jsacuraTL

I have a 99 acura Tl with navi, and today on my way home my check engine light and TCS light came on, i turned around and went to Advance Auto Parts to have them read it and tell me what is wrong with it. It printed out P0401 EGR Flow Insufficent. The guy that works there said this should not have anything to do with the TCS light being on, I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem, and what was wrong with my car. It was horrible coming on because i had to detailed today for like 95 bucks.

03CoupeV6

Thank you for going to get it scanned before posting. That prevented this thread getting three dozen "bye transmission" posts even though you never said anything about shifting.

All this means is that your EGR is stuck/clogged with gunk. You can clean it, and your intake manifold and your throttle body. Search on the forum for some instructions, I know Kris (Fsttyms1) posted some.

jsacuraTL

will cleaning or replacing my EGR valve fix my problem with my TCS light be on?

03CoupeV6

Well usually the TCS light comes on with the CEL just because Honda designed it that way.

jsacuraTL

thanks alot man, that makes me feel alot better, i was thinking that my tranny was messing up

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Nope, your transmission is fine. The EGR problem is quite common with the TLs, and there are good DIY's posted on the forum. Run a search, and you will find out how to do take off the throttle body and the intake manifold to clean them.

bkzjimmy

why is that, is it designed wrong....... cause mine is gotta be screwed bad. i would drive/idle my car for a while then shut it off - wait a few minutes- then when i start it back up, it would either feel like its gunna stall or it does OR i hold my foot on the gas and keep the rpms up to about 2000 wich makes my CEL $ TCL lights come on!

PlatinumTL

My TCS light and CEL/MIL indicators just came on today ('99 TL). If it indeed is the EGR valve how long do I have before the problem gets worse and if I do get it cleaned either by the dealer or a Midas, how much should I expect tp spend?

I've noticed that the mileage I get in the car is probably between 17-20, with rough driving on city streets, would cleaning the gunk out of the valve increase the mileage also?

PlatinumTL

fsckin eh, just got back from the Midas dealer and he said that it'll cost $75 to just *diagnose* the problem. All I told him was that the check engine light was on but I was under the impression that all they had to do was hook up the OBD device to my car and get the code.

When I took it to the AutoZone (where they have the tool and will do it for free), the high schooler couldn't find the place to plug it into the car. Where exactly is the connector located on 99 TLs (if there even is one)?

EDIT: BTW, now only the MIL/CEL lights up, the TCS doesn't light up anymore

bkzjimmy

right under the ashtray/coin holder theres a piece u pull out and u will see where the plug goes.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Once the code becomes a "stored" code, meaning it's not active anymore, the TCS/VSA light will go off and only the MIL will remain lit.

For '99-'02, it's underneath the "Not An Ashtray" tray. There's a cover you can pop off and you will see it. For later model '02 and '03, the OBD2 connector is underneath the steering column for easier access.

PlatinumTL

Excellent, thanks fellas. Will look for the connector and take it to the AutoZone again. Hope it's not something serious

PlatinumTL

Found the connector and the OBD II tool gave me the same P0401 error, Insufficient EGR valve flow. Is this a relatively cheap repair at a shop or the Honda/Acura dealerships? Way too cold outside for me to fix it myself and plus...I hate working on cars

EDIT: I also did something really stupid when I took the ashtray thing out, I didnt know the whole thing lifted out and I still had some coins in there when I did. At least 10 coins fell into the cavity there...can and harm come from it? I hope theyre just trapped there and won't move into the mechanical areas

fsttyms1

Your intake needs to be cleaned.
Here is a link to the DIY. (you dont need to drill it out and put the sleve in)
http://www.in.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SB/B00-004.PDF

PlatinumTL

Just called the local Acura dealership but the guy said it woulld be $135 for the diagnostic and about $300 to replace the EGR valve (if it needs to be done, plus hourly labor). I told him about the service bulletin you linked to but he said it's not in his "list" as a covered model/year for the EGR.

He also said that they need 1 hour for the diagnostic and 2-3 hours to fix the problem. But when I said that a Saturday morning would work better for me since I don't get home till 6:30 at night, he said they don't do "that kind of work" on Saturdays. WTF does that mean?

PlatinumTL

BTW, is it ok to present this Service Bulletin at the dealership or am I not supposed to have access to this? Don't wanna get anyone in trouble

03CoupeV6

The service bulletin CLEARLY STATES THAT ALL 1999 TLs are covered 8/80k for EGR related problems.

If you have less than 80,000 miles the dealer will have no choice but to repair this for free.

PlatinumTL

The couple of dealerships I called wanted between $110-$135 to "diagnose" the problem...this should be covered also?

I'm going to check OwnerLink (forgot my login info) and see if I have any notices on this.

Thanks everyone!

03CoupeV6

That $110-135 diagnostic fee (BS IMO) should be waived if the bulletin is the cause.

How many miles do you have?

PlatinumTL

around 58,000

EDIT: Doubt it makes a difference, but I bought the car around April 2005 (used of course)

03CoupeV6

Sounds like you are still covered by the extended warranty campaign.

fsttyms1

If its diagnosed that that is the problem they should cover that fee. If it turns out to be something else then your responsible

PlatinumTL

I made the appt with a local dealership that might have done the EGR fix on next Tuesday yesterday, but here's something strange. One of my tail light bulbs (only one bulb on one side) was out a few weeks ago. I noticed yesterday that the entire red left side was out. I replaced the bulbs earlier today and next time I got in my car after that, the CEL was not on! Could this bulb outage have caused the CEL light to come on? If so, why would the OBD II show a P0401 error when the light was on?

payyourtoll

thanks a lot, I will try this. My CEL light is on constantly, my TCS on every other time I start the car now.

03CoupeV6

If the OBDII system detects a problem, the CEL comes on. If the problem goes away, after so many cold starts, the CEL will reset and be off. P0401 is EGR related and the CEL has absolutely nothing to do with any light bulbs.

PlatinumTL

So do you think I should still get it checked out and have them replace it with the EGR valve kit? If it popped up once, I'm assuming it'll pop up again sometime soon

I apologize for asking so many questions but just trying to do this right without wasting money (for now at least).

03CoupeV6

I'd leave it alone until the light comes on persistently.

PlatinumTL

Yea, I'm just going to cancel the appointment. If the light's off and they don't find the error code after diagnosing it, I'm out $115 bucks.