Q: Codes say evap leak, can a car accident cause it?

asked by on October 21, 2016

I recently took my kia sedona into a mechanic to have an oil change and tune-up. The mechanic told me, when I picked it up, that there were three codes for an evap leak. he said it was all cleared and that if need be, if the engine light comes back on, that we would have to take it back in to find the leak and get it fixed. Which i plan to eventually. So to my question, I was in an accident in March. Dude hit my drivers side rear end... scraped it from the back door to the end of my van, on that side is also my gas tank. Could the accident have caused damage enough that it affected my gas tank and fuel sustem that somewhere along the like its causing the evap codes and leaks? Thanks in advance!

My car has 143000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

Hey there. Depending on the impact of the hit to your van, this may have caused some damage to the EVAP system. If you have an air leak on the EVAP system, then the MAP sensor will not be able to determine the air density, and the MAF sensor will not be able to determine the volume of air entering the engine correctly.

This will lead to an over fueling situation or an under fueling situation depending on the size of the air leak and engine operating speeds and load. This may eventually lead to destroying the catalytic converter as well. If you need more help, I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your home to diagnose the codes more thoroughly in person so that this can be resolved.

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