amysxa

Ok just for an update they have come out with a new tsb for scion xAs with the charcoal canister problem. i don't know about the rest of you but i am unhappy. i am doing this for the second time. i think we need to file a complaint. if you go to this website http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ you can file a complaint. if enough of us do then maybe scion will have to fix this problem. i have been reading here on the forums this also seems to be a problem in the xB's too.

cobb

Barhamsville VA, where the heck is that??

I think most canistor problems are related to over filling the tank. I never had any problems with that on my xa to 25 thousand miles.

amysxa

near williamsburg. from the reading my husband and i have done it's not all xAs. apparently there was a production change. it is up to a certain vin code # jtkkt6#4#60150663. seriously. we have the tsb and it actually says that.

cobb

Oh. Ok. I never had any problems with mines.

amysxa

well i hope for your sake you don't. the parts alone are over $400 from the dealer.

way2fast

this isn't new technology, how can they have this much difficulty getting it to work? I pulled mine out of my mr2 but that was more for aesthetics

star_krazy

damn that sucks. my boyfriend's charcoal canister got distroyed when his air tank blow up like a month ago

amysxa

that sucks worse then just the canister being bad. i hope everyone was ok.

DriverXa

Little hot under the collar there are we.........

Charcoal canister/Evap/Fuel filler tube problem tsb has been out for awhile now. Bring your car into Toyota and they replace it at no cost to you. I've had mine replaced afew times till they finally got it right, my only complaint which I made to corporate was the incompetence of my dealership I brought the car to to get it fixed.

Remember, these cars were developed and originally sold in Japan.....not the US. They had to be retrofitted to work here. And since the problem really only pertains to 2006 models, I assume the ol Communist EPA made some changes that forced Toyota to alter the system to be compliant, and in term had a problem with it........... Toyota isn't to blame here. And besides it's just stupid Evap components that are affected. Nothing major as far as driveability goes to the car. Go buy an American car and you'll be ready to put a torch to it in about acouple of months.

texkat79

So I bought my 2006 Scion xA brand new back in 2006, of course. I barely put any miles on my car and have always brought it to the dealership for maintenance - basically I have been a very good owner! My husband recently worked a job that had him driving my Scion around like crazy all over the city of Houston, so he put some added miles on there. Anyway, we went past the 36,000 mile warranty - we are now at 46,000 miles. Anyway, the check engine light came on last week. My husband had me take it in today and boy was I upset! The guy at the dealership told me, of course, that it was the charcoal canister and that it won't pass emissions until it is replaced - and my car is up for inspection! The price they quoted me - parts and labor - is $650! I couldn't believe it! I did my research and found this forum along with the nhtsa website that showed the Toyota Service Bulletin (tsb) that said that this charcoal canister is a problem, and has been known to be a problem since at least 2007. Well, I assumed that they would PAY for this repair since it is quite obviously a defect in manufacturing - and from what I read here and on on other sites is that this can be repaired and then happen yet again. I am livid. I called Scion corporate office and they gave me the same song and dance - my warranty is up so they can't do anything, but they gave me a $200 voucher. Well, that is fine and good, and but I will still owe $450. It seems obscene to me that this is a defect in manufacturing and yet owners were not made aware of it! Have any of you who have had this defect been past your warranty yet still gotten it replaced? Should I make even more of a ruckus than I already did? I feel like because I am a woman, the service guy just assumed I wouldn't know where to look for answers. He actually said to me "I've never heard of this happening!" yet when I called him back and told him of the tsb, he was like "Oh yeah, I think I've heard of that happening". Okay then!

kentuc

Emmission related parts are warrenteed for an extended amount of time. 50,000 or 100,000 miles.

texkat79

Kentuc, one would think so - but I have read on other topics in the xA forum that they won't cover it - that the charcoal canister itself is not covered under the emission warranty (which is crap, if you ask me - it is only there FOR emissions purposes). I will probably call Scion again tomorrow - the corporate office - and raise a major ruckus and argue that the emissions warranty ought to cover it - but I get the feeling that unless I really raise heck they won't do anything. I just think it is hideous that this problem is SO across the board and yet they've done nothing to help any of us (who don't have warranties anymore). I was reading the VIN number code someone posted earlier in the thread that they heard was the root problem - and mine matches. Obviously there was at least a certain batch of 2006 xA's made that have this issue - I don't care if it isn't a safety issue - it needs to be recalled! No one should have to fork out that much money on a problem that is OBVIOUSLY defective manufacturing.

dexter_5000

from what i've been told the parts are cheap and labor is easy. mine was covered under warranty. what we need is someone to write up a diy for this problem to save some owners the dealer cost hassle.

carlitoselcool1

what is the problem with the charcol canister?

