P0401 EGR insufficient flow A detection

[Mtwem]

Hey all - drove around 7 hours from home over the long weekend in my 2010 t5.1 transporter and made it to destination fine. Shortly after an extra highway stint the engine light came on.

Luckily my mate had his scanner and we got the code P0401 EGR insufficient flow A.
Van has done 130km.
Didn’t notice any major performance changes with the engine losing power when light was on.
Since then cleared the code but haven’t been back on the highway.

Has anyone had similar issues ? I’ve tried mechanics around where I am and they are fully booked out until early May and I’ve gotta be home end of the week.
Mechanic thinks I should be fine to get back home but wondering if anyone else has any advice given the situation!

Cheers!

[Lucas_R]

Your EGR is quite possibly blocked with soot buildup which happens over time. The blockage is causing the insufficient flow error you are getting. You can remove it and clean it out which is not a fun (or clean) job to do, but it can be done. Otherwise there are places that specialise in cleaning these parts such as Engine Carbon Clean NSW - Home

Given you are away from home and unable to find an available mechanic, you could remove the EGR and clean it out as best you can with a screwdriver etc to unblock it to a satisfactory level and then when you get home, do it properly. Obviously you will need some tools and basic mechanical knowledge to do this.

You can always clear the error code and drive home - fingers crossed no issues. But dont ignore the issue for any longer than necessary otherwise it will start causing other issues and the repair will just get more expensive. If you do this, keep your friend close by so you can clear the error code if/when it comes back again.

[Mtwem]

Thanks for the detailed response Lucas.

I thought about giving it a go removing and cleaning but I have no mech experience and the prospect of screwing something up steered me away.
Am making half the drive back tomorrow , hopefully in Friday and to the mech to checkout if nothing goes wrong.

My mechanic said today main thing to look out for is loss of power , but it may just be the start the sensor has picked up on and nothing major - yet - as you say. Hopefully journey back is sound!

[LogicprObe]

I have had that error and light on for nearly 2 years now.
Just clear it and keep driving.
The thing you need to monitor is if there is coolant loss.
Then you have to change it straight away.

The trouble it takes to remove it, you're better off to whack a new one in.
My last one was about $700 from VW..........took me about half a day to change it.

Here's an excellent instruction video.

Volkswagen Transporter T5 2.0 TDI EGR COOLER Replacement and post-mortem - YouTube

[Exocet]

There's lots of no brand $200 Egr valves on Ebay that claim to have the same part no. as the OEM 'Valeo' fitted to mine.
Any one fitted one?

[Exocet]

There's lots of no brand $200 Egr valves on Ebay that claim to have the same part no. 03L 131 512 CB as the OEM 'Valeo' fitted to mine.
Any one tried one?

[LogicprObe]

I saw those but stuck with the Valeo from VW.
You need to run the 'Adaption' program in VCDS to calibrate it into the ECU.
For some reason, I had to do it twice but it worked the second time.
Not sure how those knock offs would go but they are a third of the price.

[Mtwem]

Have been back home around 2 weeks now and the light has not come back on since it was cleared.

Spoke to my mech and he said to continue driving it as normal for now. I have not noticed any coolant loss, or any performance (loss of power or anything). If the light comes back on i will investigate further.

[Lucas_R]

Have been back home around 2 weeks now and the light has not come back on since it was cleared.

Spoke to my mech and he said to continue driving it as normal for now. I have not noticed any coolant loss, or any performance (loss of power or anything). If the light comes back on i will investigate further.

It might have just been a one-off thing. If the light does not come back on regularly then dont worry about it until such time as it becomes a problem.

[Sunny43.5]

Ours comes on from time to time , has been doing it off and on for a couple of years and at no time has it caused any problem with driving . I have always said if the EGR and in conjunction with the DPF ever goes to lunch they will find themselves at the hands of an expert in deleting them .