2000 Camry 4cyl Charcoal Canister came apart and VSV? broken=$850 @ dealership? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

tomenki · 05-12-2009, 10:29 AM

First off, I have searched the forum...OK

I feel like I need to go out and get some vaseline. I took my wife's car to the dealership this morning because of a CEL that I had already attempted to remedy with a new gas cap. I was expecting a faulty hose would be the problem, but I was wrong...

The dealership says that the charcoal canister has come apart and is leaking charcoal everywhere because the valve is broken also. Does this make sense? I am not very familiar with the guts of this car, so is it worth my time to take it back from the dealership and find a less expensive route, or just take my licks?

Any help would be appreciated.

BTW, I have to pass emissions by the end of June(next month).

***ASG14*** · 05-12-2009, 10:51 AM

Go to an independent shop and it will brobably be $300 or more LESS then that. The parts themselves are probable around 1/4 to 1/3 of that estimate. It's a big part in labor (and they go by book labor, not real labor), so an independant shop may be a lot less.

hill8570 · 05-12-2009, 11:50 AM

Damn, did you wear your best suit when you dropped it off?

List on the Toyota-brand canister is smidge over $300, and the VSV is probably around $80. Aftermarket would be at most half that. That's a lot of $$$ for labor. Heck, it's not even that hard to access...down by the gas tank, but that's why they have lifts. I wonder how far that charcoal migrated?

Personally, I'd ask around to find a competent independent mechanic.

jmborchers · 05-12-2009, 01:05 PM

Did you get EVAP Purge flow code?

My Wife's car a 99 needed the purge valve changed by the cannister and that was relatively easy to do. The only VSV I remember was at the engine compartment. That's especially easy to test and get to.

Make sure you have a Toyota gas cap the aftermarket caps will not work.

I had the whole cannister out in less than 1 hour. The book tells you to take some muffler / suspension (I think it was?) stuff but in reality you can get out the whole cannister between the lower suspension and muffler by carefully wiggling it through.

The whole story sounds fishy. The only thing I can think of to make the tank self destruct is frequently overfilling the gas tank. Even then it sounds suspicious. All those components are designed for fuel exposure.