QuestionQUESTION: Check Engine light came on so wife brought it into dealership. Car was running fine just light was on. Has almost 79,000 miles. Was called later and said codes P0456, P0442 and P0302. Decided to get tune up somewhere else and when wife picked up car from dealership it was running terrible. When she got to the garage I was going to have work done the first spark plug they took out had the tip bent almost closed, I feel like the dealership tried to take advantage of her so I really don't trust answers I get from there. My question is on the codes P0456 and P0442 was told I needed a Canister Close Valve, which they didn't have in stock and had to be ordered, at first she was told it was warrantied as part of emissions system but when I talked to service manager she told me it was not a warrantied item, is it suppose to be a warrantied item? Second question, when tuneup was done they reset the check engine light and it hasn't come back on, that was 10 days ago, shouldn't it come back on if nothing was done to address codes P0456 and P0442? Do I need that Canister Close Valve?
ANSWER: The tune up would have addressed P0302 only.
In some cases, P0442 and P0456 are caused by a canister close valve that doesn't seal properly. In many cases, this failure to seal properly is intermittent. It's also possible that these codes were caused by a loose or improperly fuel cap. I'd recommend just continuing to drive the vehicle, and if the lamp comes back on, stop by an AutoZone and have the codes checked. If P0442 or P0456 have returned, then replace the canister close valve.
The warranty on the canister close valve is 5 years/60,000 miles. The federal 8/80 emissions warranty is very limited in what it covers: converters and ECM are about the extent of coverage.
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QUESTION: Was also told that there was a leak detected in the Fuel Pressure Regulator, when I got tuneup they said there was no leak, and I would have smelt gas if there was. Where is the fuel pressure regulator located on the vehicle? Is leak detected visually or do any of the codes refer to it?
AnswerThe fuel pressure regulator is the little can attached to the fuel rail with a vacuum hose coming off of it. The fuel leak would be detected visually. Look for a liquid fuel dripping from the bottom or a brown gummy substance around the seam. Both of these indicate a fuel leak.
