Hi,

Lately my '03 Neon has been taking longer than it should to start - spends about 5-8 seconds trying to turn over before starting (which is a long time when you think about it). My check engine light has also come on, telling me the codes p0440 and p0441. I know these basically mean either the gas cap is bad or there's a leak in a hose somewhere.

My question is - could the two problems be related? Could this cause my car to take so long to start?

Any other comments you have about this are also appreciated.

Thanks,

 

try a new gas cap all together first off... then do a tune up (new plugs [IRIDIUM] and wires) then let us know whats up

 

So the two items are not related?

 

oh no they are indeed related but usually its just b/c the gas cap isn't sealing correctly... or you are getting a bad spark...

 

U wiykd sat bad spark... a bad connection through the coilpack, wires, plugs, etc. Or possibly even a bad MAF sensor, or better yet a bad O2 sensor or two... but even that is suspect for start-up.

A loose gas cap can cause the code, but not at startup. Your ECU will catch it, but it should not affect your starting performance whatsoever.

 

this is a evap code it is probly the evap purge selenoid it sits under your brake booster against the firewall.

 

Lol, I had the exact same codes! Then one day I noticed the cel was gone. I checked for the code and it was still there though. If your car is under 100,000 miles, the emissions devices should be covered by Dodge by law.
Anyway, I got lazy about it, and didn't do much about it. the cel would show up for a couple hundred miles, then go away for another couple hundred (but still showed the code). Recently I checked for the codes, and it just said dONE. they went away.
???