I have an '02, and about a month ago I had a CEL that was on for less than a week. I took it to autozone to read the code, and it reported a EVAP assembly malfunction. The engine would sputter misfire a little from time to time. However, one day when my gas was low (1/6 of a tank) it got really bad. It would barely even go. After I put gas in the tank it got a lot better, but I barely made it in to the gas station that one day. After that it got a lot better. The CEL even went off. Even at low fuel levels. Its been like 2 weeks since that all happened now the car is sputtering again, but the CEL hasn't came back on. It hasn't gotten to the point where it was before when it was barely running, but I'm afraid it will get worse. I feel like the EVAP couldn't be responsible for this kind of behavior, and wanted to see what codes it would produce. Its been a few days now, and the engine light hasn't come on yet. Is it possible that the computer still receives codes, and doesn't turn the CEL on for all of them?

 

bump any ideas?

 

dumb question, but does your cel come on when you first turn the key to the start position? that's a good way to at least make sure it's not burnt out.

i agree with you, i don't think an evap problem would cause this type of behavior. at the most a hose on the system could be loose or have a heavy split, but that would only result in symptoms resembling a vac leak. although if the evap code does come back, it's a good idea to tackle dtc's in the order they are received, or read from the scanner. many times an initial dtc can be the cause of other ones that may pop up after, or in combination with the first.

if you don't have a scanner, go buy one for 30-40$ and it will allow you to see the "pending" codes and also allows you to see if all monitors have satisfied. it'll also tell you if your cel is supposed to be on or not.

if it turns out that there are no codes, pending or otherwise, i would start looking in the area of fuel delivery, from your pump to your injectors. an intermittent fuel supply can cause sputtering like you describe and not throw any codes. i.e. you're about to run out of gas, your car is running like crap, but will not throw any codes as you limp to the nearest gas station.

hopefully someone else can chime in that may know more.