What would cause my 2003 Mazda Protege to sputter when I get done filling up my gas tank? It is fine after about 10 min of driving. Any ideas? No CEL.

 

Topping off your gas tank can cause problems in todays cars. It fills the evap cannister with raw fuel. The PCM opens up the purge valve to dump excess pressure/fuel vapors from the cannister and sends it to the intake to be burned. It is designed to send vapors, not raw fuel. So it will run very rich until the raw fuel from the cannister is gone. That or your purge valve is stuck.

 

It happens if i put 10 bucks of gas in or a full tank. What is this purge valve you speak of and is there a way to check this?

This has happened ever since I got the car. Prior to me purchasing this car it sat for about 2 years. It has 58,000 miles on it.

I was about to swap out my fuel pump but this has been an issue for over a year.

 

The purge valve is near the firewall,near the center. A hose comes off a canister to it and then to the intake. If it is hard to fill with gas it is more likely a problem around the fuel tank. There is a seperation tank/vent valve/tank pressure sensor and numerous hoses. One hose coming off the pressure sensor to vent goes to nothing. Sometimes dirt dobbers build nests in them. A tank that is hard to fill usually means the vent valve has a problem. Not much else i can say without the car.

 

F'n Spiders!

Gasoline-loving spiders cause Mazda car recall for second time | Reuters

 

UPDATE: Car is now sputtering VERY badly at idle and stalls out if I do not give it any gas. Once the car is above 1,000ish RPM the problem clears, it is JUST idle... NO CEL's? I am stumped and frustrated...


Car does NOT have a problem when filling up, just sputtering after fillup when pulling away from the gas station, but now it sputters and stalls all the time...

 

Disconnect the purge valve temporarily and see if it straightens out. It is located on the back of the engine,firewall side sorta near the throttlebody.

 

Just drove around today to see if the problem is still present and now the car i fine... Im so confused.

Is that purge valve the one with two hoses connected to it that is mouted on the intake tubing?

Also is there a way to test the functionality of it and or if it is clogged? I just want to get this sorted by winter so I am not stranding in the cold somewhere!

I think I may get the updated USDM EGR valve with the shielding on it. I do not want to go through the trouble installing the Canadian.

Is this he purge valve I need to check? OR something else.

 

That looks like it. If the hose runs over to the charcol cannister then that is it. It's a simple open/close switch. 12 volts and ground should result in a click and open the port so that you can blow through it. You should not be able to blow through it if disconnected. I could have it backwards but you get the idea. Disconnecting the egr valve temporarily will test whether it is an egr problem or not. If it acts up with it disconnected than it is not the egr valve.

 

Checked it out and it seemed fine and had no effect when I unplugged it?

The car was running fine for a day and then the other day it damn near stalled out on me and i had to keep giving it constant gas in order for it to keep it running...

This is getting not only frustrating but dangerous too..


ALSO still no CEL's..