dpallenman

Hi there. I hope all is well with everyone. My wife and I have a 2000 ES300 Platinum Edition. The car has been simply wonderful in our three years of ownership. Recently however, the check engine/trac light illuminated and after a quick scan code PO446 was discovered.

I started by tightening the gas cap and disconnecting the battery; the engine light came back on after a week. I then changed the gas cap (new) and disconnected the battery. Again, the light came back on. I have taken a look at the vacuum lines at the charcoal canister and up underneath the engine cover. Everything looks OK.

I do all my own work, and I HATE being a “parts replacer”. I’d rather source the exact problem and fix just that particular part. Having said this, my research on this site has indicated that the PO446 code could be one of many things, including the charcoal canister itself, the VSV attached to the canister, or the vacuum valve up underneath the engine cover.

First question: I was going to replace the charcoal canister next. Does anyone here know if the new OEM charcoal canister includes the VSV valve? If it does, then I can pretty much kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

Second question: Do you think I am way off base with my intention to replace the charcoal canister next? If so, what would you do?

Obviously, I am trying to avoid my dealer at all costs. Perhaps someone here could help in my quest to repair this problem.

Thanks in advance!

toddpa332

I was getting the same code about a month ago as you. Its the Charcol canister . There like $350 , but Lexus has to replace them for free if there bad . Lexus Emmisions Warrenty covers them for 10 years or 150,000 miles. I went to lexus and they said it wasnt covered and I said "owe Really" and handed them the print out from a "toyota Emmisons lawsuit" which included lexus . Needless to Say the Lexus garage where I took mine was aware of the recall and warrenty and Tried to pull one over on me .. Boy did they get fooled. They replaced it for free and so far no more codes.. Dont let "lexus" pull a fast one on you and say its not covered , IT IS .. btw , when I first got the code , I went to a Toyota Dealership and they told me off the bat that it is covered for 10 years and 150,000 miles , but could not service a recall due to the fact they dont sell the "lexus" cars . I still cant believe Lexus tried to Hide the fact of the recall ...

sur4dude

Mine is a '99 and it had the Po446 about 6 months ago. I went as far as taking off the vsv and cleaned it out. The code came back. I decided to replace the charcoal canister. And yes, the vsv is included. The parts guys didn't know and so I paid for both. Returned the vsv the next day. : ) The canister is a PITA to change out too.

Part # 77740-06093 for the charcoal canister.
Part # 90910-12271 for the VSV only.

You just gotta verify that your 2000 uses the same charcoal canister part # as the '99.

dpallenman

Thanks for the quick replies everyone! Does anybody have a link to the actual letter stating that Lexus must repair these emission systems for up to 10 years? I Googled this, but didn't have much luck.

Thanks!

AdvanSC300

You may want to also check the Purge VSV located in the engine compartment,and the vapor pressure VSV located next to the charcoal canister by doing an active test with a Toyota scan tool or Techstream,and you may also want to get the fuel tank pressure tested and the gas cap pressure tested..

dpallenman

Hi there. I have my new charcoal canister in my hands and I am ready to install it. However, it looks like it's going to be difficult to remove the old unit as it seems the rear axle and gas tank are in the way.

Does anyone have any tips on the best way to remove the old canister and install the new one? What should I remove to clear the path?

Thanks in advance!

Darren

dpallenman

Hi everyone. Well, I finally installed the charcoal canister in our 2000 ES300. I just wanted to let everyone know that the installation was very easy. The trick to it all was dropping the exhaust system hangers in the vicinity of the rear of the car. I searched like crazy for information or tips for my install, but I came up with nothing. If someone else decides to tackle this project themselves I hope they read this post. Again, you don't need to remove the exhaust system. You just need to drop the exhaust enough to slide the charcoal canister out from the passenger side of the car.

It is WAY too early to let you know if the check engine light will return. It is off as of this writing, but I need to keep my fingers crossed. By the way, I bought the canister at Sewell Lexus online and it included the VSV valve and stuff. Price was $229.00 plus $10.00 shipping. My Canadian dealer told me the canister was $497.80 and did not include the VSV valve, which would be an additional $86.60.

Again, I'll post my results at a later date.

lexusk8

Congrats on the successful install! I had the same problem with my '01 ES many years ago and it turned out to be a charcoal canister problem. The dealer installed the new part for me since I had no idea how to do the work myself but you've proved that it can be done at the convenience of a driveway

dpallenman

Two days and over 200 miles...and no Check Engine Light yet!

dpallenman

Another week and another 250 miles...no engine light yet. I think it's fixed!

Thanks to all that helped.

kfit103710

Hi,
I talked to Lexus National and they said this only applied to the Lexus Es300 for the year 96-98. It does not cover the 99, of which my Lexus is. Supposedly they fixed the problem, but from the looks of this board and others, it aint fixed. Also, there is a service bulletin put out by Toyota that says when this code come on, it is a malfunction and chances are the cannster does not really need fixing. But they wont fix the fix for free. They just want us to know it is malfuntioning and needs fixing. I was NOT impressed with this guy I spoke to at the Lexus national. But this is what he said.

dallison

my light comes on when it is hot out and i have the ac on. it would be nice for them to fix for free with so many problems

dbninc

I know this is a very old thread, but I have the exact same car and code. Lexus parts online showed me two different vapor canisters:

part #7774006093
part #7774033122

Both say they fit when I enter my vin. I called the dealer, and they said they only saw part #7774033122 when they put in my vin, so that’s the one I ordered. Is there any chance the dealer is wrong? I might just order both to be safe. May I ask which part you used, if you have record anywhere?

LeX2K

According to this 77740-06093 replaces 77740-06091, 77740-33111 so very likely you will get the latest part and not 77740-33112

.....think I got those numbers right.

dbninc

Thanks for your reply, I checked my vin on that website, and it says the fit on 77740-06093 can’t be verified, but the fit on 77740-33122 is correct! Perfectly answered my question, much appreciated!