Check VSC System Error - Fuel in Charcoal Canister (1 Viewer)

[TNFJ80]

I have been unable to locate a good thread on this subject so I'm going to start a new one.

The problem: After my wife "accidentally" overfilled her 2008 LC last month (10 gallons in, 40 on the ground when the auto shut off nozzle malfunctioned) we have been getting all sorts of warning lights. The CEL is on, 4LO is flashing, "CHECK VSC SYSTEM" on the display, trac control light, and Master alarm (exlamation point top center) all on at the same time. The transfer case is inoperable but other than that the vehicle runs and drives normally. I reset it once to clear the codes and see if it was just a loose gas cap. About 2 weeks later the Christmas tree lit back up. I stopped by Advance Auto today to have the code pulled because Toyota Knoxville wanted $100 to read the OBDII! I forgot to write down the code but remember it had something to do with the Evaporative Emissions Control System having a high input...possibly a "P0453 Evaporative Emission Control System Pressure Sensor High Input" code but can't be positive until it happens again and I scan it.

My working theory is that part of that 40 gallons of overflow found its way into the charcoal canister causing a higher volume of gasoline vapor input.

Does anyone have any thoughts?

If you agree that it is the Charcoal Canister soaking incident; what actions can be taken? Is there any way to purge the tank or does it need to be replaced like most charcoal filter systems when they are "full". Does anyone have a part number or spec on the charcoal canister? I'm not even certain that it is located near the filler neck like I am thinking...

 

[LCHardriver_02]

Although I am not sure about the canister your assessment seems sound, given the circumstance. Oh, but I do know that your indications are showing that you now in "Limp" mode. I have been there when the mouse chewed through my wiring harness.

 

[TNFJ80]

Luckily limp mode is only no traction control or transfer case control (stuck in 4HI). Bad news is the cheapest I've found a charcoal canister for is $608 and winter is headed this way. I hate to spend this money on a theory. I'm probably going to end up taking it to another dealership (not Toyota Knoxville) for scan and their diagnosis.

 

[DSallean]

I have had the same thing happen a few times. It started when I stopped at a gas station that was having problems and taking a really long time to fill. In fact I gave up and left without filling the tank. Next morning I had the same indicators you have. I took it into the dealership and they said I "probably spilled gas" or something like that and reset the codes. For the record, I didn't spill any gas. Since then the codes have appeared a few times and after a unpleasant visit to one of the local dealerships I just reset it myself. Came back once a while back and I reset it again and nothing since.

 

[mark71]

Luckily limp mode is only no traction control or transfer case control (stuck in 4HI). Bad news is the cheapest I've found a charcoal canister for is $608 and winter is headed this way. I hate to spend this money on a theory. I'm probably going to end up taking it to another dealership (not Toyota Knoxville) for scan and their diagnosis.

When mine when into limp mode after a critter chewed through my knock sensor harness, not only was traction control and transfer case inoperable but the transmission wouldn't go into 5th or 6th gear as well.

Does the LC 200 have different limp modes?

 

[studawg]

With warning lights like that, the first thing I always do is disconnect both battery cables and leave it disconnected for a while. I think you can also tap the 2 cables together once disconnected to purge any residual power in the vehicle. Maybe leave the gas cap off while disconnected so any trapped fuel in the charcoal lines can evaporate out? I don't know, just a guess on that part. If you do that, make sure to put the gas cap on tight before reconnecting battery.

 

[TNFJ80]

Overfilling a gas tank in almost any car can force liquid gasoline into the charcoal canister.

EVAP system sensors (if a vehicle had them) don't like that.

The CC can be ventilated with low pressure air to help clear out the vapors. 40 psi max. on the purge port.

This was my next thought but haven't been able to find a FSM for the 200 like I had for my 80's. Where is the charcoal canister? It is not near the fuel fill like I thought. Where do you connect fresh air to purge. Thanks.

 

[TNFJ80]

With warning lights like that, the first thing I always do is disconnect both battery cables and leave it disconnected for a while. I think you can also tap the 2 cables together once disconnected to purge any residual power in the vehicle. Maybe leave the gas cap off while disconnected so any trapped fuel in the charcoal lines can evaporate out? I don't know, just a guess on that part. If you do that, make sure to put the gas cap on tight before reconnecting battery.

