensitive detector. If you have a pinhole in the top of the tank, gasoline would evaporate out of it and you likely would smell it. Just to be safe, you might park it outside until the issue is resolved. But if you can’t smell gasoline, I don’t think there is enough to cause an explosion in your garage.

I did a web search, and the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve is sometimes referred to as the fuel valve. Read the repair description and let us know what they replaced.

Thank you again for your help!