Evaporative Emision Issue - Need Help Urgent!!

[sk72]

Okay...

My sister is driving a 97 camry with 158K miles. She has been having issues with the gas pedal recently because it becomes hard everytime the car comes to a full stop. When she accelerates the RPM hikes but the car does not move until or unless she presses the gas pedal harder. The funny thing is, she had a family picture on the dash which pretty much covered the check engine light, she believes the light would have been on since the problem started about 3 weeks ago. The guys over at pep boys figured it out!!!

I told my sister to go down to autozone and have them check ot the light issue and below is the description from the reader provided by autozone.

Auto Zone Check
The PCM has determined that the purge flow in the evaporative emission control system is incorrect for the current engine operating conditions.
Definition :
EVAP (Evaporative Emission System) small leak/no flow condition
Explanation :
The evaporative emission system is monitored
Probable cause :
1. Defective or loose fuel cap
2. EVAP canister or hose cracked-not-connected
3. Purge or vent solenoid defective
4. Vacuum leak at engine

The PCM has determined that a malfunction exists in the electrical circuit for the vent control in the evaporative emission control system
Definition :
EVAP (Evaporative Emission System) purge/vent solenoid circuit condition
Explanation :
The solenoid and system wiring are monitored for opens or shorts
Probable cause :
1. Purge or vent solenoids defective
2. Check connector and wiring
3. Fuel saturated vapor canister
4. Failed EVAP vent solenoid

Today, she brought the car to Pep Boys and they did their analysis and came up with the below quote. ** They provided this after spending $84 bucks!!***

Service information :
Test fuel Pressure and record reading : 95
All vacumn hoses connected
All fuel injectors connected
All secondary ignition wiring connected
All primary ignition wiring connected
Battery/Charging diagnosis performed

$84.99 X1 9304482 Platinum Maintenance Tune Up Package
$63.74 X1 9198043 BWD Automotive Custom Fit Wires
$50.00 X1 8583707 Remove & Replace Spark Plug Wire set
$74.99 X1 8583695 Fuel Rail system cleaning package
$100.00 X1 8583707 Replace Evaporation Control Canister (Not including Part)
$50.00 X1 9153259 Replace Fuel Vapor Press Control Valve (Not including Part)
$50.00 X1 8583707 Replace Fuel Vent Chamber (Not including Part)
$30.00 X1 8583707 Remove & Replace PCV Valve (I replaced it 5 months ago)
$7.98 X1 8495905 DORMAN PCV Valve Grommet

I am seriously considering doing all the ones highlightd in te RED because I can perform them myself. The techinician could not provide the price for 3 parts which is highlighted in blue. I would really apreciate if anyone could shed some light on how much does this costs and what do they do? Is it absolutely necessary to get all of this done?

Thanks Guys I really appreciate any help provided.

[tarbasd]

It just amazes me that they have the nerve to give you this quote. Half of the stuff is standard maintenance and certainly has nothing to do with the CEL problem. Then the blue stuff is what will actually (hopefully) fix the issue, it is unlikely that you would need all of that. They just don't bother to find the problem. "Replace everything" is their motto.

I have had pretty bad experience with Pep Boys, too. Back than, when I knew nothing about cars, their charged me $700 in 2003 for fixing a starting problem. Now I know it could have been done for at most $100 if they didn't replace half of the car.

You should ask another mechanic and don't let those incompetent greedy guys touch your car. Or you could buy a Haynes manual and try to fix it yourself.

[sk72]

Originally Posted by tarbasd

It just amazes me that they have the nerve to give you this quote. Half of the stuff is standard maintenance and certainly has nothing to do with the CEL problem. Then the blue stuff is what will actually (hopefully) fix the issue, it is unlikely that you would need all of that. They just don't bother to find the problem. "Replace everything" is their motto.

I have had pretty bad experience with Pep Boys, too. Back than, when I knew nothing about cars, their charged me $700 in 2003 for fixing a starting problem. Now I know it could have been done for at most $100 if they didn't replace half of the car.

You should ask another mechanic and don't let those incompetent greedy guys touch your car. Or you could buy a Haynes manual and try to fix it yourself.

Thanks Buddy... thats what I tought, seemed to be like they are replacing everything rather finding the exact problem. Does anyone knows a good mechanic in Chicago area? I wish I was there but i am in MD.

My sister lives close to oak brook... IL

[Kep]

I'm not sure just what her complaint is from your post. If you're saying that she puts in in gear and it doesn't move until she revs up the engine I tend to feel that she has a transmission problem. If you're saying that when she presses on the gas pedal that it seems stuck and she has to press harder then I would think that the throttle body is dirty.

Notice that the two error codes share the defective "purge or vent solenoid". I would focus on that first. They are fairly easy to troubleshoot though if she takes it in to a mechanic I suspect that they will just want to replace it (cheaper and no warranty concerns). If she is still running on the original wires and plugs if wouldn't hurt to replace them though I can't see them causing either of the problems that I am describing.

It really looks like they're trying to take advantage of someone who doesn't know what's wrong. I agree that the stuff in blue is the most relevant and would expect the mechanic to test the valve first and not replace the other items unless the valve was OK. Look for another mechanic. (If no one here comes up with a suggestion check out the CarTalk Guys. They have a mechanic referral section on their web site. You can navigate there through cartalk.com or go directly to http://cartalk.com/content/mechx/find.html )

Kep

[chronoti]

pull the efi fuse.

tighten gas cap.

tighten transmission kick down cable.

make sure there is tranny fluid and it's good..

oh and the tune up stuff, check rockauto.com for cheap parts (ngk/denso is stock and dayco belts)