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Check Engine Light (CEL) P2420

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Jake Carleen, Jul 19, 2014.

  1. Jake Carleen

    Jake Carleen Junior Member

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    I have searched this forum and others for any insight on an issue I've been having with no result.

    My car is a 2013 Toyota Prius C with approximately 39,000 miles (purchased in December of 2012).

    About one week ago the check engine light came on with the following codes:
    P043E
    P043F
    P2401
    P2402
    P2419

    Based on searches on google for these codes they all seem to relate to a fault in the charcoal canister. It would seem overfilling the gas tank might cause a fault in the canister. I can say that I generally do not fill up past the first click, but it is very possible that is has been done with this vehicle.

    I have a cheap code reader so I cleared these codes in order to see if they would come back up. Sure enough, a few days later the check engine light came back on, but with the code P2420 instead. This code seems to deal with the Evaporative Emission System Switching Valve Control Circuit. I'd be lying if I claimed to understand the workings of this system. I cleared this code and the check engine light came back on this afternoon with the same code.

    Basically, I am wondering if anyone else with a Prius C (or Prius) has dealt with any of the codes mentioned or has any advice regarding trouble shooting. The car appears to unfortunately be out of the 3yr/36k mile warranty and I don't really want to support my local car dealership unless completely necessary (nothing wrong with them, I just would rather spend my money on other more enjoyable pursuits).

    Thanks for any help or suggestions.

    -Jake
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    did you check to see if the gas cap is tight?
     
  3. KYBlue

    KYBlue Active Member

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    Been here done this on a few cars...
    First - is the gas cap loose?
    Next, basic concept on the system to to keep the gas tank/system pressurized to prevent leaking fumes, and at some point cycle those back into the intake.

    I've had these problems with the system over various cars:
    1. Cracked canister, a small branch punctured the charcoal canister on my 02 infiniti, it was behind the drivers rear wheel I believe, replaced it myself in less than an hour
    2. Gas tank was rusted/bad in my 2000 frontier truck, luckily it was a safety recall and they replaced free of charge
    3. a car I had in 98 I had to replace the charcoal canister, bought it used, but one of the service manual methods to check it was to weigh it, this thing was FILLED with liquid gas, I assume due to repeated overfilling by the last owner
    3b - the same car as #3, shortly after replacing the canister the electronic valve attached to it also wen't bad, assuming related.

    Best of luck!

    Chris
     
  4. Jake Carleen

    Jake Carleen Junior Member

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    Thanks for the responses.

    I verified the gas cap was on correctly before resetting the check engine light yesterday. I guess we will see if that clears it up.

    I will get under the car this afternoon and see if anything is visibly wrong with the charcoal canister assembly.

    Hopefully the canister doesn't need replacement, I cannot imagine they are cheap on a 2013 car!
     
  5. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    Usually gas cap leaks are po442, po440. How many miles do you have on this car? Go to the dealership, it's most likely still under warranty.
     
  6. Jake Carleen

    Jake Carleen Junior Member

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    The car has 39,000 miles so I believe it is unfortunately out of warranty (3yrs/36k mile warranty).

    The check engine light came back on today - same code as before, P2420.

    I did a visible inspection of the charcoal canister assembly and nothing looked punctured or otherwise out of place.

    Looking like I'll probably end up at the dealership - darn tiny car!
     
  7. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    Yours is the first one I've heard about with this code... ever. That being said, I googled it and it came back with "charcoal canister". Hopefully, it's just a loose hose.
    I'd still take it in. This might be considered part of the drivetrain warranty... but I doubt it.
     
  8. Mark323

    Mark323 Junior Member

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    Glad I got the 8 Year 125mile warranty on the '13 C4 I just got in March.

    Try to zip tie all hoses to and from canister before a dealer visit. It may help.
     
  9. Jake Carleen

    Jake Carleen Junior Member

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    Hey everyone,

    Just wanted to let everyone know the conclusion to this issue.

    I ended up taking the car to the dealership and spent $95 for them to confirm the charcoal canister was the culprit. The dealer said the detection pump was not working and claimed the charcoal canister assembly as a whole would need to be replaced. Dealer quoted about $900. About $700 of this was for the assembly (which I was able to find new for about $450 online...wonder where the dealer shops). I opted to purchase a used charcoal canister assembly on eBay for $200 and install it myself. All in all, it was a very easy part to replace - probably took about thirty minutes to jack up the car, remove the old canister and pop in the new canister. I re-set the check engine light and it has been about two weeks now and the check engine light has stayed off and the car runs great (it always was running great to be honest).

    Thanks for all the help and if anyone has any questions regarding the part, installation, etc please feel free to ask.
     
    SFO, ztanos and ftl like this.
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    thanks for getting back to us, well done and congrats!(y)