Sounds like a PC attach! Should be some scare tissue to check out? I would not wait too long. Let us know what shows up. H

 

As others have mentioned already, I would not bother taking it in yet if that's all you got now. This is an old issue to many folks in this forum and as usual will clear after a couple of days of so.

Cheers;

MSantos

 

Does anyone know what is going on when this happens? Would there not be a error code?

 

Is there a problem with my battery?

Something similar happened to me today. I had around 3 bars, I went into autostop, then went down to 1 battery bar. Went to accelerate, car did not want to go, had to floor it. It is really affecting my gas, I am at 173 miles for half a tank.

 

Typically the "Gas Cap" problem will occur because of higher (pressure/vacuum) levels detected in the area of the fuel pipe or filler gas pipe. This detection mechanism is there as part of the Evaporative Emmissions system to detect leaks as part of the HCH-2 P-ZEV compliance.

Also, fresh fuel creates greater vacuum and pressures which can sometime trigger the sensor to trip.

Now what can we do to avoid this problem? The error code is P0455 and/or P0456.

-Do not overfill. Stop pumping gas at the first click.
-Handle the gas cap carefully. The best thing to do is to hang the gas cap on the fuel filler door when you are pumping gas.
-Do not let a gas filler attendant pump the gas for you. Ensure that the fuel cap seal (gasket) is clean and free of greases and other dirt.
-Lastly, don't ram the pump's fuel nozzle into filler pipe inside the car. Instead, insert it gently and carefully.

Now the above measures are just good common sense. If we follow them then there's a pretty good chance we'll avoid the gas cap warning.

Cheers;

MSantos

 

Please take your car to the dealership for a checkup. There's a pretty good chance a code sequence exists that will point at the problem.

In the meantime, try to force charge the battery by idling the car at 3000-4500 RPM for a few minutes. If the battery charges to a 6+bar level, then go for a little gentle drive and see if the battery level dips below 5 bars quickly or it sustains it long enough at the time of your return.

Going down to a 1 bar level and staying there is neither comforting not normal.

Let us know.

MSantos