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Not sure how this works but here goes. I've recently had lots of brake work done by dealer on my car. The day after the work, the check engine light came on. Told to replace gas cap and did that. Light was off for 24 hrs then back on. Had it checked, told the code was P1457, Parts to be replaced were listed as: *911-766 fuel vapor storage canister,*911-809 vapor canister vent solenoid,*911-762 vapor canister valve,LEX Labor-Emission Exhaust. The total for this was almost $900.00. Having just spent over $2000.00 for brake lines, master cylinder, power booster, driver's door lock actuator and hood release cable I am in shock about this new expense. Precision Autotune did the smoke test etc. to give me this news. Is it safe to continue driving my car with the check engine light on or is this work needed ASAP?
Safe for the environment if millions of cars are venting gas fumes.. no. Is your one car with leaky evap going to hurt the world, no to that too.
My first stop for those kinda of issues is to a junk yard where you can usually get the canister for 20-40 dollars.
Finding a civic with a clear crash damage reason to be junked is a bonus, even rear ended likely won’t hurt canister unless it’s crushed into the back seat.
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 32,017
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From: Midwest. Aiming about mid-chest
Rep Power: 518
Re: 2004 Civic LX P1457
for brake lines
The day after the work,
Rusted brake lines???? Is the car from the rust belt?
Maybe the EVAP vapor line was rusted too, and disturbing it during the other work caused a leak, which the computer has now picked up on.
Maybe they forgot to plug in one of the solenoids or pressure sensor during the work.
Maybe you need a second opinion. Or 3rd.
Maybe you could get under the car and investigate more yourself?
Maybe you should have a frank "discussion" with the service director, service manager, and maybe general manager of the dealership? You know, since only one day prior you spent more money in the service department than the whole car is worth (figuratively LOL)
The part numbers you give are not Genuine Honda parts, they seem to be Dorman brand from your local discount parts stores. Probably a little cheaper though.
Thanks everyone for your help/info. My car is from PA. and the mechanics here in NC always report rust on everything. Can't help where the car and I came from. I've had the car since 2007 and have only been in NC since 2012. Will try to figure out where to find a salvage yard to look for parts. Again, thanks to everyone. Sorry, at 63 and not mechanically inclined, I'm not about to start crawling under my car to try to fix it myself
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 32,017
Likes: 256
From: Midwest. Aiming about mid-chest
Rep Power: 518
Re: 2004 Civic LX P1457
Precision Autotune did the smoke test etc.
Question: Why did you go to "precision autotune" for the check engine light or smoke test.. instead of the dealership where you already spent a ton of money?
Did you take it back to the dealer and have them recheck if they caused the fault code while doing the other major work?
Is the person who did the work (and the shop as a whole) ethical enough to admit if he made a mistake or otherwise caused the issue? (a rarity)
It's awful suspicious that they did major work that DOES disturb many of the parts involved with your new code, but this other shop ............
I'm in the rust/salt belt, I deal with rusty cars daily.
The most common problem I see with these is the CVS valve rusts through and leaks when vacuum or pressure is applied to it (the typical root cause of the fault code) .....and when you try to remove that valve from the canister the little screws either strip out or the embedded nuts spin inside the plastic of the canister assembly. Replace those two parts and some fresh screws to put them together and it usually fixes it.
Of course, that's not the only possibility......but it's a far stretch to believe that all the parts in their shopping list are actually bad.
I had to reply since you said you're not mechanically inclined, as this was the first project I really undertook on my Civic after a lifetime of also not being mechanically inclined.
As others have said your problem is your evap canister, it is likely rusted to the shut valve. I decided to replace both the canister and valve together, as the price was the same from the junkyard anyway. I just found the nicest looking canister/valve on a Civic in the yard and took it home and replaced it. Engine light went off a few days later on its own and I had a rush of pride and sense of accomplishment.
Total price was about 15 bucks. Parts new would have been $150-200, plus labour, plus the $200+ for diagnosis that comes every 2 years for emissions tests fails (the whole reason I put my foot down and decided to fix this myself).
I was warned by several technicians that if we top off when pumping gas, that going beyond the pump's automatic clicking off, can cause gas to flow into the charcoal in the canister and cause this problem in the fuel vapor storage canister. Was told to stop when the pump automatically turns off the gas pump. I had been topping off for years... Now I may have to fix it too.
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 32,017
Likes: 256
From: Midwest. Aiming about mid-chest
Rep Power: 518
Re: 2004 Civic LX P1457
I was warned by several technicians that if we top off when pumping gas, that going beyond the pump's automatic clicking off, can cause gas to flow into the charcoal in the canister and cause this problem in the fuel vapor storage canister.
Yes it can, yes it will. Overfilling the tank can and will cause liquid to get into the charcoal canister, and the system wasn't designed for that.
The times I have seen it happen, it eventually emptied out the canister and codes eventually went away.....
Yes it can, yes it will. Overfilling the tank can and will cause liquid to get into the charcoal canister, and the system wasn't designed for that.
The times I have seen it happen, it eventually emptied out the canister and codes eventually went away.....
If you catch it early enough that may be the case. But, I was topping off for years and it looks like some damage was done that will not go away. But, now that I do not top it off, the check engine light comes on much less.
Now the check engine light comes on at about a half tank down after a fill up.
When that happens I learned to take off the gas cap and put it back on, and in about ten miles the light will go off.
I thought I'd post this in case it helps. We have a 2002 civic and a 2002 cr-v, both had the p1457 code preventing them
from passing Connecticut emissions. I use the Torque app to access/clear codes but clearing doesn't really do anything if
there's an underlying problem. P1457 indicates a problem with the EVAP system. Having this check engine light (CEL) on
causes you to fail emissions testing... my mechanic said don't bother trying.
When you clear the p1457 with Torque, all your emissions "monitors" become INCOMPLETE (also know as NOT READY
on the internet). You have to go thru a number of driving cycles to make the monitors become COMPLETE. In my case
below, the EVAP is the last one to become COMPLETE. I'm pretty sure that when it becomes complete, a new P1457 will
get logged, and my CEL will come on. In Connecticut and some other states, you can pass emissions as long as you only
have one monitor INCOMPLETE. So this car will pass emissions, as long as I don't wait too long for EVAP to become COMPLETE.
I'll fix it on my own time during this plague, but at least I can get thru emissions testing .
Re: 2004 Civic LX P1457 
