Two days ago the check engine indicator lit up on my 01 Camry w/47,000 miles. Went to AutoZone this morning and the code received was P0446 which translates to "Evarorative Emission Control System Vent Control Circuit Malfunction."
Has anyone else in here encountered this and care to point me in the right direction. I am reading online likely cause is the charcoal canister and a new gas cap wchich is betweeen $250.00 & $500.00. Say it isn't so! Unfortunatley car is due for inspection like last month!
Also the AutoZone person indicated they turned off the check engine light. I did'nt think to ask then but I am now curious if it will come back on or when???
If the gascap was loose, you would likely have different additional codes. The charcoal canister is possible, but so are an inoperative vacuum switching valve or a loose vacuum hose. One thing that we see a lot is the canister control valve vacuum hose loose at the airbox. On the back of the box you will see a valve with a blue plug and an air hose coming off of it. Make sure that hose is attached to the valve and follow it to ensure it is attached to a metal pipe that disappears under the car. If the light does come back on and there is no problem with the above mentioned, a competent Toyota tech should be able to pinpoint the problem rather quickly with a vacuum guage and the Toyota tester.
Actually, I have got the same problem (code 0446) in my Toyota Camry '00. Three weeks ago, the "Engine Malfunction Light" went off, and I took the car to the Toyota dealer. The dealer replaced the Vacuum Switching Valve (VSV) and charged me a small fortune (over US$ 1,000). Just last Thursday, the light went off again. This time I bought a (cheap) OBD-II scanner and the code was P0446. I filled up the gas tank, I erased the code , I have since then ran some 80 miles and the light hasn't gone off (yet). I remember that, now as well as before, the light went off when I was running low in gas (less than one quarter of the gas tank). Because I lived in Montreal, Canada, which is very cold, I always had my gas tank filled at least half full. Now that I moved to Florida, sometimes I take longer to fill up the tank. Is that possible that there is a relationship between this code and the gas tank being low in fuel? If so, what kind of problem would the "engine malfunction light" possibly indicate? (and is the problem that difficult to fix, given that the dealer apparently didn't manage to?). I would like to know, because I have to take my ca back to the dealer, and in case I have to argue with them, then I would have more basis for my arguments. I wouldn't like to pay that much again, and I am suspicious I have been deceived by the dealer.
Thanks in advance - I don't have any knowledge about cars.
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