P0496 EVAP Purge Valve Replacement

[thomasm23]

I have been encountering a MIL (Check Engine Light) with a P0496 code. I had the dealer replace the EVAP purge valve assembly 2-1/2 years ago. Along with the MIL, after filling the fuel tank it has been very hard to start.

I ordered a new EVAP purge valve assembly and replaced it this weekend. If you have been wondering what all the tubing on the top of the engine is for, it is the EVAP purge valve assembly.

This was an easy 15 minute replacement.

 

[mikldom]

I had the same issues. Threw the code often. I reset it. It would run fine until I got gas. After getting gas, hard to start. I'd have to nail accelerator while it cranked.

It start then run just fine. Just throw the code every so often.

I can also report that assembly took me about 15 minutes to install. It was cold outside too.

No more codes. No more hard starts.

Found it on eBay with shipping for about 155 from an online parts dealer who lists on eBay.

 

[RSH]

I would of had Ford fix it, especially in California where the emission laws and requirements are so strict, the emissions warranty for that I believe is 8 years or 80k miles whichever comes 1st and other than your time it would have been free.
Wondering why the purge valve would go bad again.

 

[Dude]

I would of had Ford fix it, especially in California where the emission laws and requirements are so strict, the emissions warranty for that I believe is 8 years or 80k miles whichever comes 1st and other than your time it would have been free.
Wondering why the purge valve would go bad again.

A number of owners have said the purge valve is one of the items not covered by the emissions warranty

 

[mikldom]

93,000 miles. Out of all warranties for me.

Now I have a cracked catalytic converter (not from physical damage). That waited till it was out of warranty too.

Going to pull it out and weld it up myself as soon as the weather warms up

 

[thomasm23]

I would of had Ford fix it, especially in California where the emission laws and requirements are so strict, the emissions warranty for that I believe is 8 years or 80k miles whichever comes 1st and other than your time it would have been free.
Wondering why the purge valve would go bad again.

Not covered by emission warranty.

 

[RSH]

Ford's emissions warranty follows Federal guidelines, short term and long term
1. Short term federal emissions warranty is 2 years or 24k miles which is eclipsed by Fords bumper to bumper warranty of 3 years or 36k miles.
California increases that to 3 years or 50k miles
2. Long term federal emissions warranty coverage is 8 years or 80k miles for the more costly emission parts, catalytic converter and other high dollar emissions related parts.
Interestingly, California's long term warranty coverage is 7 years or 70k miles as listed in the emissions supplement to the owners manual.

Unless past the time or mileage allotments listed above, the purge valve should have been covered, its part of the evaporative emission control system listed on page 22 of the warranty document.

Then again Ford has done some strange things.
I had my 4WD module recently replaced which you would think would be covered by the powertrain warranty, it wasn't covered because it's categorized as an electronic part even though it controls the drivetrain.

 

[incavulator]

Ford's emissions warranty follows Federal guidelines, short term and long term
1. Short term federal emissions warranty is 2 years or 24k miles which is eclipsed by Fords bumper to bumper warranty of 3 years or 36k miles.
California increases that to 3 years or 50k miles
2. Long term federal emissions warranty coverage is 8 years or 80k miles for the more costly emission parts, catalytic converter and other high dollar emissions related parts.
Interestingly, California's long term warranty coverage is 7 years or 70k miles as listed in the emissions supplement to the owners manual.

Unless past the time or mileage allotments listed above, the purge valve should have been covered, its part of the evaporative emission control system listed on page 22 of the warranty document.

Then again Ford has done some strange things.
I had my 4WD module recently replaced which you would think would be covered by the powertrain warranty, it wasn't covered because it's categorized as an electronic part even though it controls the drivetrain.

RSH is correct! Directly from the 2022 Ford warranty guide:

From page 22 (list of parts that are covered):

For those who may not be aware, the purge valve's function is connect the intake manifold to the fuel tank and evaporative canister to "purge" the fuel vapors that have been stored in the canister, and that are present in the fuel tank. This allows the fuel vapors that have been generated and stored to be pulled into the engine and burned. It is without a doubt part of the evaporative system, which is exactly why you are getting a check engine light and a fault code! CARB OBD requires that system to be monitored for leaks as small as 0.020" in diamater and when there is "no purge flow from the evaporative system to the engine." All this ensures no fuel vapors escape to the atmosphere. You might need to educate your dealer about what is truly required under warranty.

