First of all, I drive a 2001 Toyota Corolla, sedan, 4 cylinder.
Ok. In July my check engine light went on. Reading the service manual, it said I probably needed an oil change. But I’d literally just had one in June - 6-15.
I took it to Firestone. They did a bunch of stuff to it, including some stuff with the brakes that had nothing to do with the engine light, just needed to be done.
However, they did run a engine diagnostic, and an engine analysis. They said it was a valve that was open, and here is what the bill says exactly:
Rib Belt
Cannister Closed Valve Emmissions
Alternator Drive Belt
So it looks like they replaced two belts, and closed the cannister valve? The light did indeed go off at that point. This was on 7-6
Yesterday it went back on.
I don’t really want to have to take it in again. It is making no noise as far as I can tell, and it is well-maintained. Any ideas, or is there something I can do myself to check it? I only know a little about cars but I learn every time something goes wrong.
Most auto parts stores (Autozone, Advance Auto Parts) will hook up a computer to your car and tell you why the check engine light is on for free. Sometimes, it’s just a small thing that “tripped” the light, and they’ll reset it. If it comes on again, then it might be worth heading to a garage.
FTR, my car has had the check engine on almost continuously for almost 2 years now. Every time it gets turned off, it comes back on. It’s something related to the exhaust emissions, but the few times I’ve gotten part of the exhaust fixed, it still comes back on, so I ignore it.
Ok. Thanks - you were right! I called Autozone and they said they had the machine and I was allowed to come use it but I had to use it myself. Any way of finding out WHERE I hook up the silly thing to my car? They say they won’t be able to instruct me much as it’s a liability thing.
The plug itself is a worldwide standard, but its exactl location is not. As **Nars **said, they’re generally somewhere around the driver’s knees, and they might be hiden under a cap as in this car.
Usually the oil needing to be changed won’t trigger the ‘check engine’ light, many cars have a separate ‘change oil’ light for that. The other things that were done probably needed to be done as regular service but were not the cause of the engine light. Except for the canister.
The emmissions canister is what triggered the check engine light. And is probably what has caused it to come on again. When you read the code it will be some sort of EVAP realated code. This is very common.
The Evaporative Emmissions system is there to keep gas fumes from excaping into the atmosphere, a pollution control. The light can be triggered by a bad gas cap. If the light turns out to be caused by the EVAP system you do not need to worry about it hurting your engine, the car will run just fine.
Of course you should get it fixed, but you can do so when you see fit, it is not affecting the engine. Let us know if it was indeed an EVAP code.
I will. I plan to go to the Advance Auto Parts tomorrow. There are two locally, one in Albany, downtown, where I don’t want to go as there’s no place to park, and one in Latham, which is altogether a much nicer town.
Thanks all for your help. I see the connector is really far underneath. I think I’ll try to look for it tonight so I have some idea of where it is. And thank you for the pics - I will print them out, too, so I have an idea.
I drove a run down old Corolla for many years - 'twas a 1990 Corolla, that I drove until well into the 2000s. I’ve only had this car a little over two years. I learned a few things from the old car but not enough, apparently.
It could just be a loose or cracked hose - or even a loose or dirty electrical connection - anywhere in the emissions system.
When you get the diagnostic code, post it here. Sometimes the “official” meanings for the codes don’t sound too useful, but better explanations can be found on the net.
You are right, it could be a cracked hose or any other leak in the EVAP system, not just the canister. Still making the assumtion that EVAP is the issue, that is.
In cars with EVAP systems the fuel system is pressurized after you start the engine. An EVAP code can light the check engine light if a leak is detected.
I live in Orygun and we are not allowed to pump our own gas. My previous car would trigger the engine light whenever the yahoo at the station didn’t put the cap back on right. After paying to have the light turned off once, I bought my own code reader and turned it off myself thereafter. Didn’t happen too often, and I tried to keep an eye on the attendant, but sure enough every time the light came on they hadn’t put the cap on right.
I had this happen with my old Toyota - check engine light came on, I took it in, it was a not-fully-tightened gas cap, I felt stupid. Same thing happened to my spousette with her FourRunner. She had to disconnect and reconnect her battery (after addressing the gas cap issue) to make the light go off, though.
They don’t anymore in California. Two weeks ago, my sister borrowed my car and came back with the check engine light on. I called Autozone to see if they have a code reader available. I was told they no longer did them due to a state law.
Also, it was a small thing as, according to my mechanic, the light was likely caused by my sister starting the car with the A/C on, which seemed to be the problem as it disappeared after a few hours.
Hello - looks like ghardester was right. I wrote down the code exactly:
Q 446
EVAP Emission
Control System Vent
Circuit Malf
So…can I wait for a bit on it? Or, even better, is this something we can do ourselves? I can do routine maintenance on my car - I know how to change the oil (though I don’t), I can change out a battery, air filter, stuff like that.
Or it is something that must be taken to a mechanic?
Oh, and you’re right of course Samclem. of course then I might have had some warning for the distributor cap blowing.
You don’t have to worry about fixing it right away if money or time is a problem. The issue will not harm or effect your car. But you may need to see a shop to narrow down the source of the problem.
Letting it go and just driving around ignoring the engine light on for too long is a bad idea. It won’t hurt anything but if some other unrelated problem develops with your car that needs immediate attention, you won’t know about it because the light is already lit and you may think it’s still just the EVAP problem.
So plan fixing the problem into your budget and probably take it to a different shop since the first shop had a chance to fix the issue and didn’t. Or if you like the shop you used last time then bitch about the fact that you had to continue to pursue the problem on your own, after paying them to fix it. They should look at it again without charge.
