I have a 2000 Toyota Camry V6 with 76K miles. A week ago, I took my car to the shop to have the battery tested because after not driving it for 5 days during the huge snow storm, I needed to have it jumped. They tested the battery and said it was fine .. it was just the 5 days plus the extreme cold. Had them change the oil since it was due. Asked them to check strange smell. They said is was oil leaking because the valve cover gaskets were dry-rotting & needed to be replaced. It was about 1/2 quart down over 7000 miles since I'd last had oil change. Since I plan on keeping the car, I had them replace them. There was also a squealing noise on occasion ... usually but not always when the AC was on. They said fan belt was loose & should be tightened. Drove car 1-3 miles a few times over next 4 days (probably not over 45mph). Then on day 5, I drove on Interstate (70mph) and 1 hour into the trip, the check engine light came on when I was accelerating back onto interstate. And it's stayed on all week. They say it's showing errors P0401 and P0402, and I'm just wondering if there is *anything* they could have done to make this happen based on the other work I had them do. I know nothing about cars, but my antennae goes up a little when I didn't have this problem before and less than a week after taking it in, I now have a check engine light & a problem that's probably going to be $600+ to fix depending on the cause (that they said could be 10+ possibilities).
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this car will last you a very long time,BUT you will need to check the oil more than once in 7000 miles?check it every week,and keep up with the maintenance on it,not just putting gas in it and driving it.the P0401 is an EGR code(Exhaust Gas Recirculation Flow Insufficient Detected)more than likely it's a carbon blockage/build up.the P0402 is an EGR code also(Exhaust Gas Recirculation Flow Excessive Detected)one or more of the could cause this code or the 401 could have triggered it.Possible causes>
- EGR volume control valve stuck open>
- Faulty EGR volume control valve>
- EGR solenoid valve harness is open or shorted>
- EGR solenoid valve circuit poor electrical connection>
- Faulty EGR temperature sensor and circuit>
- Manifold absolute pressure sensor>
- ECM...this is a 4 cyl,but same concept.copy and paste the link,watch the video.............
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Toyota Camry EGR Lesson - P0401 - YouTube
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms5C6vDHCww........................................................................
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AND NO,they didn't cause this.according to your user name,i assume you are a lady,but does not matter?learn as much as you can about your car!car loves you and you love the car,so take care of her/him.should not be near $600.00?
Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. I actually got that 7,500 mile oil change advice from The Car Talk guys on NPR many years ago. I know the standard is 5,000 miles, and I could definitely do more to educate myself about car care though. Now I'm wondering whether when my car wouldn't start a couple weeks ago & I assumed it was the battery. Yet when they checked the battery it was fine. Now I'm wondering whether this EGR could have been the problem actually causing it. The guy who jumped me actually gunned the engine to get it to start, so since EGR can be caused by carbon build-up, could this have been the original problem to begin with. Thanks again.
it could have been if it was cranking and not starting?can't get air?i heard of some on here where the egr valve blew a big hole in it,but they had some other problems also.i know a guy who said his engine light was on for 8 months,and he replaced everything on the egr system twice,and the light just kept coming right back on,and it was P0401.he finally quit throwing parts and money at it only to find out that it was a carbon blockage.he cleaned it up very well and that code has been history every since.the dealer wanted $800.00 for what he did for less than $20.00 by doing himself?there are lots of things that you can find on the net that will save you a ton of money,just by researching problems.like i said,your car will last a very long time.and as far as the oil changes,i have seen people go 10,000 miles before changing it.as a matter of fact,Honda only requires oil change every 7500,and that's the same people who makes your engine!there is a guy on here who has a 95 camry,4 cyl>it has very close to 400,000 miles on it!
My 1997 Camry V6 has codes P0401 and P0402. The VSV for EGR valve passes the 9V battery test. It is part 90910-12174. There are 2 similar looking parts in the same vicinity that I'm wondering about. They are VSV for EVAP and VSV for ACIS. Would either cause those codes?
I hope that the problem isn't in the VSV built into the charcoal canister because in 1997 it's reportedly not a separate part.
Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. I actually got that 7,500 mile oil change advice from The Car Talk guys on NPR many years ago. I know the standard is 5,000 miles, and I could definitely do more to educate myself about car care though. Now I'm wondering whether when my car wouldn't start a couple weeks ago & I assumed it was the battery. Yet when they checked the battery it was fine. Now I'm wondering whether this EGR could have been the problem actually causing it. The guy who jumped me actually gunned the engine to get it to start, so since EGR can be caused by carbon build-up, could this have been the original problem to begin with. Thanks again.
it could have been if it was cranking and not starting?can't get air?i heard of some on here where the egr valve blew a big hole in it,but they had some other problems also.i know a guy who said his engine light was on for 8 months,and he replaced everything on the egr system twice,and the light just kept coming right back on,and it was P0401.he finally quit throwing parts and money at it only to find out that it was a carbon blockage.he cleaned it up very well and that code has been history every since.the dealer wanted $800.00 for what he did for less than $20.00 by doing himself?there are lots of things that you can find on the net that will save you a ton of money,just by researching problems.like i said,your car will last a very long time.and as far as the oil changes,i have seen people go 10,000 miles before changing it.as a matter of fact,Honda only requires oil change every 7500,and that's the same people who makes your engine!there is a guy on here who has a 95 camry,4 cyl>it has very close to 400,000 miles on it!
My 1997 Camry V6 has codes P0401 and P0402. The VSV for EGR valve passes the 9V battery test. It is part 90910-12174. There are 2 similar looking parts in the same vicinity that I'm wondering about. They are VSV for EVAP and VSV for ACIS. Would either cause those codes? I hope that the problem isn't in the VSV built into the charcoal canister because in 1997 it's reportedly not a separate part.