The charcoal canister is part of the Evaporative Emission Control System. This system prevents the escape of raw gasoline vapors from the vehicle's fuel system to escape into the atmosphere.
The canister is designed to absorb fuel vapors under specific conditions. The canister is about the size of a coffee can and is located in the engine compartment. On some later model 2.0L (non-turbo) and 2.4L engines, the evaporative canister must be accessed through the passenger's side front wheel well.
| Fig. 1: Location of the evaporative emission canister
and related components — 1990–94 2.0L engine shown
|
The canister itself generally does not require replacement at a specific mileage however, the Evaporative Emission Control System does require a careful operations check at 50,000 miles or every 5 years, whichever comes first. Testing procedures are listed in Section 4 of this manual.
| Fig. 2: On this 1997 2.0L (non-turbo) engine, the canister
is located in the front corner of the engine compartment and must be accessed
through the wheel well
|
If removal does become necessary, prior to removing the canister assembly from the vehicle, label the vacuum hose connections at the top of the canister. For proper functioning of the system, it is essential that the hoses be returned to their original locations.
