2001 camry characoal canister

I recently had a timing belt replaced on a 2001 toyota camry V6. My check engine light was on so they ran a diagnostics. The toyota dealer said I needed a characoal canister replaced ($647.00 plus tax). My question is, WHAT IS A CHARACOAL CANISTER? and how do you know when you need one. I did the required maintenance on the car.

Thanks

Jeanne

My understanding is that the charcoal cannister is in place to capture gas fumes so they are not exhausted into the environment. It is also my understanding that if you are in the habit of "topping off" your gas tank then you might be introducing liquid fuel into the canister saturating it and causing it to fail. If you download the 2002 manual at the top of the forum you can find a drawing of the charcoal cannister in the fuel section. Looks like it is mounted right next to the gas tank. You might consider getting one from a local wrecking yard.

Charcoal canisters rarely if ever go bad. Most problems in that system are caused by leaks in the hoses and mostly at the connections. Ask if they checked for leaks. I've seen cannisters on the internet for around $250 -$300. As usual, Toyotas must be gold plated.

As for topping off the tank - not saying it isn't true but, my 87 and 94 Camrys have been topped off and passing Cal smog checks for years without a problem. :2cents:

I've never had a problem either but a quick search of the forum found some other people who appear to have had charcoal cannister problems:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/search.php?searchid=1497953

Good to know that the hoses are frequently a problem. I'll file that away for future reference.

Thank you so much. I am glad I did not get the one at the dealer.

Thanks for the info. They did not tell me of any leaks. I will have the hose connections check.

Topping off the tank CAN ruin the cannister! Ask me how I know? ;)