1998 Toyota Camry-P0401

My car is 1998 Toyota Camry LE, which has 93800 miles. It drives well. However, the Check Engine Light was suddenly on and turned off automatically after a few days. Now CEL seems being permanently on. Last tune-up was done 2 yrs ago. Oil changed every 3000 miles.

Code P0401 shows sth wrong with EGR valve. Shall I change for a new EGR valve and extras for over 800 dollars, or the car does not deserve that much repair? Any suggestion? Please help.

I would not replace anything untill you find what part is bad. No way all three parts of the egr system are broke. First check the ports for restriction, then valve operation, then the modulater, then the vacuum switching valve (VSV). All of these do fail and shops like to replace all 3 to make sure they fix, I guess , or they just do not understand how to check . The only part I would say to replace with what ever else is wrong with it is the VSV these have a very high failure rate and fail at ramdom, so you could check it 10 times and it will be good but not work on the 11th. If you need help on how to check the system send me a message.

In direct reply to the post by asecmt
Post subject: Re: 1998 Toyota Camry-P0401
PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 5:51 am

I also may have EGR problems. My 98 Camry LE 4cyl intermittently will lose power and get rough running and missing at 30 or 40 or more mph and often fail to idle, where you have to feather the throttle when stopped to keep the engine running. Commonly the MIL does not illuminate. This has been happening intermittently for a few years, and has gotten a bit more common lately. The MIL has very rarely illuminated for a short while and then extinguished. Finally two days ago, the problem showed up again and after running badly for a good hour, the MIL came on and finally stayed on. Reading the codes showed P0401. Noting your explanation of the EGR problems with the Camry, I would love to hear more about how to test the EGR system, as you mentioned in the previous post.
Thanks.

There are three componets to the egr system on a camry. The egr valve, the vacuum switching valve, and the backpressure valve. The vacuum switching valve is the most common and most difficult to catch bad they work at times then stop. As far as the rough idle and stalling the egr valve itself are knowm to stick open and cause these issues. The system is pretty easy to test with a vacuum guage and or a hand held vacuum pump.