Honda Accord 2000: Malfunction Lamp ON / Check Engine Lamp ON

Honda Accord 2000: Malfunction Lamp ON / Check Engine Lamp ON

I was driving and Malfunction Indicator Lamp came on. Took it to my mechanic and he reset it and said if it comes on again come back we will check. After reset the car drove 300 miles and suddenly today it came back ON again. My manual says:

Check Engine Lamp / Malfunction Indicator Lamp : It indicates that one of the engine's emissions control systems may have a problem. It can reduce fuel economy and cause your car to put out excessive emissions. Continued operation may cause serious damage.

Can the experts please suggest where the problem could be? Is it easy to diagnose or difficult? Any advise is welcome. Thanks a lot in advance.

In article >,
says...

> Honda Accord 2000: Malfunction Lamp ON / Check Engine Lamp ON
>
> I was driving and Malfunction Indicator Lamp came on. Took it to my mechanic and he reset it and said if it comes on again come back we will check. After reset the car drove 300 miles and suddenly today it came back ON again. My manual says:
>
> Check Engine Lamp / Malfunction Indicator Lamp : It indicates that one of the engine's emissions control systems may have a problem. It can reduce fuel economy and cause your car to put out excessive emissions. Continued operation may cause serious damage.
>
> Can the experts please suggest where the problem could be? Is it easy to diagnose or difficult? Any advise is welcome. Thanks a lot in advance.

Your mechanic should have already pulled the code from the ECU that
triggered the CEL when he reset it. The CEL can be triggered by multiple
different issues, and it's not possible to identify the problem without
the ECU code.

If he just cleared the code and didn't check to see what it was, OTOH,
it's probably time to find a new mechanic.

Thanks. The code is P1457. I looked up in the Honda service manual and it says:

P1457 Evaporative Emission (EVAP) Control System Leakage (EVAP Caniser System).

Is the EVAP canister purge valve the problem?

(After the mechanic reset I drove like 300 miles over 10 days. Yesterday I filled up the gas and drove 40 miles and the light came on again.)


On Tuesday, March 18, 2014 7:21:54 PM UTC-4, SadaYama wrote:
> Honda Accord 2000: Malfunction Lamp ON / Check Engine Lamp ON
>
>
>
> I was driving and Malfunction Indicator Lamp came on. Took it to my mechanic and he reset it and said if it comes on again come back we will check. After reset the car drove 300 miles and suddenly today it came back ON again. My manual says:
>
>
>
> Check Engine Lamp / Malfunction Indicator Lamp : It indicates that one of the engine's emissions control systems may have a problem. It can reduce fuel economy and cause your car to put out excessive emissions. Continued operation may cause serious damage.
>
>
>
> Can the experts please suggest where the problem could be? Is it easy to diagnose or difficult? Any advise is welcome. Thanks a lot in advance.

Thanks. The code is P1457. I looked up in the Honda service manual and it says:

P1457 Evaporative Emission (EVAP) Control System Leakage (EVAP Caniser System).

Is the EVAP canister purge valve the problem?

(After the mechanic reset I drove like 300 miles over 10 days. Yesterday I filled up the gas and drove 40 miles and the light came on again.)

"SadaYama" > wrote in message
...
> Thanks. The code is P1457. I looked up in the Honda service manual
> and it says:
>
> P1457 Evaporative Emission (EVAP) Control System Leakage (EVAP
> Caniser System).
>
> Is the EVAP canister purge valve the problem?
>
> (After the mechanic reset I drove like 300 miles over 10 days.
> Yesterday I filled up the gas and drove 40 miles and the light came
> on again.)

Try changing the gas cap and reset the code. I've had that code
twice, once with my Honda, once with a Jeep Cherokee and the gas cap
did the trick both times.
Not saying that's definately what it is, but it will cost <$10 to find
out.
>

Thanks. Yesterday morning I got a new gas cap and replaced it and got the MIL reset. After driving 50 miles, the MIL showed up. So, I am taking it to the mechanic tomorrow morning. He said I need to leave it with him for 3 hours and he would do a vacuum check to find the emissions leak.

Tomorrow evening I will up date this thread with what he finds.

Thanks again.

__________________________________________________ __________
On Saturday, March 22, 2014 8:27:14 AM UTC-4, Stewart wrote:
> "SadaYama" <> wrote in message
>
> ...
>
> > Thanks. The code is P1457. I looked up in the Honda service manual
>
> > and it says:
>
> >
>
> > P1457 Evaporative Emission (EVAP) Control System Leakage (EVAP
>
> > Caniser System).
>
> >
>
> > Is the EVAP canister purge valve the problem?
>
> >
>
> > (After the mechanic reset I drove like 300 miles over 10 days.
>
> > Yesterday I filled up the gas and drove 40 miles and the light came
>
> > on again.)
>
>
>
> Try changing the gas cap and reset the code. I've had that code
>
> twice, once with my Honda, once with a Jeep Cherokee and the gas cap
>
> did the trick both times.
>
> Not saying that's definitely what it is, but it will cost <$10 to find
>
> out.
>
> >

Well, I took it to the mechanic and he was going to do the vacuum test and call me. After an hour he called me said that he found a leak coming above the gas tank in emission lines and said he has to replace the Solenoid and the Canister. Cost $400 to $500.

I don't understand Solenoid or Canister but asked him to do it.

??

Well the mechanic did a smoke test to find the leak. As the code P 1457 pointed out, the smoke was coming from near the canister.

The mechanic replaced the vapor canister, canister shutoff valve and solenoid valve. Cost total of $558 ($100 for smoke test, parts and labor).

The car was driven for a day and so far it seems OK.

On Tuesday, March 18, 2014 7:21:54 PM UTC-4, SadaYama wrote:
> Honda Accord 2000: Malfunction Lamp ON / Check Engine Lamp ON
>
>
>
> I was driving and Malfunction Indicator Lamp came on. Took it to my mechanic and he reset it and said if it comes on again come back we will check. After reset the car drove 300 miles and suddenly today it came back ON again. My manual says:
>
>
>
> Check Engine Lamp / Malfunction Indicator Lamp : It indicates that one of the engine's emissions control systems may have a problem. It can reduce fuel economy and cause your car to put out excessive emissions. Continued operation may cause serious damage.
>
>
>
> Can the experts please suggest where the problem could be? Is it easy to diagnose or difficult? Any advise is welcome. Thanks a lot in advance.

Well the mechanic did a smoke test to find the leak. As the code P 1457 pointed out, the smoke was coming from near the canister.

The mechanic replaced the vapor canister, canister shutoff valve and solenoid valve. Cost total of $558 ($100 for smoke test, parts and labor).

The car was driven for a day and so far it seems OK.

Wondering the problem could have been just the canister purge valve or solenoid valve. Is it normal to replace the whole unit?