Just a quick question...what is this part? I'm working on stuff on my car, and I noticed that there is a disconnected wire or hose behind and underneath the passenger side headlight assembly. I trace it under the car, and found it connected to this rounded black plastic box behind the horns, next to the coolant reservoir tank. I've looked through the parts manual and haven't found anything like it yet.

 

Vacuum canister, it stores vacuum for the HVAC system: the blend doors, etc. It's there so you don't lose vacuum controls during wide open throttle.

 

That's interesting...the hose for mine is sliced in half. Who knows how long it's been that way. I'll have to look for it in the parts manual, and check in the car to see where the other of the half of the hose goes to. Edit: Follow up question: can I just buy/cut an appropriate length of plastic vacuum hose and put the old connectors on it to replace this? I don't need the hard to acquire premade hose right?

 

Any hose will be fine. Hard lines are just easier to deal with on the assembly line. They get brittle, you can not really say they last longer because most of the hard likes have rubber ends.