Laids wrote:
21,000 miles and original EGR, the engine light came on the other day so took it to the dealership right away.
Cause: Minimal EGR Flow Detected PO401
Correction: Deleted DTC, Road Tested Jeep, No DTCS Came Back. If Code Comes Back In Future, Replacing EGR Valve Recommended
The engine light came back on today, 2 days later.
My question for those many this has happened to is, because I havn't experienced any performance issues, how long before I do as I need the Liberty to get my boat at the cottage and bring it home about 120 miles each way?
It depends on whether the valve failed in the open or closed position. Short answer, if it fails in open position, get fixed fast, for details see below. If it still runs good, you have a finite amount of time - but the valve could move open at any time and leave you with heavy black smoke, really poor performance, and glow plugs which will be stressed heavily, possibly to the point of failure. I wouldn't take it on a long road trip before fixing it, but that's just me. It depends on your tolerance for engine trouble while on the road.
If it fails in the closed position, you won't get heavy black smoke and your performance will be normal until the valve opens even slightly. If it fails in open position you will have some moderate to heavy black smoke, but not always enough to see in the rear view mirror.
If you keep running it without fixing it, your glow plugs may be overstressed and burn out as well, but most likely some time after your egr is replaced. Then another trip to the dealer, another CEL and more waiting in the visiting room.
You may get a week or 2 before problems start or just a couple of days. When my first egr failed, it failed open and caused heavy black smoke, loss of performance and also caused 2 gp's to be stressed - 3 days after the egr was replaced, the gp's went and another trip ensued, plus another return trip when the parts came in.
When my 2nd egr went out, it failed closed and no major performance issues for 2 weeks, as the dealership was booked. At 2 weeks, it had deterioted to the point where performance was starting to suffer and smoke was increasing.