Dang! Just for california cars eh? What about 99 models?? My check engine light has yet to illuminate again, but my wife noticed something when driving it yesterday. She runs the ac on fresh air. She noticed on occasion you could smell fuel vapor on accel. . I figured she was just full of caca, so I decided to take it fer a spin and I'll be dammed if it didn't smell like fuel vapor. I normally drive with the ac recirculating. So i guess I'll have to take it in and have it leaked checked.. Or I can just replace all of the hoses on the system.. I wonder which is cheaper??

 

GSquick,

Thanks very much!

 

It can be a DIY job since the charcoal canister is located under the car. But the problem is on parts not on labor. The canister itself is more than $500

 

Try ordering the parts you need through lexus-parts.com (Sewell Lexus of Dallas ) you might be able to save some money ordering from them. I'm curious who was the service advisor you were working with?? It's funny that they couldn't find the proble when you first brought the car in.

 

Hey JacobT, I dont know how mechanicaly inclined you are, but I fixed mine fairly easily and you might want to attempt this yourself. If you look under your hood somewhere, there should be a routing diagram of the evap system. Check all the hoses and if any are brittle cracked or loose you might find the problem. As I said in a previous post, I could smell a hint of fuel when the ac was on fresh<on accel>. The cel came on again, so I inspected the hoses and replaced a couple by the intake and the light stayed on for two more startups and then it went away. So, I think problem solved.. From all I read it almost seems the dealership finds the most expensive solution and it still doesnt fix it. And granted you had the system leak checked , but i'd atleast inspect them before you drop that kind of cash down...

Good luck man

 

Thanks man, I'll check all hoses tomorrow.

 

hmmm. id have to try that sometime. i usually go by values on what the game boy(lexus scanner) tells me. interesting to see how much much psi they go when the system is supposed to be in a small vacume?

 

Updates:

Finally got the problem fixed. No more error code/check engine light.
The GS charcoal canister is located behind the gas tank right above the differental pumpkin. To swap out the canister, you'll need to disconnect the exhaust, drop the diff. to get access to the canister. It's a painin the a*s to replace the canister but I'm glad it's finally fixed

 

WOW,
Do you really have to lower the differential to get to the charcoal canister? I see this unit under my car everytime I change the oil and inspect everything. I know it is tight, but there HAS to be a better way to change it.

I have a manual. I'll check and see what it says.

 

I tried. You can remove the unit but there's not enough room to take it out. The only way is to lose the 2 15mm bolts, drop the diff. about 6-8" lower to swap out the canister.

 

Thanks a lot. I haven't had any problems with my 99 GS4 yet, but it is nice to know. Maybe that is why the labor costs are so much. Any excuse will do.

As long as I don't have to disconnect the driveshaft and all that, I am fine.

 

Thank you everyone that has contributed to this posting!! Brought my 01 GS3 w/54k miles in to dealership Monday for check engine diagnosis. Dealership identified it as P0446, replace charcoal canister and vacuum switching valve at a cost of $1,015. I called Lexus Customer Satisfaction, told them of situation and that I was aware it would be under warranty for 1998 vehicles. They agreed for 1998, said they would research and call me back on later model years. Well, I got the call today saying Lexus has extended the coverage on this item to 7 years/70,000 miles saving me over $1,000. Hope this helps other GS3 and GS4 owners.