ravenclaw

The other day, I noticed my check engine light is not on anymore. My cruise light would also flash and that has also stopped. I thought this would only go away if the code was manually cleared. If you ignore it long enough, does the CEL eventually turn itself off? This is probably the longest I have gone without getting the code cleared out (I would say 2 or 3 weeks).

They said there is a diagram that they follow. The charcoal canister was the first thing they came to that had an issue (the liquid fuel in it). They say I need a new canister (almost $500) and then they will need to continue on the diagram to see if there is anything else wrong. Which makes me kinda nervous. I am going to let the canister sit out in the sun and give it a little more time to dry out. Then I'll probably take it to another dealer or an independent mechanic and see what they say. Thanks for all the information!

Thanks for all the suggestions! You guys are great! I'll stop topping off my tank and I'll take out the canister and set it outside in the sun (weather is supposed to be nice this weekend). Hopefully this will help. I will get another canister if needed, but I'm not convinced that this is needed yet. The same dealership also hinted that I could use a new set of tires (and I just got a high-quality set of new tires last November). I'm thankful that I have some things to try first. Thanks again!!

I have a 2007 Subaru Forester with almost 61,000 miles. The check engine light has come on several times over the past several months. The dealership says the code (P0442) indicates an evap leak. They first suggested a new gas cap. This didn't fix the problem. Yesterday I took it to the dealership and they did a smoke test to see where it might be leaking. The first issue that came up was the charcoal canister. They said there was liquid fuel in it (from me topping off the gas tank) and I need a new canister ($481.85) and then they will re-test to see if it leaking anywhere else. My question is if this is really needed or not. If I stop topping off the gas tank, will the canister dry out and be OK? I am really suspicious of dealerships....it seems like most of them try to gouge you for as much money as they can. The service guy said I could wait a little while to replace the canister but if I wait too long other things could be damaged. Any thoughts or suggestions about any of this?