A charcoal canister is an important part of the engine which absorbs the vapor of the fuel before it gets released in the outside environment by the emission system. It plays an integral role in keeping the environment clean and safe from the toxic carbon emissions as it redirects them back in the fuel tank. You must know when the right time is to replace a bad charcoal canister to make your engine function properly.

Here are 7 symptoms which may help you identify a bad charcoal canister and go for the replacement.

• A High Rate of Emissions

Since the function of charcoal canister is to eliminate the toxic emissions, when you notice the rate of these emissions is getting higher, that’s the right time to assess the condition of your charcoal canister. You can also take the emission test to be sure that your canister is responsible for increased emissions.

• High Pitch Sounds

If your charcoal canister is not causing any hindrance in the carbon emissions, it may cause engine to create high pitch sounds. There might be some other reasons for such sounds, so you need to make sure that you also notice other bad charcoal canister symptoms from the mentioned list before going for the replacement.  

• Weak Performance

Weak engine performance is a major red flag which indicates that emissions are not being controlled properly. It would further prevent the engine from generating enough power for acceleration.

• Bad Fuel Economy

For a healthy fuel economy, it is important for carbon emissions to get redirected towards the chamber. When Charcoal canister isn’t working properly, the emissions continue to get released in the environment. It would result in worse fuel economy. You will have to pay more for gas while less fuel per mile would get consumed.

• Fuel Odor

Since the fuel economy is disturbed, it is more likely that you would feel an unpleasant fuel odor inside your vehicle while driving. However, you won’t be able to smell it for a longer time period as it would eventually make you fall ill.

• Engine Warning Light

An engine warning light strongly indicates the poor performance of charcoal canister. As the charcoal canister won’t be able to redirect the emissions back in the chamber, the engine control system would immediately detect that there is something really wrong with the engine.

As a result, the engine warning light would get on to make you notice and think that you really need to check your canister and replace it for good.

• Trouble In Starting the Engine

When you have a bad charcoal canister, you won’t be able to start the engine easily because of the vacuum leakage. It would result in a lot of air coming inside the engine to cause various other problems with the fuel mixture. It would also cause hindrance during the ignition process. Therefore, every time you try to start your engine, you would have to face difficulty for sure.