2003 Hyundai Elantra P0441

Tiny
JCOOGS14
  • MEMBER
  • 2003 HYUNDAI ELANTRA
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 203,000 MILES
My wife's car is throwing the above p0441 code. I replaced the purge valve, which was bad, so it's narrowed down to the charcoal canister or the vent solenoid. Now, my wife was in the habit of "topping off" when she filled the gas tank, to the point where she could see the gas practically coming out of the fill hole. I've heard that this could ruin the charcoal canister. I guess my question is what my course of action should be. Is tehre any way to know if the problem is the charcoal canister or the vent solenoid? I can buy a vent solenoid for $20-something, but a charcoal canister would be $130 or so.
Thursday, October 15th, 2015 AT 9:38 PM

6 Replies

Tiny
CAR-MAN145
  • MECHANIC
  • 321 POSTS
The vent valve is more likely the problem so I would start there. You have to erase the codes the light will not go out till you do.
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Friday, October 16th, 2015 AT 1:04 AM
Tiny
ED-WEEZY21
  • MECHANIC
  • 248 POSTS
I would replace the vent valve and the charcoal canister. These vehicles are known for bad charcoal canisters as it is and with the fuel being topped off to the brim, which should never ever be done, I can guarantee you that the charcoal canister is filled with fuel.
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Saturday, October 31st, 2015 AT 5:35 PM
Tiny
JCOOGS14
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
I will replace the charcoal canister very soon, but as an informational question, how does one know that the charcoal canister is bad? I know that one symptom is that people can't fill up their gas tank (which is a problem I don't have), but is there actually a way to "test" it?

Thank you for all your help.
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Sunday, November 1st, 2015 AT 6:44 PM
Tiny
ED-WEEZY21
  • MECHANIC
  • 248 POSTS
Theres no way to test a charcoal canister. The charcoal canister is just a filter for the fuel vapors inside your EVAP system. It captures those vapors before they reach the fresh air vent that leads outside into the atmosphere. Think of it kind of like your engine air filter. The engine air filter captures contaminants before they go inside of your engine, but you can't physically test the filter. The only things you can test the charcoal canister for is cracks using a smoke machine or physically seeing any cracks with your eyes. Also, if you remove it, tip it over and see if anything comes out of it. If you see any signs of liquid fuel, then its bad. If any pieces of the inside comes out, then its bad. Usually on these charcoal canisters, it looks like small black pellets that come out.
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Tuesday, November 3rd, 2015 AT 6:03 AM
Tiny
JCOOGS14
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
Thank you so much. So helpful! My charcoal canister is in the mail.
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Tuesday, November 3rd, 2015 AT 6:04 AM
Tiny
ED-WEEZY21
  • MECHANIC
  • 248 POSTS
Let me clarify on the smoke test really quick. The smoke test is only testing the housing that the filters sit inside of. Its not testing the filters themselves. The smoke test is used to test any components in an EVAP test such as the fuel vapor lines, gas tank, fuel pumps, etc. So its not specific to the charcoal canister.
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Tuesday, November 3rd, 2015 AT 6:06 AM

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