OBD-II Code
P0497
Severity
Not yet reviewed
Nobody on our side has assessed this code yet, so we are not going to guess at how serious it is.
Can you drive it
We cannot say
Treat it as unknown until a shop reads it with live data. If the check-engine light is FLASHING, stop driving as soon as it is safe to — that means an active misfire, whatever the code.
Indicative cost (USD)
$110–$480
From this code's diagnostic notes. Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
P0497 reports low purge flow, meaning the PCM commanded the purge valve open but detected insufficient or no vapor flow from the canister to the intake.
How a shop works this
Work from evidence to part, not the other way round. A code names a circuit or a symptom; it does not name the part that failed.
Note every code that is set, not just this one.
Codes that appear together usually narrow the cause faster than any one of them read alone.
Read the freeze frame — the conditions the fault was recorded under.
Cold or warm, idle or load, road speed and engine speed. A fault that only appears cold is a different fault from one that only appears under load, even with the same code on the scanner.
Confirm the fault is current rather than history.
Clear the code and see whether it returns under those same conditions. A code that does not come back may have been logged during a repair, a flat battery, or a bad connection that has since been disturbed.
Then follow the diagnostic notes further down this page, in the order they are written.
They are written in the order a shop works this code, cheapest checks first. Where they name a component, inspect its wiring and connector before replacing it.
If the code comes back after a repair, the underlying fault is still there. That is the point to bring in a scanner with live data and freeze-frame, or a shop that has one.
Common symptoms
- Check engine light
Read the full diagnostic procedureP0497 reports low purge flow, meaning the PCM commanded the purge valve open but detected insufficient or no vapor flow from the canister to the inta…
P0497 reports low purge flow, meaning the PCM commanded the purge valve open but detected insufficient or no vapor flow from the canister to the intake.
Cheapest diagnostic first
- visually inspect the purge line from canister to purge valve for kinks, melted sections, or rodent damage.
- Next, command the purge valve open with the scan tool and confirm vacuum at the canister-side port using a hand vacuum gauge, which should pull at least 8-10 inHg with the engine at warm idle.
- If commanded flow is absent, test the purge valve directly by applying 12V across its terminals; a stuck-closed valve is the typical fault.
- The expensive misdiagnosis is replacing the canister and lines ($400-$800) when a clogged canister filter or a $45 purge valve was the only issue.
Vehicle-specific patterns2010-2015 Subaru Outback/Legacy/Forester carbon canister cracks at the inlet boss from underbody flex (TSB 16-95-15); 2008-2014 Honda Accord/Pilot pu…
- 2010-2015Subaru Outback/Legacy/Forester carbon canister cracks at the inlet boss from underbody flex (TSB 16-95-15);
- 2008-2014Honda Accord/Pilot purge line melts where it routes near the exhaust manifold heat shield;
- 2011-2016Ford F-150 5.0L purge valve sticks closed from canister dust ingestion (TSB 15-0066);
- 2007-2012Nissan Versa/Sentra QR25 purge volume control valve sticks closed under Voluntary Service Campaign R1306.
Estimated repair$110 to $480.
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