Shortly after picking up my Aspen I noticed one day a message on the odometer display that said "Gas Cap". Thinking it was just loose, I removed it and re-tightened it. A few days later it came up again. So to be preventive I went ahead and stopped by the local dealership and grabbed a replacement. Wasn't that much. However, after switching out to the new cap I am still getting the warning message intermittently. I know it's not loose and being a new one their shouldn't be anything wrong with it. So does anyone know what could be causing this error message?

 

There's probably a small leak somewhere in the evap. purge system. Take a look at the hoses first to see if there's an obvious leak. I saw on a Durango forum where someone found a leak in the evap. line that runs adjacent to the exhaust.

If it's not the line, then it may be the solenoid.

 

Thanks for the reply. I was wondering about that. Thinking it may be a vacuum leak as well. Would explain a couple other issues I've recently discovered. Made a trip up to Colorado last week (about 820 miles each way) and somehow lost 2 qts of oil on the way up and another qt on the way back. Doesn't appear to be leaking so I think it's going out the pipe. I replaced the PCV valve the other day just as a precautionary measure, but the old one still seemed to function properly. I'm also noticing a slight hesitation or stalling after it's warmed up and I go to switch between drive and reverse a lot while parking. Hopefully it's something simple and not a major motor issue. Thanks again.

 

Please keep us updated on this. I have had the gas cap issue on and off for six months and replace the cap. I am not mechanically inclined so I do not get the correlation between the gas cap and oil loss. Can you explain the connection? Thanks

 

Well, let me try and explain my reasoning on this as best as I can. As mentioned by member 15951a\, the "Gas Cap" message is probably a result in a leak in the EVAP system. Now I'm not 100% sure here, but I'm pretty sure the pressure for this system is supplied by the vacuum from the motor. The "purge valve" for the EVAP system is probably controlled by vacuum as well. The PCV valve is suppose to help regulate some of this pressure. Especially for the crankcase pressure. If the PCV valve or it's other components fail, it can cause a loss of oil as well as alter vacuum pressure for the rest of the systems. Low vacuum can also cause a motor to "bog down" or try to die at low idle. Therefore, it is my belief that I may have a vacuum leak somewhere which is causing all of these issues. Again, I may be WAY off here and someone else may help set me straight on my thoughts, but this is my best guess as to what is happening.

 

What solve your issue? I am getting the same Gas Cap message now on mines.

 

I answered in your other post.