EGR issue (Confirmed) P0401 - Help!

[racT6bus]

After spending a small fortune (luckily a lot covered by the RAC warranty) fixing numerous issues with my T6 including replacing drive shafts, stub shafts, alternator, front main oil seal etc. my van is finally driving great….. until the engine light came on yesterday when on the M25 after about 1.5 hours of motorway and A road driving….FFS!

Just run Carista and have the following code;

P0401 (Confirmed) - Exhaust Gas Recirculation "A" Flow Insufficient Detected

A few questions for the experts as frankly I have no idea and I’m none the wiser searching all the threads;

- should I reset and see if it appears again? Even if it’s confirmed?
- is it safe to drive with this fault?
- is there a simple fix for this one?

For info van has done 96k, T32, SWB, 150bhp, 6 Speed Manual. It’s been at the garage on and off for the last 5 weeks with just a few reasonably long journeys.

 

[Loz]

Lots of threads on the blocked EGR cooler.
basically it’s a flush or a replace or a blank with a bit of trickery to fool the sensors.

 

[racT6bus]

Lots of threads on the blocked EGR cooler.
basically it’s a flush or a replace or a blank with a bit of trickery to fool the sensors.

Thanks, I’ve spent a few hours trawling through now. Van still drives great, no odd sounds, no vibration and no loss of power. I need the van this weekend for a 100 mile round trip, is it safe to do with this sort of issue? do you think it’s worth me resetting the fault code?

 

[DXX]

Cut your losses and replace it, otherwise it's like asking a chimney sweep to paint the chimney.

 

[racT6bus]

Cut your losses and replace it, otherwise it's like asking a chimney sweep to paint the chimney.

Yeah I’m in no doubt I’ll likely have to cough up to replace the whole damn thing (or just the EGR pipe if lucky) and it won’t be covered by warranty. Was just wondering if it will do any additional damage to drive it a reasonable distance before I can get it in the garage again and whether these things can flag incorrectly, although given it’s confirmed in Carista, I’d imagine the EML will come back on again fairly quickly if I reset!

 

[Loz]

If it's not losing coolant, then its just blocked at this point and shouldn't cause any driving issues.

 

[racT6bus]

Not best practice (I am sure!) but I stuck in some diesel treatment in, reset the fault on Carista and have done three fairly long journeys (about 250 miles total). The engine ran fine, no performance issues and the light hasn't returned... yet. I am fairly certain it will need some work soon, but if I can hold off (without damaging anything) for a while until I can afford to fix it that would be great!!!

 

[racT6bus]

Well.. the light came back on eventually! Have got the van booked in for new EGR and pipe in a few weeks, every garage seems booked up for ages. I have no noticeable symptoms other than the EML and rough idling.

Is it likely to cause any additional damage driving the van with this issue? I have a couple of long motorway drives I have to do in the next couple of weeks, it's always slightly anxiety inducing when you have an EML on and a known issue!

 

[racT6bus]

Anyone know roughly what I should expect to pay for a replacement EGR? Had a quote for £1k +VAT including labour

 

[Bigsidavies]

Seems pricey. VW quotes me £860ish plus vat last year for an egr on my 204 bitdi. Didn’t have it done in the end.
I think Darkside are cheaper than the price you’ve been quoted.

 

[Noddy996]

@racT6bus I had a new EGR and had new front and back pipes done at the same time (one had split) by a local indie that I use for servicing, and it was £960 plus VAT last December.

 

[racT6bus]

@racT6bus I had a new EGR and had new front and back pipes done at the same time (one had split) by a local indie that I use for servicing, and it was £960 plus VAT last December.

Thanks, quote is from a local well regarded indie, going to check if he’s including the pipes, it’s probably not far off then with inflation!! Could do without the expense at the moment, but at 100k miles it’s just likely to get progressively worse!

 

[kjohnr2001]

Paid £600 for the EGR, plus £150 for the flexi pipe (admittedly from a main stealer - too many EGR variants to go off piste), quoted another £600 labour...
Dealer said 'they sell loads of these' so seems like a common fault, but an absolute sod to get at, good luck

 

[racT6bus]

Paid £600 for the EGR, plus £150 for the flexi pipe (admittedly from a main stealer - too many EGR variants to go off piste), quoted another £600 labour...
Dealer said 'they sell loads of these' so seems like a common fault, but an absolute sod to get at, good luck

The first indie I rang didn’t want to do it for that reason, referred me to someone else!!

 

[racT6bus]

After about 500 miles with the EML on, it has turned itself off again and I've driven another 200 miles with no issues, so frustrating. There's clearly an intermittent issue, but I don't want to fork out for a replacement EGR yet if I don't have to!

 

[Howzat]

Have you considered getting it coded out instead? Few people on here had it done and I don't think anyone has come back and said it caused a problem.

 

[racT6bus]

I've heard quite a few people having success with it too. Personally I'm not keen to either code out or remap my van.... well at this stage anyway!

 

[kjohnr2001]

T6 T28 with 70K on the clock (2017),
Just had my EGR valve and rear pipe replaced, driving home from mechanic, after 1/2 mile the now familiar curly warning light reappeared on the dash.
(Mechanic had retired for the night by now)...
Got home, checked with Carista and got the P0402 code, together with the 'Manufacturer specific 25215' code - both of these were present prior to the valve being replaced.
Looking through previous posts, these would appear to be dual codes for the same issue - i am now hunting for a solution, checked with the indy who did the work (trusted mechanic, used him for many years), he drove the van for several miles this afternoon without the light appearing - one possible cause could potentially be the wiring/connector/s to the EGR valve. Indy will have another look tomorrow, but I hope this could now be a relatively simple fix if it is the wiring, OR does this open a whole 'nother can of worms????????
I am beginning to hate VW!

 

[racT6bus]

T6 T28 with 70K on the clock (2017),
Just had my EGR valve and rear pipe replaced, driving home from mechanic, after 1/2 mile the now familiar curly warning light reappeared on the dash.
(Mechanic had retired for the night by now)...
Got home, checked with Carista and got the P0402 code, together with the 'Manufacturer specific 25215' code - both of these were present prior to the valve being replaced.
Looking through previous posts, these would appear to be dual codes for the same issue - i am now hunting for a solution, checked with the indy who did the work (trusted mechanic, used him for many years), he drove the van for several miles this afternoon without the light appearing - one possible cause could potentially be the wiring/connector/s to the EGR valve. Indy will have another look tomorrow, but I hope this could now be a relatively simple fix if it is the wiring, OR does this open a whole 'nother can of worms????????
I am beginning to hate VW!

Sorry to hear you've have some challenges with it too, it's so frustrating. That's a good shout re' the wiring and worth probably check the sensor too, will speak to the garage when I take it in. I've not had the curly light (DPF) yet, just the standard EML!

 

[kjohnr2001]

Just checked the documents we got with the van when we bought it, EGR was replaced 2 years ago at 55k miles due to leak - done less than 15k miles since then!!!!
Now been suggested that it could be the turbo actuator gone up the fritz…..
Need to get someone to run a proper VW diagnostic when the fault occurs - flashing light as opposed to solid light = intermittent? Just about at the end of my tether now