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Jim Grant's Tech Tips ‘98 Toyota Camry, Evaporative Code
Q:
The
check engine light came on in my ‘98 Toyota Camry. I had the computer
checked and the mechanic said the code was for a small evaporative leak.
I asked how much it would cost to fix and he said he couldn’t answer that
until he diagnosed the problem. I asked how much to diagnose the problem
and he said anywhere from $60 to $120 and that would not include replacing
any parts or the labor to replace them. I took it to the dealer and they
said they would charge me to plug into my computer again and to plan on
at least an hour maybe more in labor to diagnose. I went to another shop
and they told me they wouldn’t have anything to do with diagnosing that
computer code. Tell me, what is the purpose of charging to plug into my
computer to get information and then charging me to diagnose what the
computer has already told them was wrong? What is the “big deal” with
finding a small evaporative leak? Is this something I can do myself?
A:
You
can try doing it yourself, but without the right tools or information
you could easily spend a day in labor. Not to mention the cost of parts
and time to install them in the event you do find the problem. My first
suggestion would be to inspect the gas cap closely for damage to the sealing
area where is seal to the gas filler. After that as a consumer, it’s about
as far as you can go without information and specialized equipment. As
for the belief that the vehicle’s computer has the ability to tell you
just what needs to be replaced is speculative at best, particularly when
it is a small evaporative leak. The evaporative system starts at the gas
cap and ends under the hood. In between, there are vapor lines, solenoids,
a gas tank, and charcoal canister. I’m sure I missed a few goodies on
that list. All the computer is telling you at this point is that there
is a leak about the size of the ball in a ball point pen, yes that small.
Somewhere from one end of the vehicle to the other you’ll be looking for
a pin hole size leak that could be anything from a failing gasket, solenoid
not sealing a vapor hose that is not tight, a crack in something and that
list goes on. Once the cause has been found, proving that the repair corrected
the entire problem is a challenge in itself. One shop has told you that
they just don’t want to deal with those types of problems and it’s for
good reason. Two other shops have told you they would work on your vehicle
but they are going to be paid for their time. The easy part was getting
the code from the computer. The challenge is in diagnosing the cause.
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