I have a 2002 Subaru Outback LL Bean with the 3.0 liter engine. I purchased this vehicle to get me to northern Michigan ski areas.The vehicle has two instances of the charcoal canister being contaminated with fuel. I do not “top off” the gas when re-fueling.When the second instance ocurred, my local Subaru dealer stated the cannister (part# 42036AC020) was faulty and they replaced it under warranty.
My question is why this happened in the first place? Is this a common problem with 3.0 liter Subaru’s? What, if anything, can I do to eliminate this problem?
Is it a common problem on this model? Not as far as I know! I have a 2002 VDC 3.0 (the more expensive cousin of the LL Bean model), and the canister has never given any problems with ~90k on the odometer.
However, when the car was about a year old, a valve in the evaporative emissions system had to be replaced under warranty. The “fix” took all of 20 minutes. It is possible that your supposed canister problem is just a problem with the relatively cheap plastic valve, rather than the very expensive carbon canister.
What was the First instance? Was the charcoal canister changed for that, also?
I’m with you. I get the feeling that you are being yanked around.
I, also, get the feeling that the dealer’s mechanics aren’t doing any troubleshooting for the problem, which they are, still, required to do, even, for parts that are covered by warranty.
Call the regional Subaru representative and explain the situation. The car maker isn’t happy, either, when parts are changed out of hand.
Tell us the trouble code that turned on the check engine light, if you can get it.