What are the symptoms of a faulty carbon canister in a sedan?
2 Answers
The symptoms of a faulty carbon canister in a sedan are as follows: 1. Abnormal driving noise: When you occasionally hear a rattling sound from the vehicle, the first thing to check is the carbon canister solenoid valve on the car. When the carbon canister solenoid valve is open, it continuously produces switching actions, which is a normal phenomenon from the perspective of sound. If the activated carbon canister exhibits this issue, replacement may not be necessary; instead, cleaning and repairing the component is sufficient. 2. Strong fuel odor: When you experience jerking while pressing the accelerator and notice a strong fuel smell inside the car, this indicates a fault in the fuel line of the carbon canister system. This occurs because gasoline vapors leak directly into the atmosphere due to a damaged line, a condition referred to as fuel line leakage. If the line is indeed damaged, it can lead to excessive dilution of the fuel mixture, necessitating immediate repair of the line. 3. Weak acceleration: During driving, you may frequently encounter inconsistent acceleration, characterized by fluctuations in speed. In such cases, it is essential to inspect the air filter at the inlet of the activated carbon canister for blockages. This is because external air cannot freely enter the carbon canister, which is designed to maintain the freshness of the internal air. If this issue arises, promptly check the condition of the air intake inlet and replace or repair it as needed. 4. Difficulty starting or stalling: If the solenoid valve remains closed, gasoline vapors inside the carbon canister will accumulate excessively and eventually overflow, resulting in waste and environmental pollution. Conversely, if the solenoid valve remains open, the air-fuel mixture in the engine intake manifold will remain overly rich. Meanwhile, the engine control unit, which has not yet activated the carbon canister solenoid valve, will not issue a command to reduce fuel injection. This can lead to an overly rich mixture during hot engine conditions, causing the engine to stall and making it difficult to restart after stalling.
I've been driving sedans for years, and that time when the charcoal canister failed was really troublesome. The symptoms were quite obvious: the car was particularly hard to start, especially in the morning when the engine would buzz but just wouldn't fire up; while driving, a strong gasoline smell would waft from the rear trunk area, making me uneasy; at idle, the RPM was unstable with slight body vibrations, and at red lights, the engine would sputter as if about to stall; fuel consumption also inexplicably soared, dropping from 500 km per tank to just over 400 km. What's more annoying was the engine warning light came on. At the dealership, the diagnostic computer indicated an evaporative system issue—charcoal canister blockage causing fuel vapor leaks, affecting startup and polluting the environment. Delaying repairs could damage other components, so I promptly replaced the canister. I advise fellow drivers not to ignore such odors and to get them checked promptly.
