Canister and valve system problem

[bbegen]

I had a check engine light on my 99 prism two days ago. I took it to the mechanic. They told me that the canister is damaged, they wanted to change the canister and some parts related to it, and he told me this part is only available through the dealer, and it will cost me $650 to fix. I am planning to buy the part used from a junk yard and get it changed somewhere else. I searched as canister and valve system at car-part.com but i could not find such a part, does it have any other name? Do you think it is very risky to get this part used? Where can i get it cheap? Dealer sells it for $411!!!

[wrightz28]

I would think they are reffering to the charcoal canister and purge valve.

[shampooguy]

Can you use this recall for your problem?


http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resour...aa/toyota.html

[n1ckml007]

Interesting recall notice.

I had to get my charcoal canister filter replaced on my 1999 Prizm. The mechanic installed a Toyota Corolla canister filter which was about 1/2 the cost.

Do you have the associated codes? (pxxx)

[bbegen]

Guys,

Thank you for your interest, but i have changed my canister system, it seems that the problem is solved. The mechanic said the canister was damaged, and he replaced it with a new one. But I paid around 640 including the diagnostics. The part itself is around $410 from the dealer, mechanic charged me around $450. It looks like this canister is one of the most high tech parts in the car)) It really hurts to pay that much

[JStin]

The po441 code is so very common. I'm not sure why it isn't a recall, not safety related I guess.

I just live with it, I disconnected the battery to reset it for emissions testing last time. My MPG is fine, seems to lag at low RPM at times though.

Be sure to check for other codes periodically though since CE light is always on.

Now today I took my 2001 to Aamco for a tranny flush & the tech said he pulled the plug & there was so much debris he wouldn't flush it because it could cause a failure. It's only got 67,000 miles on it, I'm not a big fan of the Prism at this point.