Charcoal Canister Replacement

[greenrunr]

The dealer says I need to replace my charcoal canister on my 1999 RX300 for $880.00. My check engine light came on and I won't pass inspection.

Is this reasonable? What alternatives are there if any?

Thanks

Greenrunr

[dgorrie]

I have a '99 RX300 as well. I haven't had to do this yet, but I do have an online account with AllData for this car (which is very helpful for not much money).

The AllData page for replacing the "Vapor Canister" says the P/N is 7774048011 , but check with a dealer. AllData says it prices at $447, with a half-hour labor charge.

At face value, this suggests that either your dealer's labor charges are exhorbitant, or their parts prices are exhorbitant (always the case anyway), or the AllData details are off. But I would definately dig around for alternate pricing, perhaps with other dealers as well.

One web soite I just searched showed a retail price of $449, with a discounted price for $373. Try newlexusparts.com.

FYI -- there is a service bulletin for a code P0446 that says "Under certain driving conditions, some 1999 Model Year RX 300s will exhibit a false M.I.L. "ON" DTC P0446. A Charcoal Canister Assembly has been developed to prevent this condition." The key word is False. I got this code once, then it went away on its own -- don't know why. The bulletin (EG001-99) says it is a warranty item if within 4 years and 50K miles.

It might not be a factor, but you might consider getting a new gas cap. An emissions test I had failed because the cap had a leak past the o-ring, and that issue can cause funny problems with OBDII.

Good luck.

[greenrunr]

The dealer says I need to replace my charcoal canister on my 1999 RX300 for $880.00. My check engine light came on and I won't pass inspection.

Is this reasonable? What alternatives are there if any?

Thanks

Greenrunr

Thanks for the info....

The engine light came on and that triggered the visit to the dealer. It was our first visit to this dealer. We recently moved and this is now the only one close to us.

To make matters worse we had them check out a noise we were getting while going over speed bumps. That resulted in having the struts replaced which cost 800.00. I told them we would consider the Charcoal Canister if the light came on again.

The good news, So far the engine light has not come on again. The bad news is, The original noise is still there.

When my wife got back from picking the car up I read the report. It listed all sorts of problems.

One was tires showed signs of uneven wear! The tires are less than 1 week old and have less than 100 miles on them. I have lost confidence in this place.

Being new to the area I don't have an immediate option. I will do some research.

Thanks again for the help

Greenrunr

[JPI]

What are the codes? P0440, P0441 and P0446? Sometimes the VSV(vaccum Switch Valve) is bad on this also. $800 is a little too much to replace the charcoal canister. You will need to have this thing check out properly. Techs at lexus when they see the codes and they will just say it's the canister. I've seen lines to the canister cracks. Also on the 99 model, there is a hose that you will need to replace

on the Charcoal canister. Make sure you get the codes.

JPi

[greenrunr]

What are the codes? P0440, P0441 and P0446? Sometimes the VSV(vaccum Switch Valve) is bad on this also. $800 is a little too much to replace the charcoal canister. You will need to have this thing check out properly. Techs at lexus when they see the codes and they will just say it's the canister. I've seen lines to the canister cracks. Also on the 99 model, there is a hose that you will need to replace

on the Charcoal canister. Make sure you get the codes.

JPi

the code is P0446

[rhwoods1]

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I also have had problems with the Vaccum Canister. Lexus dealer identified the problem on three occassions when I was in for other service. The first time was in November 0f 2003 at which time the service advisor indicated to me confidentially that I should wait until next year because there would probably be a recall for this problem. Each time I returned the Check Engine light was reset and each time it would come back on within a few miles after leaving the dealership. I attempted to purchase this part on-line, but found that it was a dealer only part. A local dealer told me that the list price for the new and improved part would be $449.60.

I later found that my mechanic could purchase this part from the same dealership for $382.16. Apparently Lexus identified a desirn flaw in the original and have redesigned the new one so it wouldn't cause this false positive.

My problem with all of this is if Lexus had to improve the part, then the original design was an error and they should cover the cost.

P.S. Still haven't heard of any recall for this problem.

[wei113]

My 2000 Rx300 has same problem. The codes are P0440, P0441 and P0446. My dealer told me Charcoal Cannister Value needs to be replaced for $611. Does it do anything to the life of the car? Can I replace it myself? Are there any other possibilities to cause above 3 codes? Thanks.

[snagalia]

The dealer says I need to replace my charcoal canister on my 1999 RX300 for $880.00. My check engine light came on and I won't pass inspection.

Is this reasonable? What alternatives are there if any?

