Okay car people, I need help figuring out what's going on with my car.
The "check engine" light has been going on and off for about 2-3 months. Auto Zone read the code: P0441. "EVAP System Incorrect Purge Flow (Stuck Open)
This is not the first time this code has popped up. It happened in the past (years ago) during colder weather (this may be me just making up details that aren't necessarily true). In the past I just cleared the code and waited for it to pop up, but nothing ever happened.
This go-round, it comes on and doesn't clear after re-seating the fuel cap (common troubleshooting step). I pull the battery, wait 30 minutes, and the check engine light is out, but comes back an hour/day/week later.
Once, putting gas in the take made the light go away. Then it came back. "Resetting" the code by leaving the battery unplugged overnight seemed to fix it, once, for about a week, then it reappeared.
Then, today: the check engine light just turned off by itself.
At this point, reading about the code makes me think it could be anything from a simple fuel cap to something more onerous. I'm happy to get it fixed properly (my car has to go in for other stuff) but I don't want to spend lots of money fixing something that isn't broken.
Where should I focus my troubleshooting?
Pertinent details:
Car: 2007 Hyundai Elantra, 120,000 mi.
Code: P0441
Gas: Regular unleaded, 87 octane, filled every other week, same gas station (opened within the last 5 years).
https://www.autocodes.com/p0441_hyundai.html
The "check engine" light has been going on and off for about 2-3 months. Auto Zone read the code: P0441. "EVAP System Incorrect Purge Flow (Stuck Open)
This is not the first time this code has popped up. It happened in the past (years ago) during colder weather (this may be me just making up details that aren't necessarily true). In the past I just cleared the code and waited for it to pop up, but nothing ever happened.
This go-round, it comes on and doesn't clear after re-seating the fuel cap (common troubleshooting step). I pull the battery, wait 30 minutes, and the check engine light is out, but comes back an hour/day/week later.
Once, putting gas in the take made the light go away. Then it came back. "Resetting" the code by leaving the battery unplugged overnight seemed to fix it, once, for about a week, then it reappeared.
Then, today: the check engine light just turned off by itself.
At this point, reading about the code makes me think it could be anything from a simple fuel cap to something more onerous. I'm happy to get it fixed properly (my car has to go in for other stuff) but I don't want to spend lots of money fixing something that isn't broken.
Where should I focus my troubleshooting?
Pertinent details:
Car: 2007 Hyundai Elantra, 120,000 mi.
Code: P0441
Gas: Regular unleaded, 87 octane, filled every other week, same gas station (opened within the last 5 years).
https://www.autocodes.com/p0441_hyundai.html