I have a 99 Acura TL 3.2 i was driving home from work today, and my check engine and TCS light came on. I just had the tranny rebuilt and the cat converter replaced less than a month ago. Ran by autozone and it's throwing a P0401 code EGR valve/clogged. The car also started idling incredibly low on start up and stalling maybe every 6th time it's started. Is this the EGR valve? And does anyone know if it sounds like it needs to be replaced or if it can be cleaned? And how much should I estimate having to spend on either solution?THANKS!

 

Try cleaning it first...Get yourself 5-6 cans of carb cleaner, and if you've never done it before, plan on taking a couple of hours. Its not bad, just messy.

 

There is a DIY in the DIY thread on how to clean the EGR port.

 

its not the valve--its the passageway thru the intake manifold and thru a small opening to cylinders that clogs easily

acura had a recall of 99s to clean it and install a smooth bore thing in the port-
I dont know if there is a time limit on getting that done
but it happens to all years gen2 and needs to be done every 75kmiles,, or less for 99s

 

As everyone else has said, clean the port as per the Service Bulletin but also underneath and inside the EGR valve as well.

In my case, I left mine clogged for a number of years and even cleaning did not correct the codes coming up. I had to replace the valve which solved it right away.

Look up my EGR posts to see how I was able to reduce the amount of disassembly and time to do this job.

Good luck !

 

azine doesnt search for 3 letter combo- so `egr` wont pull up your post
please link them here so everyone can use--thank you

 

i would still replace the egr valve becuase i have seen it clogged up pretty badly...but he is right about the changeover pipe which should also be cleaned as well...remove the upper intake and check as well...there are small ports on the intake that can be clogged...

just make sure the carb cleaner you use is o2 sensor friendly
too much and you could be replacing your sensors soon!! good luck

 

chlorine free carb cleaner!!

tech1 ck out the diy on this job, maybe you can give an updated method or other tips!

 

Ok, I finally cleaned this last weekend and it solved the problem. Im a 28 year old female with very little car knowledge. Used a haynes manual and the diy theead and had no issues whatsoever. Car was running great for several days, now however it is taking a longer than normal to turn over at start up. Any ideas?

 

stop by any parts store and ask for a charging system test
battery could be weak, they only last 2-3 years on average
I got 5 from a costco! others with optima probably the same
mine was getting harder to start and only had 335 CCA,,about half of what is normal