Evap system repair
 

Got a CEL and SLIP light. Took it to the dealer, they say the evap system needs to be replaced because of water intrusion, because apparently a PO removed some plastic they shouldn't have.



Quoted about $1000, so I said no, just give my car back.


The reason for the high quote is because they said the diff has to be dropped to be able to do it.



a) How hard is this really? Dropping the diff? Or does it really need to be done that way?

b) Anybody got any ideas?



I'm already going with "drive it and see if it clears up" - the thing is, it's winter, and very cold, and so I figure the problem really could be the "water" intrusion really means ice, clogging things up. So maybe it will start working in the spring. But barring that, what can I do that won't cost $1000?

Hello johnmayqwerty and welcome to our forum - :clap:

First off, is your car still under warranty? If so, the dealer should fix it at no charge to you.

If not, how many miles on your car?

Do you have any power mods?

I would suggest that you invest in a code reader and read the code that the car is throwing you.

Post the code here so we can help you.

After you read the code, I suggest you clear the code (with the code reader) and see if it comes back. If it doesn't, I wouldn't worry about it.

If the code comes back, I would suggest to clear the code again by disconnecting the negative battery terminal for a few minutes - to clear the code from the CPU.

Then come back and visit us - :)


humfrz

As humfrz said, get a code reader from any auto parts store and look up the actual code.

As for water in the evap system, yeah I don't know much about it only that it's a pain in the ass to find out the problem and it's a pricy fix.

Second, try shopping around other mechanic shops. Our cars are not special enough to be dealer only serviced. 100% any good shop can do repairs as good and cheaper than the dealership.

If that's their reason for the high cost, here's a video of it being done....<15 minutes. Find a different dealer.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIrNabUpQXY[/ame]

@BirdTRD THAT is useful info. If I have to get this done I'm definitely going to take it to somebody other than the dealer, I hate dealers.

2016, out of warranty by miles. Not covered under powertrain warranty.

It's already come back once after the code was cleared. I haven't pulled the code myself yet, but I will, and I'm going to just keep clearing it until spring. It does the evap test 5 hours after ignition off... which lately means freezing temps. I really suspect ice in the vent line, or maybe the pump is iced.

The thing is, what I'm pretty sure triggered all this is I got stuck in "deep" snow (4 inches!) and had to rock the car out, took about ten minutes of back and forth in the same spot. I don't know what the vent looks like that the dealer claims water got into... but I bet it was snow.

So I guess I'll see when it warms up. But it's good to know it's NOT that hard to drop the diff.

Probably the evap hose


Here ya go


https://demos.starbase7.net/t3Portal/

a) That's a heck of a web site
b) Looking at all of it hooked up in the diagrams, I don't see how water could be getting in anywhere. It's all closed. I need to look at see if something's disconnected. The tech at the dealer thought there was a "vent" that got water in it, and that water would keep getting in that "vent". But I don't see anything vent-like in those diagrams. Except in the fuel filler itself.

The evap system is vented, looks like its off the pump, heading to the right in this picture. Don't think I've ever heard of anybody getting water in there and damaging anything, usually it's the silty dirt that piles up under cars.

Yeah, I think you're right about that hose, it seems to end up under the fuel filler near the top. I'm going to take a look. Snow flinging off the back wheels is what I'm thinking. But I gotta look. It's cold, man.

This ^

Makes sense. That's why they say never top off the fuel tank. All those components are designed to handle vapors, liquid can damage them. Guess that can be fuel or water.

Or ice. That pump runs in the middle of the night. If it's got a little water in it, I'll bet it can deal, but not ice.

I hope it all just gets better when it warms up. PO removed the wheel well shielding on both sides. I'll need to replace those...

POs.

OK, here is plan B.

Find a place that is warm to park your car for 24 hours.

Maybe it will thaw out and clear itself.

That used to work, when I lived back in the Midwest, to thaw out frozen fuel lines.




humfrz