UGH! Code 0442, PT Cruiser 2001 LTD, 41,000 miles

[tvldeals]

Ok so we go on vacation, it was about 900 miles round trip.....blah blah blah...LOL and come back, a week later my 2001 PT Limited is showing the engine light on. The code came up [:I]. I see this is an emissions issue UGH!! My PT only has 41,000 miles on it and I surely wasn't expecting this.

I read a posting that 99% of the time its the gas cap and so I took it off and put it back on. No luck, light still on. So I went and bought a factory Chrysler PT Cruiser gas cap. I have not turned on the car yet to see if the light is STILL on.

If it was the gas cap, how long before that light goes off, or should it go off instantly? Or perhaps do I need to reset something first?

If its NOT the easy fix with the gas cap and engine light does NOT go off, how much is this repair going to soak me?

Unbeleivable that I could have an emissions problem this early on and of course not under warranty, if so.

Also if the repair is very expensive, will driving it around for a bit, in the meanwhile cause problems? The car is running great otherwise.

[H-D CRUISER]

Federal Emission warranties are 8 year 80,000 miles in most cases. This is a Federal deal and the dealer has to honor the warranty. This is the way it was when I worked for Dodge. If it is emission related you should be covered.

[Ian-PT-GT]

You already did step 1.

Step 2:
Acording to the service manual, for the MIL indicator (Check Engine) to iluminate, the error needs to be detected three times by the PCM. After that, it will stay there indefeneatly for the tech to read.
The PCM Will store the info untill:
1. the codes are read and deleted with a scanner
2. the unit looses power.

After repairs, the technitian would connect the scanner again and "Clear all Codes".

try this:

Disconnect the negative cable from the batery for a few seconds. reconect. Drive it for a while and see if the code shows up.

If the fuel cap was the culprit, it will not light up. If there is still an error detected, it will light up again.

Ian

[tvldeals]

My PT 2001 manual said 2 Yrs , 24,000 miles on all emissions stuff except the catalytic converter and power train control module ( computer? )which is 8 years like you said. I tried the gas cap thing but the lite is still on. I'll try the battery disconnect and see what happens . Thanks for the info and getting me to look that up !
Maybe the Federal Standards have been raised since 2001? Retroactive hopefully?
Thanx !
Mike in Ohio

[tvldeals]

Well I can happily report now, that the engine light is off, must have been the gas cap all along. An easy hands on cheap fix. Sure it won't always be like that. LOL Bought the new gas cap and after putting it on, disconnected the battery for a minute and upon reconnecting and starting it up, we are all in the CLEAR! So for now I can at least breathe a sigh of relief.....

What the heck happens to the gas cap to cause this anyhow?

Again, a big thanks for everyones help!

[PTRobert]

Gas caps sometimes go bad. My folks at a '97 Camry and during the first 3,000 miles it developed what sounded like a back-fire. Several trips to the dealership, lots of inspections and nobody could figure it out until a friend of my dad mentioned the gas cap. Sure enough, that was it. I'm not sure how it happened, but the pressure on the cap was too much and it would release the pressure (from driving and I assume from fuel being depleted from the tank) with a loud pop. Countless man-hours were used to figure out what was wrong with the car for it to be a $14 warrantable item.

If the cap can't make a good seal, the car may think it has a leak.