Thanks

Greenrunr

I have 1997 ES-300. I just came back from the dealer. My Check engine light came on and Track Off light came on after a couple of days. The dealer said that my Charcoal canister is faling apart and the hose is internally clogged. Bothe need to be replaced. Estimated cost $503.80. The part # for canister is 77740-33062 and for hose is 23829-20011. I found the part online at newlexusparts.com for $218. Could not find the hose online but my guess it would be $5-10.

I also had an issue of sounds from the rear end when the car goes over bumps. My lexus dealer fixed it today for $100 by replacing Stabilizer bushes (Parts $30, Labor $70).

[MNJack]

I have 1997 ES-300.  I just came back from the dealer.  My Check engine light came on and Track Off light came on after a couple of days.  The dealer said that my Charcoal canister is faling apart and the hose is internally clogged.  Bothe need to be replaced. Estimated cost $503.80.  The part # for canister is 77740-33062 and for hose is 23829-20011.  I found the part online at newlexusparts.com for $218.  Could not find the hose online but my guess it would be $5-10. 

I also had an issue of sounds from the rear end when the car goes over bumps.  My lexus dealer fixed it today for $100 by replacing Stabilizer bushes  (Parts $30, Labor $70).

←

Snagalia !! I don't know about the other guys (their year and model) but I am fairly certain that your 97 ES300 is covered under an extended emissions warranty. I have a 97 ES300 with 120K miles. If you already paid for the repair you may be able to get reimbursed by Lexus. I started a thread with the same title (Charcoal canister) in the ES300 forum a while back. There are links to the relevant info. It was a very pleasant surprise for me to find out the warranty had been extended to 150,000 miles or 10 years!! I had $900 dollars of repairs all paid for by Lexus!!

[sgriffith]

I also had the noises when I was going over speed bumps etc. It was misdiagnosed initially by Lexus, but it turned out to be the "suspension support." I actually had to take it to another dealership to get them to diagnose it. What was funny is that there is a service bulletin out on it and the other dealership was like "oh yeah, this is what it is for sure." So, you never know what you are gonna get. I thought the first dealership was great and wonderful, but I have decided that I will drive a little further and get reliable, consistent service. Let me know if you need any more info on this.

[MATERIALISTICGIRL101]

I have 1997 ES-300.  I just came back from the dealer.  My Check engine light came on and Track Off light came on after a couple of days.  The dealer said that my Charcoal canister is faling apart and the hose is internally clogged.  Bothe need to be replaced. Estimated cost $503.80.  The part # for canister is 77740-33062 and for hose is 23829-20011.  I found the part online at newlexusparts.com for $218.  Could not find the hose online but my guess it would be $5-10. 

I also had an issue of sounds from the rear end when the car goes over bumps.  My lexus dealer fixed it today for $100 by replacing Stabilizer bushes  (Parts $30, Labor $70).

←

Snagalia !! I don't know about the other guys (their year and model) but I am fairly certain that your 97 ES300 is covered under an extended emissions warranty. I have a 97 ES300 with 120K miles. If you already paid for the repair you may be able to get reimbursed by Lexus. I started a thread with the same title (Charcoal canister) in the ES300 forum a while back. There are links to the relevant info. It was a very pleasant surprise for me to find out the warranty had been extended to 150,000 miles or 10 years!! I had $900 dollars of repairs all paid for by Lexus!!

←

:) HI there, I belive I am having the same problem in my car the charcoal cannister. Check engine light came on about 2 months ago. Had the o2 sensor replaced, and the mass air flow sensor as well. Still comes on..along with the trac on/off light. So took her to autozone and they told me it had to do something with the emmisions. ????? Could this be the charcoal cannister? it runs fine...Except when I stop at a stop sign or red light. When I have it in drive, but my foot on the brake, it idles a little bit. The idle drops, like it looses power. I put fuel injector in it and filled it up, maybe helps a little, but its still happening. Also doesnt pick up speed properly, kinda sputters. Anyone with any info please email me at kguzylak@yahoo.com. Thanks so much in adavance!

[lenore]

I had a charcoal canister on a dodge that had a bad air line going into it. It was clogged with debris. It is possible that it could be something that simple. The canisters as I remember, you could take out and blow thru a hose and it should exit the other outlet, if not it is clogged. think of it as a filter system.

[lenore]

I just read up on charcoal canistes, they store gas fumes until the engine can burn them. So it is a sealed system thru the hoses to the fuel tank and the intake manifold. Very important that the hoses are not kinked, leaking etc. There is usually also a control valve associated with the canister to purge the vapors when the engine is running.