Once I figured out this was not a "serious" problem I reset it by disconnecting the battery. After a week or so worth of starts the problem resurfaced. I've reset it now three times hoping it will self purge/have time to install a new CC or clean this one out.

 

[TNFJ80]

When mine when into limp mode after a critter chewed through my knock sensor harness, not only was traction control and transfer case inoperable but the transmission wouldn't go into 5th or 6th gear as well.

Does the LC 200 have different limp modes?

Not sure. I don't think I'm actually in any "limp mode".

 

[Willy beamin]

Limp mode that I've experienced is like 20 mph max and feels like you should just park it vs. continuing to drive it. No Bueno.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

Limp mode that I've experienced is like 20 mph max and feels like you should just park it vs. continuing to drive it. No Bueno.

This is interesting, as when my LX went into Limp mode, I had all sorts of lights going off, I could not go into 4-Low, I could not actuate the center diff, but I could run at highway speeds, which allow us to tow our trailer back home from a camping trip.

I am thinking that it IS possible that Limp mode... is actually multiple levels of Limp.

 

[Willy beamin]

Not sure about that. My logic is limp mode means you have little to no mobility as I described above.
Attached is a photo of my most recent adventure which is similar to what you are describing but I would not consider this limp mode...doing 75mph+

notice the code is pre-collision system not the vehicle stability control as the first poster is showing in his photo. When I have experienced limp mode my dash was flashing the VSC code and I was very limited in the speed. This screen shot was what happened when I had a wheel speed sensor become disconnected. Its all one big layer

 

[Ruffaroundtheedges]

Not sure if this will help but there is a charcoal canister mounted by the spare wheel you need to take it off. (I only know because of the people in the states that have installed the long ranger gas tank had to move that charcoal canister to another location for the install.. If I was you I would try taking that off, inspecting it and drying it out, purging it... Maybe blow out some lines.. Who knows with all the electronics, but maybe from the overfill it could have shorted out something from the float reader in tank, or leaked into another wire and shorted something.. it could be a very easy fix.. maybe even just needs a few months to dry itself out completely.. A charcoal canister should not be that expensive that is ridiculous, You could probably get the raw materials and re-furbish your own...

 

[TNFJ80]

Thanks for the info. I will grab a flashlight and take a closer look. After the last reset it went a long way before the lights showed up again on 12/31/15. I've reset it one more time to see if maybe it is airing out over time. I've looked up the part and I agree it should not be $800 but it is not a simple Charcoal Canister like on the 80's or even 100's. The version on the 200's appears to have a small pump and a plethora of sensors as part of the unit and it doesn't look very rebuildable. Hopefully the cooler weather we have now will also keep the vapors down and the sensors from tripping.

 

[vcheng]

I have been unable to locate a good thread on this subject so I'm going to start a new one.

The problem: After my wife "accidentally" overfilled her 2008 LC last month (10 gallons in, 40 on the ground when the auto shut off nozzle malfunctioned) we have been getting all sorts of warning lights. The CEL is on, 4LO is flashing, "CHECK VSC SYSTEM" on the display, trac control light, and Master alarm (exlamation point top center) all on at the same time. The transfer case is inoperable but other than that the vehicle runs and drives normally. I reset it once to clear the codes and see if it was just a loose gas cap. About 2 weeks later the Christmas tree lit back up. I stopped by Advance Auto today to have the code pulled because Toyota Knoxville wanted $100 to read the OBDII! I forgot to write down the code but remember it had something to do with the Evaporative Emissions Control System having a high input...possibly a "P0453 Evaporative Emission Control System Pressure Sensor High Input" code but can't be positive until it happens again and I scan it.

My working theory is that part of that 40 gallons of overflow found its way into the charcoal canister causing a higher volume of gasoline vapor input.

Does anyone have any thoughts?

If you agree that it is the Charcoal Canister soaking incident; what actions can be taken? Is there any way to purge the tank or does it need to be replaced like most charcoal filter systems when they are "full". Does anyone have a part number or spec on the charcoal canister? I'm not even certain that it is located near the filler neck like I am thinking...

Aren't the emissions control systems covered for 8 years or 80k miles by Federal mandate?

 

[TNFJ80]

Even if it is I am at 97,XXX miles and I'm sure it's a whichever comes first warranty...

 

[vcheng]

Even if it is I am at 97,XXX miles and I'm sure it's a whichever comes first warranty...

