My GS is at the dealer, first they said it was a vacuum line causing my check engine light, but I got the car back and it the light came back on. They now say it's the charcoal canister.

My question is, what effect on performance, if any, would a bad charcoal canister cause? I have a pinging sound when I give the car very little gas which goes away when i give it more. They are quoting over $600 for replacement of this canister so dont want to fix it on my high milage GS unless its required.

Thanks!

 

Computer tunes down into "safe mode" ( I guess you call it) if I'm not mistaken. $600 installed? Pretty good considering the part is like $600 alone... Cant pass smog with it bad though... However, its usually the solenoid that is bad and not the actual whole canister. It gets stuck in the open (or closed) position. If you can remove the solenoid and clean it up a bit, it will more than likely be able to open and close again.

 

Appreciate the fast response. I'm too busy right now to do any work on it myself unfortunately or I'd try to clean it up. Just trying to avoid the "well that wasn't it" domino effect that can start to happen trying to find the cause of this pinging sound.

 

well if its the canister, the CEL code will give you that code. Either way its just a matter of putting a fogger through the system to see if thats the problem... If they didnt offer you that, then they're just trying to pull every last $ out of you! No honest place would change a canister before running a fogger... what code is the ecu pulling?

 

Oh, BTW. My CEL has been on because of my canister for about 6-8 months now. I ran the fogger and confirmed that its stuck 'open'. The CEL comes on and off ever other week. I have NO pinging sounds of any sort... So with that experiance, I would say no that its not the canister causing the problem. But thats just a guess going on me with the canister problem.

What kind of gas you running? The good stuff right? not the cheap 87 from some caca brand right LoL. Many on here argue saying that they run junk all the time and have no problems... well IMO, its a hit and miss. Some may have problems some may not, I'd rather be safe than sorry In any event, I say but a bottle of XR-1 from autozone, put in your gas tank with high octane gas run the car a few days and see if that takes care of anything. If anything, that will clean the car out a little bit and MAYBE take care of your current problem. in any even, not a bad way to spend $2 bucks

 

p0446 was the code he said. I asked if he did any test, he said the code points directly to it so that's it. I run only 91 and mobile one only.

 

Clean ur maf sensor see if it stops pining

 

I have the same code p0446, my next move is to see if I can put a new VSV in the unit. It's just not very easy to get to.

If that does not work a new CHARCOAL CANISTER ASSY, part number 7774030261 $240

 

Three codes are supposed to pop up if its the canister. Not only 0446, you supposed to get 441 and another. I believe it is 440!

try changing your gas cap or tightening it a few more clicks.

If that doesnt work then change the VSV valve in the engine bay. This dealer tech should have done a smoke test to ensure that its the canister though. No one code will point to that. The evap system in these cars are so sensitive that even a pin sized hole will trigger the engine light...

Get a second opinion. And FYI, 600 is a pretty good price for a new canister, but dont change it if you dont have to!

There is alot of info on this topic on the forum. Please utilize the search function. I know this because I was in your shoes twice... Good luck and keep us posted...

 

These cars have 3 vsv valves, one in th engine bay. One on the canister and one that is between the canister and the gas tank... The first one that you should always change first is the easiest, The one in the engine bay...

FYI, as you see, you have to drop the diff to get to the canister, it is not an easy or one person task... You may have to cut one of the exhaust pipes as well. The canister is located above the diff on the underside of the back seat... Damn, I remember when I did this... Good luck again...

You guys should hit me up on PM, I will give you a guy's number in FL that I buy dealer parts from. Sometimes he is a bit cheaper that the CL vendors...