Hey has anyone else had this experience? I have an '06 LT with less than 13,000 miles on it and my Check Engine Light came on the other day. I went to a nearby So Cal dealer who said they'd need $100 to diagnose the problem and it might take up to 2 hours. That's $100 just to tell me what's wrong with the POS. Anyway, after an hour I'm told that the fuel filler cap is busted and needs to be replaced and the tank has to be repressurized and it should cost around $100.

While I was there another owner pulled up with a Cobalt that had a busted fuel cap.

Has anyone experienced this? I'm thinking I should just buy an OEM cap anywhere on line and maybe there's a cheaper local place that can pressurize the tank. The car's out of warranty so I don't really care where it goes as long as I don't get ripped off.

Any thoughts???

 

sound like a load of crap to me just buy a cap and go from there the tank is not a sealed unit and should not be under pressure ( i could be wrong im no mechanic) all I could see them doing is run a pressure test on the tank

 

The fuel delivery system as well as the fuel intake is a closed system. You will not hear the customary hiss when removing the cap because of the bleed off to the charcoal cannister located under the car near the fuel tank.

Thus, IF the cap was the fault of your "Check Engine Light" it could be corrected with a new cap. The dealer may have stung you on the costs, however. I do not understand the comment of the dealer saying they need to "repressurize" the tank, though. Maybe ChevyMgr can elaborate.

 

100 dollars to diagnose a bad cap is BS. And the repressurizing the tank is nothing more than trying to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge. The reason you were getting the CEL in the first place was most likely the system was not passing the start up test of pressurizing the system to check for leaks. My S10 had this issue. Think about it, you open the cap you lose the pressure in the tank. Do you need to have the dealer repressurize the tank every time you get gas?? The guy is a crook.

 

Buy a new gas cap and be on your way.

But considering your went to a dealership. $80 for the diag and $20 for the cap, probably about normal. Next time you get a CEL, take it to Advance or Auto Zone and get the code read for free.

 

Uhhh... Yeah. They can repressurize the tank by filling it with gas.

 

I had a broken gas cap last year, and my dealer diagnosed in the parking lot and gave me a new cap free. Also only took 10 minutes.

 

A few weeks ago I got the "Check gas cap" message on the DIC. This is on a 2006 LT with 47K miles. I ignored it for the rest of the day and it never came back.

Steve

 

you need to find out what the dealer labor rate is, If it is around $100. the it is a hr. labor. Also There is a fuel system press. test and also a fuel system vac. test that should be done after the fuel cap is replaced to see if system is repaired. This test is run each time you drive the car, thats how the ECM found the fault and turned on the light. I can hear all the noise if the tech just put on a new cap and let you go and the light came back on!! That tech is a boob, He don't know what he is doing ect. If he test the system and wants to get paid then he is riping you off. Just my way of looking at it

 

Re pressurize the tank Pffft LMAO what a croc.