warranty enhancement; P0401 EGR Valve

A used cooler can be had for $65.

As @Mendel Leisk went through the process, I would clean the valve and save $35 for that piece. The valve is easy to clean. Since you can clean the cooler ahead of time and have it ready, it will reduce the labor charge.

Hope that helps.

 

Well I can't wait because 1) risky could blow motor and 2) I already took it to my mechanic in the morning and he doesn't have the space.

So long story short was planning on just cleaning everything up but the egr tube was pretty clogged...intake gunked a bit....cooler looked bad, and EGR probably crap too.

So ended up getting all the gaskets, cooler, and valve for around $565. This was through commercial account they wanted to charge $705 at first so ok discount. And my mechanic giving me good deal because we have some other repairs going on. He is only charging $50. Parts will be in tomorrow morning.

I got a really good deal on the plug-in so this amount stings, but could be a lot worse.

EDIT: I was with the mechanic and cleaning the cooler seemed risky. It really wasn't cleaning up that good. Plus we are both on time restraints. And lastly, the most labor intensive part was removing the cooler so figured might as well replace it instead of having to do it twice.

 

Oy vey. Well, if time is money, that's how it is.With an E8 torx socket, and the usual assortment of ratchets wrenches, you CAN DIY this yourself, without extra components, or even fresh gaskets (knock on wood), in about 12 hours if you rush, 24~36 if you're not rushed, and can let that cooler bubble away leisurely, with OxyClean soaks.

Definitely hang onto the old parts.

 

Well this occurred. I was told by Toyota of Plano the my CEL was due to the ERG valve. Then, the light came on again, due to the intake manifold. So I have spend $1500 in repairs getting those replaced. 1 week later, Longo Toyota of Prosper, TX is saying they need to replace the "back" of the ERG valve, not sure what that is. I am awaiting a call to get details. That said, the unlimited mileage warranty ended in March, 2017, and my car has 248K miles, so it is past the 150K recall. Not happy about it. Anybody with high mileage successfully get past these issues?

 

oh ya, there are threads here on diy. check out nutzaboutbolts videos. at 250k, i'm not sure what you are upset about.

 

The "back" of the EGR valve might be their way of describing the EGR "cooler". This is the most clog-prone piece, a rectangular channel between the exhaust manifold and the EGR valve, with an integral (coolant fed) radiator. You can just remove it and do hot/strong Oxi-Clean solution soaks on it. In about 8 hours you can have it like new. Or have the dealership put in a new one.

For DIY, if you drain a couple of liters of the engine coolant, it'll drop the level below the cooler, and it'll be mostly dry when you remove it, apart from a little trapped at the lower back corner.

Yeah, watch @NutzAboutBolts EGR cleaning video. You'll for sure need an E8 Torx socket, and an E6 will come in handy if you might want to remove the throttle body hold-down studs. Also a ratchetting 12 mm box wrench makes for easier access to the back of cooler nuts. Besides those, a full collection of ratchets and extensions is mandatory, and a 3/8" torque wrench (and perhaps a 1/4" torque wrench as well, if you want to avoid torquing at the extreme low end).

 

The back of the egr valve could be the black cap on the egr valve which contains the electronics .

I’m sure the work order clearly describes the difference .

 

I begged Toyota (called HQ) today to allow the free EGR fix in my case because the rattle happened to me multiple times (including when my 2011 II was just 6 months old!) but I can't get it to happen when I'm filming. It also didn't happen on my first roll of the dice while at the dealership after receiving the warrantee enhancement letter. Tomorrow I go in to try to "win the lottery" again and hope that the rattle happens in front of a dealership tech. I spent 2 hours tonight with a camera set-up pointed at the engine, turning the car off and on about 50 times. Because a code only "may" appear, I'm afraid that if I don't get it on film, the rattle will happen, I will get no code, and Toyota will stiff arm me like they did before. HQ did absolutely nothing for me today in preparation of my appointment at Precision Toyota tomorrow in Tucson. They were no help and did not live up to their fancy satisfaction goals mentioned in the letter. Service manager at Precision didn't call me back in a week to talk about the situation as we lead up to the fateful appointment. I understand that the 50 starts in a row were unlikely to produce the famous symptom because it usually happens on a cold start but hey I just wanted a shot to win the lotto. When the rattle does happen, it is loud and terrible sounding, almost as if your engine has blown (not quite). It's happened to my Prius at least twice, probably more times. Dealer said if I could get it on video, they'd consider that "verification." I've got 6,000 miles left to try to get it on camera. I think that's ridiculous. Just do the fix. Based on how they've handled this, I'll never buy another Toyota. Greedy duufs.

 

Download someone else's video and it's as good as yours

 

It's simpler to just knowledge-up and fix it yourself, just pull off all the parts, clean, and reinstall. You can take your time, clean thoroughly, ditto for the intake manifold, including all the EGR passages. Put in an OCC too and you're good to go.

 

It will happen in cold or hot weather. Regardless of temperature. My knocks in the middle of summer.temps were over 100.check @Mendel Leisk advise. Save yourself all frustration from dealer. Not a bad solution at all.
Besides that. If you worried bout warranty expired in 6000 miles you should know that if you went to a dealer for that issue and dealer found nothing , i think you have extra 12k miles for that specific issue. At least this what iwas told by california dealers

 

Suggest consultation with Volkswagen for advice on altering codes ... Just sayin'

 

Sometimes just bringing a friend with you to the appointment where the verification happens gets the results you want. If I get any static I just introduce the service writer/tech to Ben Franklin. They are usually very glad to meet him and he is very persuasive about pointing out the reality of my issue to even the most stalwart deniers.

 

If they only want to charge you $120 they are not much of a real car dealer. Real dealers won't do anything for under $500.

 

Hi All,

Apologies for dragging this thread up from the past. I've recently suffered very similar symptoms to the EGR system faults. Engine stuttering during idling and low speed with the petrol motor only.

Took it to Toyota dealer today in UK, they are asking for £1000 to repair. Anyone know whether this extended warranty was ever issued in UK and whether it's still valid?

Mine is a Prius+ (Prius V)
Year is 2012 model
Mileage is 60,000miles
No error codes on the dash at all.

Thank you for any advice.

 

Cheap to DIY if you can. See tips/links up the page.