 

[thomasm23]

You could interpret the wording as if it is covered. The problem is the valve itself is an electrical component and does not fall under the other emissions components.

The entire assembly must be replaced. The valve itself is not replaceable.

 

[incavulator]

The dealers are screwing people over (intentionally or out of ignorance, I won't pretend to know which one), but the valve is diagnosed by the OBD system, and the part is required to be covered. It's a required component to meet both CARB and EPA evaporative emission standards. You may have to get forceful, but I'm quite confident it's required to be covered......"electrical parts" are not excluded from the federal emissions warranty. Most of the parts on the list of covered components are electrical in nature (e.g. air flow sensor, air/fuel feedback control and sensors, Battery Energy Control Module, Brake Hydraulic Electric Control Assembly, Electronic Engine Control Sensors and Switches, Powertrain Control Module/Engine Control Module, etc.). If "electrical parts" were excluded, more than half of these parts wouldn't even be on the list.

 

[mikldom]

For those out of warranty like myself, thankfully the whole hose assembly with the valve attached is less than 200 and takes 10 mins to install.

In Fact it is 86 bux right now on Advance auto app with coupon. Dorman part no. 994-041.

I bought mine from an online Ford dealer about a year ago and installed it. Took away the code and the hard starts after getting gas.


Not having to argue with the stealership and piece of mind is valuable.

 

[incavulator]

Is not the dealerships .., Ford documents the covered parts in the emissions warranty

It’s listed online … I’ve read it and there’s some gray area but not to Ford

Here is one link (if interested, confirm for yourself if it’s the current version) and pasted in one of the tables

https://www.ford.com/cmslibs/content/dam/brand_ford/en_us/brand/resources/general/pdf/warranty/2022-Ford-Car-Lt-Truck-Hybrid-Warranty-version-2_frdwa_EN-US_12_2020.pdf

Hi Dude,

That is the exact same document I quoted/pasted from.

 

[incavulator]

Hi Dude,

I did some more digging and I'm confident the purge valve is required to be covered under the federal emission warranty. I was focusing on what the regulations require, not what Ford is actually doing, and i was interpreting the comments to mean Ford is claiming the purge valve is not a covered part under the emission warranty. As I'm sure you can imagine, what Ford is required to do doesn't necessarily have to align with what they actually do. This is what I thought may be happening.

However, I think I may have uncovered the real reason why users are getting the response they have received from Ford on this part I believe the 80/80,000 portion of the federal warranty only applies to select parts and the remainder of the components covered under the federal emission warranty are only covered for 2 years/24,000 miles. This means the federal emissions warranty is essentially useless (except for those specific parts called out under the 8/80,000 section) as long as Ford continues to offer bumper to bumper for 3/36,000.

So, the part is technically an emission related part and is required to be covered, but i don't believe it is covered for 8/80,000 miles.

I will post references to the federal regulations to confirm this later. For my sanity, I believe the reason why Ford has not been covering it is most likely because the vehicles exhibiting the issue are beyond the 3/36,000 (and by default the 2/24,000) and not because the part is "electrical and not covered by the emission warranty." It's a subtle difference, but I wanted to understand why the text didn't align with the response. Maybe users can chime in if they have examples where Ford is not covering it within 3/36,000. This seems unlikely based on the definition of bumper to bumper... unless they want to claim the purge valve is not between the bumpers!!

Note: Customers in CA should have a much better leg to stand on as their emission warranty requirements are much stricter.

Stay tuned for regulation references. I'm not at home so I will post these as soon as I can.

 

[Glamdring70]

It should be covered, but it apparently isn't. I was curious so I did some searching and I found a few sources that say since the valve is part of a more complex "hose assembly" and only available as the assembly and not just as a single "emission component", it gets around Federal regulations on a technicality and is not covered. It's also a more expensive and wasteful repair for the consumer because of that. If I was under the 3/36 bumper to bumper, I would fight for coverage.

My previous Chevy developed a po455/456 (leak) code after about 7 years of ownership, c. 2013. Drove it to the dealer service. Advisor walks out, reads the code. Goes back in and comes out with a fuel cap and swaps it out. Tells me "emissions warranty" and I drive off, fixed, in 15 minutes. Guess he had previous experience with the caps being faulty. Do better, Ford.

 

[incavulator]

Glamdring70..... completely agree. I saw the info too that said they combined the valve with the hoses to avoid the warranty requirement. I'm obviously not even sure that is true. If it is, I will bet the EPA would not allow that (if they were made aware of it).

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