CEL P0402 and some sputtering

The CEL in my car came on about 10 days ago and I went and checked the code and it was P0402 (EGR Excessive Flow). I have not reset the light, but I am thinking of reseting it and then see if it comes again. How can I fix that, what could be causing it.

Also I have had some sputtering when the car is under load for a while now. When I slow down and try to pick up speed without changing gears, the car acts like it's miss-firing, but then normal driving has no issues.

It's a 2000 Lx 5spd 1.6L.

thanks
Al

Al,

My wife's car had the same problem yesterday. I pulled the codes this morning, and they are the same "P0402". I reset the light and it has not come back on yet.

What did you do to resolve it?

Slim

EGR valves and the ports that lead to them get clogged over time with exhaust gas deposits. It is a black carbon that can be tough to remove. The good news is that it is relatively easy to replace this on the Protege. I did mine on my '95 Protege LX in about a half hour without much problem. The bad new is that the part can be expensive, depending on what year car you have. Mine was only $75 new (Borg Warner #EGR 1122) but later models, especially the 1.6 can be much higher.

Another option is to have the valve and ports cleaned out by a shop that has specialized equipment to do this. Generally, this only works well with late model, low milage vehicles where the deposits are not too thick in the valve and ports.

My symptom for this problem was pinging under acceleration and all other possible causes were eliminated first.

'95 Protege LX, 5 spd., 181K miles and still going strong.

EGR valves and the ports that lead to them get clogged over time with exhaust gas deposits. It is a black carbon that can be tough to remove. The good news is that it is relatively easy to replace this on the Protege. I did mine on my '95 Protege LX in about a half hour without much problem. The bad new is that the part can be expensive, depending on what year car you have. Mine was only $75 new (Borg Warner #EGR 1122) but later models, especially the 1.6 can be much higher.

Another option is to have the valve and ports cleaned out by a shop that has specialized equipment to do this. Generally, this only works well with late model, low milage vehicles where the deposits are not too thick in the valve and ports.

My symptom for this problem was pinging under acceleration and all other possible causes were eliminated first.

'95 Protege LX, 5 spd., 181K miles and still going strong.

Thanks jrdwyer. The light came back on today, so I'm bringing it in to the shop in a day or to. With your help I will now know if they are trying to pull something when I ask them what they think is wrong.

This car does have a 1.6 so I'll be crossing my fingers for an affordable solution to the problem.

Silm