Hi:

Looking for a bit of advice. I've got a 1998 V70 GLT with 51K miles, 5/97 production date. Let me preface this by saying that I am religious about tightening the gas cap, and while I may "round up" to the nearest nickel at the gas pump, I never overfill. The car is pampered beyond belief, never driven hard, and I use premium fuel exclusively. My only previous experience with the Check Engine Light was last fall (both oxygen sensors). With that backdrop, here's my story ...

About a month ago, the Check Engine Light came on on a hot day. Code 544 (EVAP system large leak) showed, so just to make sure it wasn't a nuisance code I cleaned the fuel filler pipe (it gets a little dinged up from the gas pump), and gas cap o-ring. The gas cap was just pressure checked in April as part of the state emission inspection and passed with flying colors. I had the light reset and went on my way.

A few days later, the light reappeared. This time, I could not pull any codes, but I went ahead and checked all the lines betwen the tank and the charcoal canister and verified the operation of the EVAP valve. All lines were tight and the valve seemed to operate correctly when the electrical connector was removed and reattached. I reset the light again and hoped for the best. (Thanks Bill for that tip!)

Of course, since this is a Volvo, the best did not happen. The light again reappeared and since no other drivability symptoms were present, I chose to ignore it for a month. The car continued to operate as good as ever, in fact maybe better!

Finally, I broke down and took it to my friendly VOlvo dealer. Codes 611 and 612 were present, and the activation test that they run on the EVAP system showed no flow. They charged me 2 hours to do the diagnosis, and replaced the charcoal canister, EVAP valve and the in-line filter, claiming that the charcoal canister was full of fuel. The system retested fine, and I paid my $500 and went on my way. At least I got the car washed and vacuumed.

The next day, guess what? Check Engine Light on again!

I am going back to the dealer tomorrow. Dealer informs me that they will have to potentially drop the gas tank as they think there is a problem with the rollover valve that has something in it that sticks intermittently.

1) Anyone have any similar experience? What was the fix?

2) Do I demand my old canister and EVAP valve be reinstalled ... or is it common to have to replace all the components together? I personally have a hard time believing the EVAP valve was contaminated as that in-line filter should catch any liberated carbon, right?

I do seem to remember a few posts on defective gas tanks on 1998 models, but I can't seem to put my finger on them. I'm about ready to take Mr. Sha's advice and put a piece of black tape over the light ... except I'm a little nervous about burning up a cat some time with another failure.

Thanks!

Keith