I have a 1998 accord V6 3.0L four door with 86k miles and the check engine light came on. Actual code number P0401 "EGR Valve Insufficient Flow". It comes on about ounce a week. The Honda dealer want to replace the EGR Valve at a cost of about 500 dollars and want to replace the timing belt, water pump and the belts for about 900 dollars. What do think I should do first? Also at 86k miles do I need to do a full tune up changing the plugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor?

 

Insufficient EGR flow in Accords is frequently due to a blocked EGR distribution and manifold (EG distribution to each intake port). These have to be accessed and manually cleaned to restore EGR flow. In my experience (not professional), the EGR valve is rarely the cause of P0401.

good luck

 

You need to perform the t-belt servicesoon. The t-belt has a replacement recommendation at 7 years or 105k miles. Miles is not the biggest concern but the age of that rubber belt. It's 10 years old. Ifthe beltbreaks on the V6 while driving, you will bend the exhaust valves just enough that they will tap and wear on the valve guides if not replaced.

The t-belt job for $900 is a little high....At Accurate Automotive, we do the t-belt, water pump, and drive belts on the V6 Accord (using all Genuine Honda parts all the way down to the Type 2 coolant) for about $700. Most large cities have a speciality shop likeours that specializes in Honda. Look and see. If you are near Nashville, TN then we could do it....Otherwise, just look for a Honda dealership technician that has his own sideline or his own shop. A good Honda tech will alwaysuse the Honda parts and his expertise will be the exact same that you would get at the dealer.

As for the EGR system, as Texas Honda stated, the ports do need to be manually cleaned. The reason the dealer wants to replaced the EGR valve is because there is a little tube included in the EGR valve kit thatis driven into the intake casting below the EGR valve. This tubehas a very smooth insidewhich is supposed to help in not allowing the carbon to stick and clog as quickly in the EGR system in the future.

One suggestion.....The EGR system was under warranty to 80,000 miles. Talk to the Service Manager at the Honda Dealer and see if he will Goodwill Warranty the EGR valve. He probably will, if the dealership is a popular one in the area and wants to maintain a high customer satifaction (CSI score) with American Honda.

Hope this helps
Ed Brian
Accurate Automotive, Inc.
www.accuratecars.com

 

THANKS for your help
Dale269

 

I'm not a used car salesman answering your post for my own self serving reasons, however the warranty extension clearlycalls out 8 years/80k miles.

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I want to thank all that help me with this problem.

 

Hey Hondadude,

I have read some of your suggestions and replys and can tell you that you don't know near as much about Hondas as you think you do.....

How long have you been working with Hondas? Does your experience go back beyond the service recalls involving the fiascos of the '88 & '89Prelude; such as the throttle stop and especially the P/S hose on both the S and the Si models?

Were you professionally working on Hondas in '90 and '91 during the automatic transmission updates where the mainshaft and countershaft nuts could back off???? Because during assembly, Honda failed to place washers underneath the nuts?

What makes youan expert? Because you can scan or link pictures and parts illustrations?

You said earlier that I am a car salesman..... Dude, Iam a former Honda dealership technician. I have attended Honda School several timesin Alphretta GA., and I now attend the Honda Salesvia dealer auction where AHFC (American Honda Lease and Trust) and American Honda Motor Company sell their vehicles. I buy the Honda and Acura units for www.accuratecars.comwhich is part of Accurate Automotive, Inc., a non-franchised dealership that specializes in Honda and Acura automobiles in Nashville, TN..See the photo.

Our facility hasthe user license for the Official Honda ISIS subscription for parts as well as the softwarethat even enables use to program the immobilzer keys.

Hondadude, there are several things that I recall as negatives involving Honda....#1 The Honda Passport (a REAL disappointment), #2 The 1993 and 1994 Del Sol Water Leak issues (a REAL pain in the backside)and, someone that considers themselves a REAL Honda Dude that isin realitya REAL HONDA DUD.


Sincerely,
Ed Brian
Accurate Automotive, Inc.
www.accuratecars.com

 

If you are mechanicly inclined at all, the egr problem is fairly easy to resolve, You have to remove the intake manifold, on the bottom side you will see a hole, towards the throttle body side that will be all black and clogged with stuff that looks like sludge, you will have to either use a screw driver and clean it out, or honda makes an EGR tube/pipe update kit, (You may need a dealer to do this part) Drill out the hole a lil oversized just enough the pipe will squeeze into the hole, clean out the manifold of the gunk and replace the EGR valve, reinstall Torquing the bolts to 26ft/lbs. clear the code.Then wolla good as new!

 

I know this is a really old topic but it's the exact problem I have now. Only I had done what Dale269 suggested. And it was good as new. It ran cleaner and got better gas mileage. But after about a month, the code came back. Any ideas on what I should do now? I already paid to have the EGR valve replaced and the tube cleaned out.

 

The problem usually is that with time, the EGR port(s) get clogged again, even if the EGR pipe kit (as noted in Honda's TSB for the V6 Accords) is installed. If you are getting code P0401 again, it probably is the EGR port(s) clogged again and need cleaning.