P144A on Ford

On Ford vehicles, the EVAP system's purge vapor line is restricted or blocked

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P144A is an evaporative emissions fault. Ford's bulletins treat it as a check engine light condition with a purge valve fix, and many cars drive normally. It should still be repaired, because the same faulty purge valve can upset idle and starting.

It gets more serious if:

  • Inspect soon: Have it inspected soon if the engine is hard to start right after refuelling, idles rough, hesitates or stalls. Owners with P144A have reported all of these, and a Ford recall for a malfunctioning purge valve on the Focus warns it can stall the engine.

Source: how we rate severity

This page covers only what differs on Ford. For what P144A means, the ranked causes and the test order, see the P144A guide.

What's different on Ford

Ford

  • 2016–2017 · Focus · 2.3L GTDI

    Supported by vehicle data

    Ford bulletin 17-0016 links P144A on the Focus RS to a sticking canister purge valve. Whether the bulletin is still current is not verified.

  • 2012–2018 · Focus

    Possible — needs testing

    Owners of 2012–2018 Focus models report P144A with stalling or hard starting after refuelling. Recall 18V-735 covers the purge valve on 2.0L engines but does not name the code, so check recall status first.

  • 2009–2011 · Escape

    Supported by vehicle data

    Ford bulletin 12-3-19, as summarised by Rick's Free Auto Repair Advice, covers P144A on Escapes built on or before 4-Mar-2011: check the canister for fuel, then replace the purge valve.

  • 2010–2011 · Fusion

    Supported by vehicle data

    The same Ford bulletin 12-3-19 covers 2010–2011 Fusions built on or before 4-Mar-2011.

  • 17-0016Status unverified

    MIL with P0456, P1450 and/or P144A

    2016–2017focus · 2.3L GTDI · issued · NHTSA 10095617

    Ford says a 2016–2017 Focus RS built on or before 10-Dec-2016 may set these codes because of an intermittently sticking canister purge valve.

    We couldn't confirm whether this bulletin is still current, so it doesn't count as confirmation.

Sources and review

  1. MIL with DTCs P0456, P1450 and/or P144A (bulletin TSB 17-0016) — Ford Motor Company / NHTSA ,
  2. Ford recall 18V-735 (18S32): canister purge valve, 2012–2018 Focus 2.0L — MotorVerso (summary of NHTSA campaign 18V735000) ,
  3. NHTSA complaint ODI 10955476: 2012 Ford Focus, dealer reads P144A — NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (complaints flat file) ,
  4. NHTSA complaint ODI 11443669: 2013 Ford Focus, P144A with P1450 and P0420 — NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (complaints flat file) ,
  5. P144A, P2196, P2198, P1A0C codes — Ford TSB — Rick's Free Auto Repair Advice (Rick Muscoplat), read via web.archive.org snapshot of 2024-04-13 ,
  6. NHTSA complaint ODI 10680044: 2010 Ford Fusion, shop readout P144A and P1450 — NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (complaints flat file) ,
Last reviewed
Written by
Saurabh K.
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