How do you know when the EGR value is bad on your car and what can cause it?

Question

When the check engine lite comes on it seems it is always the egr value, but I have been told that it is set to come on at a certain mileage.anyone know.

Answer 1

if your egr valve is always going bad, you should fix the problem that is causing it to go bad, or you'll have bigger problems.i don't think mileage has anything to do with it.

Answer 2

Some cars have code readers that you can use to pinpoint problems.  A shop manual from the library might have more info.  The valve can be easy or hard to replace depending on the type of engine.

Answer 3

Whenever I have had a trouble code for the EGR, it was because the valve part where the exhaust gas passes through gets loaded with carbon and crud.  I cleaned it out and reinstalled it and it worked fine.  Sometimes the motor can go bad if it's the linear type, or the diaphram can go bad if it's the vacuum type.  Then you would need to replace it.  The check engine light is not set to come on at any predetermined mileage for ANY EGR scheduled maintenance.

Answer 4

Most EGR valves don't really go bad unless the diphram ruptures or alot of GM vehicles have problems with EGR valves because they are electronically controlled with solenoids that commonly go bad.  Most vehicles that are said to have a bad EGR valve usually just need to be cleaned really good to reopen the clogged ports.  On most GM engines that have a reocurring code for insufficient EGR flow with a known good EGR valve, you would need to remove the EGR valve and the throttle body to allow access to clean the EGR port in the intake which commonly clogs up causing a code P0401..  

Answer 5

If the EGR is bad it will cause a check engine light, but every time I have put a new one in the engine code would go away. I have never heard that it is set to come on at a certain mileage. You usually will not pass emissions with a bad EGR, so it looks like you should just replace it. Good luck!!

Answer 6

it depends... sometimes the light will just come on. In other cases your whole car will shut down, and wont come back on until it cools off..

good luck

Answer 7

First of all, it would be really helpful if we knew what kind of car you were talking about. Year, Make, Model and Engine V.I.N. code.

As far as symptoms go;

Pinging (spark knock or detonation) because the EGR system is not working, the exhaust port is plugged up with carbon, or the EGR valve is not opening.

Rough idle or misfiring because the EGR valve is not closing and is leaking exhaust into the intake manifold. This is also often cased by carbon buildup, but in the pintle area.

Hard starting because the EGR valve is not closing and is creating a vacuum leak into the intake manifold.

Now you should be aware that there are often Thermal Vacuum Switches (TVS) and/or solenoids that control the EGR, so often that can be the problem, and not the valve itself. Just because you have an EGR code doesn't mean that replacing the valve will fix it.

And finally, there are some cars that will display a light when the EGR should be serviced, although not necessarily replaced. But this is often a Maintenance Indicator Light (MIL) as opposed to the "Check Engine" light. And they're usually calibrated to go off every 50k miles or so.

For more general information about EGR's and the different types, how they work, how they go bad, how to diagnose etc., check out these articles;

http://www.aa1car.com/library/egr.htm

http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/dec97/egr...