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EGR valve and loss of power

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Alan Kay

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I was wondering if anyone can help with advice. Two lights have lit up on the dashboard - the engine light and the spiral symbol which is flashing. This was accompanied by a lack of power. This happened immediately after I had asked a VW registered garage to estimate for a replacement sink tap; and they unasked also carried out a Vehicle Inspection Report. I have been told that a replacement EGR valve is required. Will a new EGR valve solve this problem?
 
I was wondering if anyone can help with advice. Two lights have lit up on the dashboard - the engine light and the spiral symbol which is flashing. This was accompanied by a lack of power. This happened immediately after I had asked a VW registered garage to estimate for a replacement sink tap; and they unasked also carried out a Vehicle Inspection Report. I have been told that a replacement EGR valve is required. Will a new EGR valve solve this problem?
I'm afraid not knowing which vehicle you have makes it a difficult question to answer I'm afraid.
 
I'm afraid not knowing which vehicle you have makes it a difficult question to answer I'm afraid.
Sorry it is a VW California (2010) T5 140. This problem has not happened before.
Alan
 
Sorry it is a VW California (2010) T5 140. This problem has not happened before.
Alan
Ok. Have you had the vehicle attached to a VW Diagnostic computer?

The EGR can fail but it is easier to replace on the 140 engine compared to the 180.

The DPF can also fail. VW normally quote 120,000 miles or so but driving style can have a big impact. Short journeys and low milage can affect both the DPF and EGR but which it is really depends on the Diagnostic codes.
 
Thank you for the helpful responses. I took the car on to the bypass today to try and clear the emissions valve (or what ever it is called). When I started off the flashing 'spiral' symbol had gone. The 'engine' symbol was still there after the 20 mile drive, but after I had stopped, switched off, waited, and then switched on again, it had disappeared. A mystery... can anyone shed any light or is this a gremlin in the works and should I be worried?
Alan
 
Hi if you have had the vehicle plugin and it’s showing a egr through flow fault or an implausible signal on the A circuit then unfortunately you will need a new egr valve cooler assembly this fault will not go away unfortunately and will get progressively worse.
 
The EGR valve is the achilles heel of the otherwise brilliant 2.0l VW Diesel engine. The EGR is an electro mechanical device that can fail both electrically, with sensors commonly being affected by condensation, and mechanically, with internal parts wearing prematurely.

Mine went at circa 60000 miles, similar vintage to yours (2011 T5.1 140). Same symptoms, intermittently flashing glow plug warning and occasional engine management light. Eventually engine management light came on pretty much every time I set off somewhere. Diagnostic codes indicated EGR sensor failure. Replaced the whole EGR as it’s an non-servicable component. As another respondent says, on the 140 this is a relatively straightforward job as the EGR can be accessed without having to remove the front end. Even the OEM EGR is manufactured by a third party and VW did change suppliers I seem to recall reading somewhere. I’d be inclined to go for the latest direct replacement rather than looking for one from the same manufacturer. I think your looking at around £400-£500 fitted at an independent, with the EGR itself costing somewhere between £200-£300 from memory.




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Thanks for this to Richard and others. The 'glow plug warning' went out yesterday - inexplicably. I then went for a 20 mile drive at 60mph and on my return the 'catalytic/engine looking' symbol sent out on restarting the engine after stopping - also inexplicably. Will test drive today and see if the lights reappear.
 
Sorry to jump on this thread, but sort of relative.
If I use Carista for diagnosis.
It’s showing an error code which relates to the EGR on my 2017 van. I have cleared it, but the error reappears when re-scanned...?

The van has no other issues and drives as normal...???
 
Should I be booking into VW for a replacement EGR valve...?
 
Sorry to jump on this thread, but sort of relative.
If I use Carista for diagnosis.
It’s showing an error code which relates to the EGR on my 2017 van. I have cleared it, but the error reappears when re-scanned...?

The van has no other issues and drives as normal...???
I have a similar out of range value if I scan with vcds and @VW Guru said its a s/w issue and can be ignored.
 
Thanks for this to Richard and others. The 'glow plug warning' went out yesterday - inexplicably. I then went for a 20 mile drive at 60mph and on my return the 'catalytic/engine looking' symbol sent out on restarting the engine after stopping - also inexplicably. Will test drive today and see if the lights reappear.

The warning lights on my van also cleared of their own accord for a period of time and I thought it was something to do with the DPF. Came back a few weeks later before getting steadily more frequent, eventually going into limp home mode with a few minutes of starting the vehicle. If the EGR is on its way out you might get a few more weeks of life out of it but it’ll let you down when you least need the inconvenience. My advice would be book it in for a proper diagnostic check and if EGR is at fault then just replace it ASAP :0(


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Sorry to jump on this thread, but sort of relative.
If I use Carista for diagnosis.
It’s showing an error code which relates to the EGR on my 2017 van. I have cleared it, but the error reappears when re-scanned...?

The van has no other issues and drives as normal...???
If it’s P406c then just ignore it
 
I have a 2008 LHD SE comfortline that I bought in Germany as an ex-demo in late 2008. Up until mid 2018 it was my daily driver, and has covered, to date, 115k miles, mostly in Spain, where I moved to in early 2009 until returning to UK in mid 2015.
I run it at least once per month, (roughly 50-60 mile run) if not being used for its primary purpose, in an effort to keep it in good running order. Twice since being 'relegated' from my daily runner, it has had the EGR problem. On both occasions, my local garage has been able to remove and thoroughly clean the EGR and refit - a messy job (particularly, so I was told, the first time) and the problem goes away. Significantly, the second occurrence happened almost exactly 12 months after the first, during which the van had covered no more than 5,000 miles, so in my opinion it is related to usage (ie frequency of driving,) rather than miles driven, or perhaps the lack thereof!
Yesterday, on my monthly run, the dreaded loss of power associated with both the flashing glo-plug symbol and the engine management symbol happened again. This time, I adopted a slightly different approach: having switched off the ignition, and having both lights go out, I drove for 20-30 miles in 4th gear, with the cruise control set at just below 60mph. This gave ~ 2700 revs, and appeared to solve the issue, as I subsequently drove back home (approx 40 miles) after a break of 2-3 hours with no issue. As I have a DPF as well, I suspect that by cruising at higher revs for the extended period, I 'cleared out' the DPF in the process, which may be related.
 
As a postscript to my post above, I have just returned from my first camping trip of 2020 - 3 nights in Suffolk, and my Cali didn't miss a beat, it ran faultlessly. I only covered about 300 miles roundtrip, but as I said, everything was fine.
Coincidentally, I used to get a random high-pitched beeping sound (3 times 3 or 4 beeps in quick succession) when switching on the ignition after driving for a while and having taken a break. This has now gone away - I wonder if it was connected to the DPF needing a good clear through? Up until my recent trip, it had been occurring randomly for several months - I posted a query about it on the forum some time ago, but never got an explanation.
 
It sounds like you had a DPF that needed clearing. Traveling at higher revs is the recommended method of cleaning it and has solved your problem. Good news and no dealer costs.

Alan
 
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