[quote=“GeorgeSanJose, post:18, topic:96982, full:true”]
I don’t think rounding up to the nearest 5 cents would hurt the evap system. The canister is 11 years old, it probably has just given up the ghost as a symptom of old age. Evap systems have become very complex, and you really need someone working on this who has evap diagnostic experience and doesn’t take the replace this, replace that approach. Evap canisters can often be removed and bench tested, so ask about that. Better to keep the evap canister you have, particularly if it isn’t broken. Another poster above mentioned the purge valve. That could be the problem here itself, or sometimes when the canister gets saturated in gasoline (b/c of overfilling or it just failed) particles of carbon can lodge in the purge valve, and the purge valve gets taken out with the canister, and has to be replaced. Whatever’s causing the evap codes can be fixed, not a big deal, but it may take a bit of diagnostic time to figure out exactly what’s wrong. Replacing the gas cap might make sense as a first attempt, since that’s cheap.[/quote]
Got it, thanks!
To be honest, I will hear the swoosh in situations that have little to do with very low temperature – where I am it very rarely gets below 0F (I am in Boulder, our winters are not like in the high country). Among them it would be something like this: I shut down the engine in the evening and it’s something like 65F. It rains overnight and in the morning it may be something like 35-40F and I’ll likely hear it when I start. I don’t even know if “swoosh” is the right word. It isn’t really a hiss, but the sound would make one think of gas escaping or getting sucked in, or possibly something spinning very fast. Both times the check engine light came on along with the sound, which of course could be a coincidence. Come to think of it, I’ll try to record it for clarity.
When I see P0441 and P0455 usually the purge line is broken or disconnected. 45 minutes of diagnostic time should give you an accurate estimate. You might find it challenging to find a small shop mechanic that can repair this in one visit.
Charcoal canisters generally do not fail and leak, the only reason I have had to replace a canister is when the vent valve has failed and is not available separately.
This has nothing to do with over-filling the tank, even if you add 1/2 gallon after the first shut off you would not cause these faults, this is a vapor leak.
“Being able to take fair critique is key to being a rational human being . . .”
I agree
I’m thinking of a guy with an orange combover who does NOT fit that description
He can dish it out, but he can’t take it. The fact that he’ll be president soon doesn’t change his personality.
Does it matter . . . we’ll soon find out
Moving on, I would suggest that you let your mechanic do his own diagnosis and repair. Also, let him obtain the parts himself. That’s actually killing 2 birds with one stone. First of all, if he obtains his own parts, he’ll be responsible, should any errors arise, such as a wrong part arriving. Second, he’ll probably warranty the parts for a period of time, unlike if you supply the parts.
Also, part of staying in business is making money off of the parts. A fair markup is to be expected. It’s the nature of the business
As for learning things the hard way, that’s life. There’s probably not one mechanic alive who hasn’t learned lessons the hard way. The key is learning from those experiences and not making the same mistakes again. I can’t speak for other professions, but I imagine it’s similar
[quote=“db4690, post:27, topic:96982, full:true”]
Moving on, I would suggest that you let your mechanic do his own diagnosis and repair. [/quote]
Which one, the new mechanic I just found, or the one who already priced the canister replacement?
Here’s the result of their diagnostics, for which I was charged $60: “leak in evap control canister” (which is what P0456 and P0455 are for small and large leak, respectively) and an estimate for $600 to replace the canister. No information about testing other components. Does this look like proper diagnostics to you? Should I bug him with questions, or should I just talk to another one? This car has low mileage (65K), but I’ve been thinking to get a new one anyway, so does it make sense to just jump into suggested repair based on this diagnostics report?
I’d have the new mechanic look at it. Those codes don’t necessarily mean the canister itself is leaking. They mean there is a leak in the evap system. It could be as simple as a leaking hose.
I am by no means suggesting this is your problem, but it’s interesting reading. And it’s something to keep in the back of your mind, if proper diagnosis is followed, and everything else is ruled out. Personally, I kind of doubt this is your problem. The reason for my doubt . . . everything has apparently been fine all these years. If the pcm really as the problem, I’d expect these codes would have shown up several years ago
Considering what you said about your VIN, it’s possible this also doesn’t apply
Here’s how you can find out if you have the updated pcm or not . . .
Next time you visit your mechanic, whoever that turns out to be, ask him to use his scanner to retrieve the part number and/or software version of the pcm. Then you can compare it to that bulletin I posted.
Even if you do have an old pcm that “needs” to be updated, I still kind of doubt that is the cause of your problems
Don’t feel like that. It’s been my experience that very few people are aware that “topping off” the gas tank can damage the charcoal canister on some cars, especially older ones and especially if it’s done repeatedly for years on end. The charcoal canister is what the tank breaths through, the charcoal catching the hydrocarbon molecules, but “topping off” can cause saturation of the charcoal and prevent proper breathing of the system. Follow insightful’s advice and hopefully it’ll clear.
One test that can be run is a “smoke test”. Smoke is pumped into the system with a special machine and it’ll visibly leak out if there’s a leak in the system, however since it’s pumped in through the fill pipe it unfortunately cannot detect a bad gas cap seal. A good visual inspection can, however.
There are adapters to introduce smoke through the evap test port . . . which is typically in the engine bay. This does allow you to view the smoke leaking past a rotten fuel filler cap seal. This is by far the more common method, for vehicles that actually do have a test port. this is my preferred method, because it DOES take the fuel filler cap into account. Once you remove the fuel filler cap, you have already disturbed the system.
There are also adapters to introduce smoke through the filler pipe. This is the less common method
Here is my update. I actually had to call a few mechanics to get an appointment, because not everyone (if they are not crooks) is equipped for this. One said right away “this requires a smoke test, which I can’t do” and went on researching the Toyota bulletins. Anyhow, I got an appt for Dec 27.
In the meantime, I fear going to the local dealer for recall service on Thursday. They always do that cat from Shrek and beg to replace everything, or else the car will cause immediate nuclear fallout.
This is a 2004 Corolla, but the model year is 2005. Thanks!
