2000 RX300 struggles to run after filling up with gas
#1
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2000 RX300 struggles to run after filling up with gas
I think my mom's RX is suffering from a flooded evap canister. For a while now she has complained about getting bad gas from a local station. It runs bad for a little while and then clears up. Well, this past weekend she asked me to look at it. The car stumbled a lot and did not really want to rev.
After reading a couple of posts on Lexus forums, I thought it was bad coils. So I swapped in a new set of coils and plugs. It still ran like crap.
I drove to autozone and had the pending codes read. There were three. 1 for lean, 1 for AF sensor out of range, and 1 for AF sensor heater not working. My dad had previously cleaned the mass air sensor, but it did not seem to help. I bought a different mass air and installed it. The car drove great. We put 150 miles on it and it seemed to act like new. I thought it was fixed. ...then I filled the tank up and the running like crap condition came back. (when I first started messing with the car, the tank was also full).
I think gas is overflowing into the canister. When the canister fumes are supposed to be going to the engine...liquid fuel is being sucked in...which is fouling the plugs and washing down the O2 sensors.
What is the real defective condition? is it something wrong with the canister? or the check valve on the gas tank?
After reading a couple of posts on Lexus forums, I thought it was bad coils. So I swapped in a new set of coils and plugs. It still ran like crap.
I drove to autozone and had the pending codes read. There were three. 1 for lean, 1 for AF sensor out of range, and 1 for AF sensor heater not working. My dad had previously cleaned the mass air sensor, but it did not seem to help. I bought a different mass air and installed it. The car drove great. We put 150 miles on it and it seemed to act like new. I thought it was fixed. ...then I filled the tank up and the running like crap condition came back. (when I first started messing with the car, the tank was also full).
I think gas is overflowing into the canister. When the canister fumes are supposed to be going to the engine...liquid fuel is being sucked in...which is fouling the plugs and washing down the O2 sensors.
What is the real defective condition? is it something wrong with the canister? or the check valve on the gas tank?
#3
#6
#7
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Thread Starter
The second was maybe P0134 (the printout is still at mom's house....250 miles away). The third was maybe P0135.
I did not tear into it. I was pissed. I will tear into it this weekend.
I did however find a similar thread on a forum that described a similar car that somebody fought for a long time that the issue turned out to be the canister.
On a related note....there are vehicles that do have known problems with the canisters flooding (chevy malibu, and chyrsler mini-van to name two) that do have driveability demons unleashed when the canister floods.
Trending Topics
#8
- Air intake (hose loose)
- Fuel line pressure
- Injector blockage
- Oxygen sensor malfunction
- Air flow meter
- Water temp. sensor
#9
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P0171 "system too lean bank 1" trouble areas are:
- Air intake (hose loose)
- Fuel line pressure
- Injector blockage
- Oxygen sensor malfunction
- Air flow meter
- Water temp. sensor
When the issue occurs, this thing runs SO BAD! ...as if it is sparking on less than half the cylinders. Big doses of raw fuel would probably confuse the hell out of the O2 sensors (lower combustion temps) and it doesn't know how to properly diagnose the data.
I will know tomorrow.
Last edited by Flipper1; 06-09-17 at 06:26 AM.
#10
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I went ahead and bought a 77390-48010 tank vent valve. The plan is to drain/drop the tank, swap the valve, drain the canister, and re-test.
According to my mother, the running like crap after re-fueling, has happened something like 20 times. ...she just finally made a big enough of an issue about it for my dad to investigate (and get me involved).
Once she has burned 1/8th tank of gas (her normal run to the mall?), it runs like new.
According to my mother, the running like crap after re-fueling, has happened something like 20 times. ...she just finally made a big enough of an issue about it for my dad to investigate (and get me involved).
Once she has burned 1/8th tank of gas (her normal run to the mall?), it runs like new.
#11
My guess is that the main tank vent is not completely sealing off. ...and at a full tank, some fuel is seeping into the vent hose.
When the issue occurs, this thing runs SO BAD! ...as if it is sparking on less than half the cylinders. Big doses of raw fuel would probably confuse the hell out of the O2 sensors (lower combustion temps) and it doesn't know how to properly diagnose the data.
I will know tomorrow.
When the issue occurs, this thing runs SO BAD! ...as if it is sparking on less than half the cylinders. Big doses of raw fuel would probably confuse the hell out of the O2 sensors (lower combustion temps) and it doesn't know how to properly diagnose the data.
I will know tomorrow.
Many of the trouble codes will put the engine in "limp home mode". It runs rough, has no power, won't shift into overdrive. It's normal behavior.
I don't have a list of the codes that will do it.
If you clear the codes (and they don't come back immediately, some must go through a cycle) is the performance restored?
#12
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That sounds more like a too-rich condition, which is P0172
Many of the trouble codes will put the engine in "limp home mode". It runs rough, has no power, won't shift into overdrive. It's normal behavior.
I don't have a list of the codes that will do it.
If you clear the codes (and they don't come back immediately, some must go through a cycle) is the performance restored?
Many of the trouble codes will put the engine in "limp home mode". It runs rough, has no power, won't shift into overdrive. It's normal behavior.
I don't have a list of the codes that will do it.
If you clear the codes (and they don't come back immediately, some must go through a cycle) is the performance restored?
Between 3/4 and 1/2 tank, the light stayed off.