Check Engine light on and hard to start SOMEtimes

[captainofiron]

The Vibe has been acting up the past week.Yesterday while I was driving on the highway the check engine light (CES) came on. I got it scanned and a P0441 code came up.P0441 Evaporative Emission Control System Incorrect Purge FlowEvery once and a while it is hard to start, it cranks crank cranks but doesnt start unless i give it some gas.Usually it does it when I just filled up the gasI have no idea what is going on.The only thing that has happened was I was driving back from Houston, and we were past San Antonio when a truck with an empty flat bed trailer cut us off. So I pulled back slightly, I turned to tell my wife what a jerk that driver was, I see this big piece of white metal or wood catch air in the trailer and fly up. I hit the brakes and swerved slightly and it hit the driver front bumper and went up underneath us and I heard it hitting stuff on the driver side. Immediately afterward I heard lots of vibration. So I pull off to the side and start to check the bumper and stuff underneath, well it hit all the plastic air dam and broke it, and caused the fender liner piece to rub on the driver side front tire.So we drove on, and the first fill up it didnt want to start for a while.Any ideas?As soon as it gets running for a while it acts fine.

[keithvibe]

Have you regularly overfilled your gas tank?What I mean is do you stop pumping gas at the first click of the tank like you should be doing or do you keep adding fuel after a few clicks?

[captainofiron]

I always stop at the first click.I do this to make sure my MPG calcs have some constant

[captainofiron]

So I reset the codes.I took off the battery cables and left the positive and negative cables touching overnight to discharge the capacitors.The CES light is stopped showing, and it was clear over the weekend, long highway trips and city driving mix, nothing.THEN it happened again, in the same exact spot driving home from work, the CES came on again, I will go later today and pull the codes but I am pretty certain its the same code.

[captainofiron]

Yesterday I went to Autozone so they could pull the codes.This time I got 2 codes, P0441 and P0446Not sure what it might be, Im thinking that when I got hit by that debris from the trailer that it hit something connected to the EVAP system and caused this condition.ALSO when I take off the gas cap it does not make the breaking the vacuum noise or Whoosh as some people have described it.The car left me stranded at Autozone because after they scanned the car, it wouldnt start. Seemed like the battery was dead as it wasnt cranking or anything. They jumped it, and I drove home. So now the car is sitting at home.Im fed up and I am going to call the warranty company and hope this is covered.

[captainofiron]

Well no warranty coverage, its still not wanting to start ONLY when I put gas.I got under the car and snapped some pictures of the fuel lines, there does appear to be some minor damage to the lines, but nothing bad.I looked and it doesnt seem like the canister is broken or damaged.

[Salsa Guy]

Every thing I've read goes back to the EVAP system. You may to check the EVAP lines and make sure all is clear of trash, not leaking, kinked or plugged. Check the VSV function by applying 12 volts and ground to it (not sure which side is which) and it should "click". But something more than likey has gone wrong with Charcoal Canister. Goodluck

[captainofiron]

but would the charcoal canister make it hard to start, to me I would think that its function would not affect the engine operation at all.I looked and all the lines seem fine, other than being scraped up.Im going to flow check the valves on the canister this weekend and see what happens.