I just spoke to a mechanic about ECU code 09,03 (EVAP canister vent control valve). He advised me that this can be any number of things related to the EVAP and that I should bring it to a Nissan dealership for a complete diagnosis. The control valve is relatively inexpensive to replace, but he didn't want to change it for me for fears that the whole system could be bad.

I've got about 88K on my '97 SE. Is this anything to be concerned about or should I just change the cannister and valve?

Thanks for your input .org

 

0903 can be cause by a few things, most commonly by not putting on the gas cap tight enough...

I fixed mine by removing the canister and assembly from the car. The canister and valve is located slightly behind the left rear tire. Sometimes the canisters will fill with water and they can be drained. I also diassembled the valve to make sure there was not a lot of crud, road dirt etc stuck in there.

My valve was stuck. I cleaned it up and have had no problems since. There have been a lot of posts regarding this.
Clicky this

D

 

On my 97 with a few less miles my EVAP vent control valve went **** up on me too. I replaced only the valve, but it can be a PITA to get off sometimes, and a piece of cake other times. It was around 80 bucks if that's cheap. When I took mine off I tested it by putting power to it to see if it was working. It was shot. I have about another 20K on it now with no problems. It's a fairly easy process to replace providing the bolts holding the valve to the canister can be removed without any problems. I live in WI, so the valve lives in about the worst environment possible.

My opinion, change the valve, it's probably the problem especially if you get a "Bad EVAP VCV" code because chances are it needs to be replaced anyway then. If problems persist, bring it to the dealer.

 

The EVAP valve and canister are in a nasty location. Moisture, road grit and grime tossed up from the rear tire all play a part in it's premature failure.

Take it apart and try to clean everything up. If that doesn't work, just get a new valve.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dlicari
[B]

I fixed mine by removing the canister and assembly from the car. The canister and valve is located slightly behind the left rear tire. Sometimes the canisters will fill with water and they can be drained. I also diassembled the valve to make sure there was not a lot of crud, road dirt etc stuck in there.

My valve was stuck. I cleaned it up and have had no problems since. There have been a lot of posts regarding this.
Clicky this


I have the Chilton's manual for the EVAP cannister, but it doesn't give specific directions to this. Are you saying I have to remove and disassemble the whole cannister to get to the valve in order to clean it?

 

On the drivers side in the rear next to the spare tire well there is a box about the size of a shoe box. I removed the whole box (can't remember if you can get the valve out without removing the box). Only like two or three bolts hold it in. It takes more time undoing the hoses and electrical connectors. The valve is a kind of tall and mounts with two bolts to the outside of the canister, that’s the best I can think of to describe it, sorry. My problem was removing the two bolts. Be careful because plastic holds the nut on the other side from turning and can be stripped if you use too much force like me. Then you have to cut it off like me, and go through a bunch of crap to get the cut off bolt out like me.

 

Thanks a bunch! This is exactly the information I was looking for! I'll see is I can take care of it this weekend.