I would escalate this service issue to the regional Toyota Rep and ask for a goodwill repair. May be Toyota will cover the parts but not the labor. It is worth a shot. After all, the LC is their flagship.

 

[TNFJ80]

EDIT: PICTURES WOULD NOT UPLOAD ORIGINALLY AND EDITOR DOES NOT ALLOW ADDING PICTURES AFTER THE FACT. SCROLL DOWN THREE POSTS TO SEE THIS REPOSTED WITH PHOTOS.

To confirm my self diagnosis mentioned above I took this to a local Toyota dealer and had it scanned. The results were exactly as I had thought and I was quoted just shy of $1,400 to repair. I told the dealer I would replace the parts myself and the service rep gladly gave me the two part numbers needed for the replacement of the Vapor Canister (77740-60470) and the Vapor Filter (77706-60040). These parts are hard to come by unless it is from an authorized Toyota parts dealer. The best price I found was from Toyotaonlineparts.com where the Canister was $579.43 (MSRP $876.97) and the Filter was $55.69 (MSRP $82.78).

I was a little worried about the difficulty in replacing these parts because I have yet to find a FSM for my 200 series like I have for the 80's and it seems that the people who own these tend not to work on them themselves. Nevertheless, I had a couple hours last Saturday so I jumped in and found this was quite possibly the easiest repair I have ever made on a vehicle (hopefully it works). Below is a step by step for anyone interested (took me about 45 mins working slowly).

Step 1: Disconnect negative battery terminal (10mm wrench)
Step 2: Using the tools provided in the right tailgate storage drop the spare tire as shown in the owners manual (pg 463 i think).
Step 3: Unplug all the connections to the existing charcoal canister (I used a small flathead screwdriver for help) and remove three 12mm bolts that hold it in place (12mm socket).
Step 4: Unplug two connections to the vapor filter and remove one 12mm bolt holding the bracket. You could actually leave the bracket in place as I found out later because the bracket supplied with my new filter was not the same and would not work on my 2008. The filter is an updated part. Also save the rubber hose on the existing filter that connects to the filler neck area because the one supplied is too short.
Step 5: Install the new vapor filter matching the existing layout.
Step 6: Install the new charcoal canister matching existing layout.
Step 7: Reconnect hoses and electrical connection, install hose clamp.
Step 8: Reinstall the spare tire.
Step 9: Reconnect negative battery terminal (10mm)

 

[Willy beamin]

click and drag - congrats on the fix and thanks for the write up

 

[TNFJ80]

To confirm my self diagnosis mentioned above I took this to a local Toyota dealer and had it scanned. The results were exactly as I had thought and I was quoted just shy of $1,400 to repair. I told the dealer I would replace the parts myself and the service rep gladly gave me the two part numbers needed for the replacement of the Vapor Canister (77740-60470) and the Vapor Filter (77706-60040). These parts are hard to come by unless it is from an authorized Toyota parts dealer. The best price I found was from Toyotaonlineparts.com where the Canister was $579.43 (MSRP $876.97) and the Filter was $55.69 (MSRP $82.78).

I was a little worried about the difficulty in replacing these parts because I have yet to find a FSM for my 200 series like I have for the 80's and it seems that the people who own these tend not to work on them themselves. Nevertheless, I had a couple hours last Saturday so I jumped in and found this was quite possibly the easiest repair I have ever made on a vehicle (hopefully it works). Below is a step by step for anyone interested (took me about 45 mins working slowly).

Step 1: Disconnect negative battery terminal (10mm wrench)
Step 2: Using the tools provided in the right tailgate storage drop the spare tire as shown in the owners manual (pg 463 i think).

Step 3: Unplug all the connections to the existing charcoal canister (I used a small flathead screwdriver for help) and remove three 12mm bolts that hold it in place (12mm socket).

Step 4: Unplug two connections to the vapor filter and remove one 12mm bolt holding the bracket. You could actually leave the bracket in place as I found out later because the bracket supplied with my new filter was not the same and would not work on my 2008. The filter is an updated part. Also save the rubber hose on the existing filter that connects to the filler neck area because the one supplied is too short.

Step 5: Install the new vapor filter matching the existing layout.

Step 6: Install the new charcoal canister matching existing layout.

Step 7: Reconnect hoses and electrical connection, install hose clamp.
Step 8: Reinstall the spare tire.
Step 9: Reconnect negative battery terminal (10mm)