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Service engine soon light came on today on my 1998 Buick Century. Auto Zone did their little read out and it said somethings wrong with EGR valve functioning...but then another Auto Zone person said no it could be the selonoid so dont buy the EGR valve till its checked. Someone else said its okay to drive- it'll just start running rough. So where do I begin .. which is it? I'm afraid I'll get ripped off if I take it to a mechanic and just say here fix it.
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If the DTC is P0401 it means that the EGR Valve is clogged or air flow is insufficient.Take EGR valve off and clean carbon out or replace EGR valve with a new one.
well I'm a mechanic and you just told me what's wrong....
now all you have to do to fix it is test all parts listed replace the one (s) that fail test....
Go to auto Zone or Another Parts store that offers to read the codes for free. Most likely this is a faulty O2 Sensor which is normally fairly cheap to replace on your own and fairly easy as well.
the service engine light means that the computer has detected that there is something wrong. it doesn't mean that it is anything serious. it could be something very simple. if you want to find out what it is exactly and avoid repair shop costs, take it to auto zone or another parts store. most of them have scanners that they will hook up and tell you why the light is on without charge.
You need an OBD II scanner to reset the light. Assuming that you don't have one, you can go to your local Auto Zone or Advance Auto Parts and they will reset the light for you for free using an OBD II scanner. Let me know if you have any further questions. Thanks for rating my response and for using FixYa!
Take it to your local Auto Zone store. They will hook it up to a scanner for FREE and read the codes saved in the computer. They should give you a printout with the codes and possible problems with your car. You can decide where to take it to get it serviced knowing what the problem is. It's usually a bad sensor. Auto Zone could quote you a price on the part so you have an idea of what your repair bill should be. Auto Zone only sells parts. They do not install them. Good Luck!
If you have the 3.1 engine, they are prone to having the egr passage clog up in the intake. There are 3 solenoids on the valve that open under differant load conditions. Sometimes during high egr flow demands the passageway is clogged enough for the computer to see not enough change in map or o2 sensor readings. Take off the valve, open up the throttle and see if there is carbon deposits caked up where the egr port is. If so get some GM top engine cleaner spray and a wire and clean the passage. This is a common problem.
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