Camry XLE 97 - Check Engine Light (0401)

[vermasan]

Hi Folks:

I am a newbie on this forum. I have a 97 camry XLE. About a year ago, the check engine light on this baby came on. There was no trouble at all (power loss, engine noise, nothing), so I was not very concerned. I did notice that the fuel cap was loose, and it was probably broken, so I replaced it. That resulted in the problem becoming intermittent for about two months - the CEL would go off for about a week, then came back up again for about a week. But slowly the periods for which it would be off kept on reducing, and now for thr past approx. 6 months, its on regularly. I bought a OBD II scanner, which shows only one error code of 0401. As I mentioned earlierm, no impact on any performance though.

I am getting tried of it now, want to fix it, w/o (or at least trying to avoid) paying an arm and a leg. A few questions:
1. I am not a regular to the mecanic shop - this baby never gives trouble, and I change oil/filter myself. What will be a good shop to take it to - pepboys?
2. Can I fix this myself? If yes, whay will I need.
3. Anyone with similar experiences/advise?

Thanx for looking.

Regards
Sanjeev

[Brian R.]

Welcome to the AF!

The first thing you do is search the forum for that code and find out what has already been posted.

Read the post in the FAQ thread related to OBDII codes:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...5&postcount=21

[Mike Gerber]

Here's the code and it's definition from another site:

http://www.iequus.com/obd_def.asp

Mike

[abrittis]

Originally Posted by vermasan

Hi Folks:

I am a newbie on this forum. I have a 97 camry XLE. About a year ago, the check engine light on this baby came on. There was no trouble at all (power loss, engine noise, nothing), so I was not very concerned. I did notice that the fuel cap was loose, and it was probably broken, so I replaced it. That resulted in the problem becoming intermittent for about two months - the CEL would go off for about a week, then came back up again for about a week. But slowly the periods for which it would be off kept on reducing, and now for thr past approx. 6 months, its on regularly. I bought a OBD II scanner, which shows only one error code of 0401. As I mentioned earlierm, no impact on any performance though.

I am getting tried of it now, want to fix it, w/o (or at least trying to avoid) paying an arm and a leg. A few questions:
1. I am not a regular to the mecanic shop - this baby never gives trouble, and I change oil/filter myself. What will be a good shop to take it to - pepboys?
2. Can I fix this myself? If yes, whay will I need.
3. Anyone with similar experiences/advise?

Thanx for looking.

Regards
Sanjeev

P0401 - Could be a problem with your EGR valve and/or restricted flow to the EGR valve. I doubt a loose gas cap would cause this code.

Anthony

[Brian R.]

The answers are all in the FAQ thread I referred to above.