Hey Scotty,
My daughter was given 2001 Saturn LW300 V6 by her Uncle about two years ago. It was originally a Washington State Car, then moved to PA in 2006 (salt belt). We had to replace the muffler & exhaust as it completely fell apart in Upstate NY - only there for two years of heavy salt. We had some other work done by a trusted garage in Corning, NY (thanks Karl). We moved to NC and in the process of driving the car to NC, the alternator died and was replaced by a trusted garage in my home state of PA (thanks Sonny).
Well, it now has a Check Engine light code of P0442. I checked the Check Value under the hood with a the Actron Vacuum Pump and the diaphragm holds 20 PSI. Watched a YouTube video and they recommended to check it. Which we have been fighting since NY.
Recommended checks from Saturn Forums
- EVAP Canister Purge Valve -- checked holds 20 PSI for more than 3min -- check several times just in case
- Gas Cap -- Uncle Claims its pretty new -- gonna try the T205 trick you recommended
- Fuel Vapor Hose -- Looks like its behind the passenger side wheel along with the charcoal canister
- Fuel Tank Pressure Sensor - No idea where this is?
Any help would be great. Or is it just time to retire it & get her a used Honda/Toyota? She will be starting Community College hopefully in 2021.
Thanks Scotty & enjoy TN.
Signed
- Sleepless in NC from PA/Upstate NY, by way of Seattle
With those kinds of issues on a saturn that's pushing 20 years old and it needs to be a reliable car for her for awhile, I'd get out of it ASAP. It sounds like it had too many problems in the short term since you took ownership and needs to be scrapped. Find yourself a great all around toyota or any other reliable vehicle you and her would love. Happy hunting!
@mattjack4x4 pretty much where I was as well... thanks
Well she's got her money's worth! And has a great uncle too : ) I'd start by just replacing the cap. The car is old but you didn't say mileage. I would use age/mileage to personally decide whether to put more money in it or not. With that said, most likely wouldn't as the sooner you trade it in, the more you will get for it in trade. And it is inevitable...
@hillbilly Hey howdy!!
It has 155K, everything else works, power seats, heated seats, radio speakers are dry rotted (on pass rear barely works). I was looking at the Gas Cap replacement with AC Delco as its about $15 at AutoZone and after that, look for a Honda/Toyota for her
She put about 10K on it in 2 years. Passed her test in it.