amysxa

I am most definitely not hot under the collar. I have owned american cars as well as imports. i have never had a problem with the emissions systems in any of them. my husband was a commissioned mechanic, ase certified, and is currently a store manager for advance auto parts. he has seen his fair share of problems related to cars, but says that he normally doesn't see problems with the emissions systems. i do not think that it is fair to be taken advantage of. this is a big problem that effects the gas mileage and per the dealer is a drive ability issue. my car almost didn't start three times after the light came on. i did file the complaint with my dealer and they did take care of it, but not everyone has had the same luck. if you read the post this is time 2 that this has happened to me. i refuse to pay $645.00 everytime this happens over the life of the car. this needs to be something that is recalled!

amysxa

Yes, the TSB for the charcoal canister orginated around the end of 2006, and apparently has been revised. The concern I had when we took the wifes car in- a TSB is intended to fix a problem. The part numbers for the replacement have no superceded listing, and match the original numbers perfectly. That is not a fix, it is a band-aid. In her xA, we have tracked a gas mileage loss to the replacement of the part, and gas mileage was the main reason we got the car. Even at the tender age of 25, I have worked on and seen more problems than I care to count-and even on American vehicles....other than the famound chrysler P0440 codes...no repeated failures. The charcoal canister is designed and intended to last the life of the vehicle, even the Fords from the 80's are not having multiple issues with the originals.

As far as the communist epa-yeah they suck- but since it pertains only to a certain VIN code of vehicle during that year-it lends more towards and issue with the vehicle itself...or a quality issue on Toyota's part. Overall, it's been a great car, this is just a huge annoyance that we were not going to pay to have fixed since it shouldn't have failed in the first place.

For the record-our "American" auto- 1998 Grand Cherokee-no CEL, nothing broken, only basic maintenance in 153k. Shoot- even my 1991 Suzuki Katana is less cranky than the xA

texkat79

Amyssa, I couldn't agree with you MORE! This is an issue that needs to be taken care of by the dealer or by corporate Scion because it is obviously an across-the-board issue that MANY Scion owners have experienced. I also refuse to pay $650 for something that I will surely have to shell out again. I am going to be placing formal complaints with the dealer, corporate Scion and the NHTSA. The part that really gets me is that they are NOT going to pass my car for inspection and it is DUE for an inspection, until I get this repair done. This is highway robbery, if you ask me, and I also don't think it is fair to say someone is "hot under the collar". This is something that needs to be recalled, despite it not being a "safety issue" - it is an obvious manufacturer issue. I have loved my Scion from the first day I had it, but I will get rid of it if they don't fix this issue.

marcofry

I have an 06 xb that the canister went bad on last year at 42k mi. The dealership would not cover it.
I drove with the canister bad untill yesterday, I shelled out 480 dollars for the parts,canister,filter, and a new filler cover and clamp. The filler cover was supposed to be an updated version of the one on the car and supposed to fix the problem,I could see no difference whatsoever between the old cover and the new except for the part no.

The tube going to the neck from the filter was full of road dust and grime there was also some contamination in the other side of the filter going into the canister...it looks as though it made it into the canister.

amysxa

so i am so happy that i posted this now. if this helps just one other person then it makes it all worth it. i hope people will continue to read this and will do their part.

cutnail

I purchased my XA and my wife's corolla Sept.2005 and then I purchased the yaris hatchback for my teenager 6 months later. The Corolla and the Yaris have been working without a single glitch, I can't say the same for my XA.
At 15,000 miles Dealer had to change the VVTI gear and replace the pioneer head unit.
At 25,000miles Dealer had to replace the pioneer head unit again ( the orig. unit would change channels spontaneously the replacement would shut off or the screen would go dark)
At 31,000 miles check engine on again this time it was the charcoal canister full of water because of the defective fuel tank filler pipe cover holder
At 33,000 miles dealer had to put the third pioneer head unit because the second one would go on and off.
Check engine light came on again but went off and according to dealer no codes.
At 34,000 had dealer put 4 new snow tires and about a week later I thought they sounded unusually loud so brought back to dealer they found nothing wrong.
At 39,000 miles when I put new all season tires on they sounded even louder than the snows so I brought it back again and this time they found a bad rear bearing. The dealer charged me labor not parts as a good-will gesture. Even though I told them it was noisy before the 36,000 warranty was up.
Exactly 12mo.s and 4days after they replaced the charcoal canister my check engine light came on and they verified the same 5 codes indicating the same canister fault.
The dealer was puzzled because the previous repair should have solved the problem.
The dealer gets back to me three days later and wants me to bring my XA back and drop it off (they gave me a loaner).
They warned me that if they find gas in the canister instead of water I will have to pay for everything. I assured them that I'm the only person who fills my car and I'm aware that you don't top of gas tanks!!!

I know Toyota is aware that everything that has been wrong with the XA is due to Defective parts not wear and tear or misuse. The part I dislike the most is the waiting and the back and fourth because they never have the parts, you always got to come back