Evap Fault - Carbon Canister replacement required

[pandas]

Hi guys,

EVAP fault (CEL) came on 2 weeks ago, and was told that the carbon canister needs replacing. Now the genuine unit will set me back a good ~$250 - $300 (VW quoted around the $400 mark but can find it elsewhere for cheaper), however a OE from ebay / aliexpress is more around the $50 mark. Is there any reason why I shouldn't go for the OE?

Interesting enough CEL was lit for nearly 2 weeks straight until i filled the tank up with some BP Ultimate. Would fuel be a contributing factor also, as I usually just go either Caltex or United on the way home from work.

[officialmyki]

I recently had the exact same issue. The dealer quoted me $350 for a brand new one installed in my '06 Jetta. That seemed like a lot.

Thankfully its an easy fix that pretty much anyone can do. It took me maybe five minutes tops? I don't think I needed any fancy tools either??

The cheapest and easiest thing to do would be to source a replacement from someone wrecking your model car/engine. I picked up a replacement with 40,000kms on it for around $40 inc an extra replacement hose. Overnight shipping will always beat waiting around for a month for something to arrive from China.

The ones from China should be fine. I very nearly bought one myself. My only concern was shipping. I can't imagine customs would be too keen on my importing a sealed plastic unit full of small pellets from somewhere random overseas. The last thing I wanted was for them to break it open.

EVAP CEL's are temperamental things. Sometimes it will disappear all on its own, and then reappear later down the line. You mentioned it disappearing after you refuelled? It could be something as simple as replacing the fuel cap with a new one. The seals can deteriorate in some VW's and trigger the EVAP CEL. Maybe something to look into. Fuel quality shouldn't make too much of a difference.

[Sunny43.5]

[QUOTE= Fuel quality shouldn't make too much of a difference.[/QUOTE]
While slightly not related to the issue , fuel quality is a problem here in Australia . My neighbour works as an engineer on oil rigs and has an intimate knowledge of the refining process , seems that the refining process has significant issues with fuel quality due to deteriation of the equipment . So you cannot always be sure fuel is at the correct RON all the time , also there was a case on the VW Facebook page a few years back . An owner of a Golf TSI had major engine problems that were fixed under warranty , on pick up he was told the cause was he was not using the reccomended 98 RON fuel . So off he goes 18 months later the engine goes out to lunch once again , back at the dealers he was told no warranty as once again he was told wrong fuel was used . Smartly he pulls out of the glovebox fuel dockets with matching kilometres and correct premium 98 fuel for the previous 18 months since his first problem. Seems either the engine is at fault but more likely the fuel is not up to the correct rating as my neighbour pointed out .