Hey guys so I just got a code p0446 and I’m not sure what the cause could be. I remember my car would really reek of gas the past month and it stopped and it would really reek of gas though my air vents when I turned off the button that has a car and a u turn arrow on it. As of now my car hasn’t really smelled of gas only rarely but I do recall one time I filled up my car like last month and I think I might’ve overfilled it. After that it started to smell like gas pretty frequently and I never knew what the problem was. What do you guys think? And if you’re here salim do you think it might have been me filling up my tank?

 

P0446 covers a multitude of sins - anything from a bad gas cap gasket to............ well, you might not want to know!
The gas smell is the clue. Check all the gas/evaporative/recirculation hoses for leaks.

 

ok i will check it could you provide a photo of how the gas cap seal is supposed to look like or sit? because mines looked pretty normal when i checked it yesterday.

also nice profile pic the baby sheep from shawn the sheep

 

Not much to see. There's a rubber gasket in the gas cap that either seals or it doesn't. Try cleaning it with ArmorAll

 

If gas cap isn't it, there's a vacuum valve behind the airbox worth checking. There's a hose on there that likes to pop loose as the years go by, and it'll cause a vac leak and P0446 and P0442 codes. Super easy to replace, get a length of hose off the reel at the local parts store and a couple spring clamps.

 

Quick update on this so I think it was my vacuum switching valve that was causing the check engine light because I replaced it recently and I’ve driven more than 100 miles after replacing and it hasn’t appeared. I do still get a gas smell sometimes coming from the front of the car but there’s no check engine light. Is there anything else I should check just in case?

 

You can still read codes ... there can be pending codes which have not triggered the light.

RX engines run hotter and any oil or grime on the block can produce fumes. So check for oil leaks. For gas vapors, best is to wait for CEL. No sense in chasing ghosts, specially when real ones are hard to locate. [smoke machine is highly recommended].

Salim