1999 Honda Odyssey Van EGR Valve Port Carbon Problem Repair Fix Code P0401

[siiiiickest]

doo hickey lmfao

[va42282]

@MetaView7 I hope your gas padel release. You might want to get that recall done ASAP

[MetaView7]

...that's why I am buying a Toyota

[WeAretheUnderground1]

wanna learn how to make good money online?

[ZoolookThe]

Motor like this and nature love it...

[TheRosettaStoned]

why didnt you grab a coathanger and a shop vac, and some carb cleaner with the tube?

[SimpleWithStyme]

was their a torque pattern or a torque pound for the intake?

[Redskinno1]

any one need 2007 odyssey engine( EXL model) let me know.

[Spikes244]

that helped alot!! thank you.. i drive a 99 odyssey also.. but my fuel injectors are bad.. so can you make a video about that also?!

[dzappss1]

All EGR'S get gooed up eventually, especially poorly engineered passages like the one on these Honda's. They never should have routed the EGR return through a cold (relatively) ALUMINUM manifold where the remaining waste in the exhaust congeals into a blockage, it's been happening since The old V8's used to use an exhaust crossover to heat the Intake manifold and Carb Base. Eventually they all got plugged up. It Ain't Al Gore, it's bad Honda Engineering!

[Headswithsacks]

@dzappss1 Hey thanks for the informative reply. It's very appreciated. Amen on Honda engineering. The reason I mentioned Al Gore is because the Gore emissions cronies make it so that I cannot get my TAGS if the check engine light is on in my vehicle. Yet every other county around me has no such mandate. A few weeks ago I took my old 86 Mazda truck through emissions. It failed. It never fails so I ran it through immediately again and it passed just fine. So that's why I mentioned Gore.

[dzappss1]

@Headswithsacks Y/W As a Class A Brake, Lamp, and Smog /ASE Master tech with an AA degree, 42 years working, 30 as a shop owner, I have seen so many things that have made me money and my customers pissed because of obviously poor engineering. Honda's early Porous Cylinder head Castings come to mind, they leaked right through the aluminum into the cylinder and they either locked up the engine overnight or just ran like a steam engine destroying the Motor. Cont'd

[dzappss1]

@Headswithsacks cont'd Tech thinks it's a head gasket, R&R the head, valve job, has it decked and back together, and guess what, it's still a steam engine. Don't ask me how I learned that one, but when I called the dealer for a new head, thinking nobody stocks brand new heads, he said, I have a ton of them in stock, Get IT??? And that was never a recall, but I probably did a hundred of them in the late 70's early 80's.

[dzappss1]

@Headswithsacks

I am glad you running it through twice technique worked out, but if you are in California, never try that, because when you fail twice, you become a GROSS POLLUTER and it's hell and expensive and more testing is required from then on, if you can fix it at all.

[dzappss1]

@dzappss1 BTW, one last ad, I would always have taped off the engine side of the Intake anytime it's open to avoid dropping something in a cylinder, stuck in a valve, etc. Blown engine is the result.

...Don't Ask...

[onori24]

Thanks this realy help 5 stars video

[seahouse]

Great video. I disconnected the throttle assembly at the where it connects to the plenum so I wouldn't have to mess with the air intake assembly. That worked out ok but the paper gasket tore and it was hard finding a replacement w/o buying an entire gasket package. Cleared the check engine light by disconnecting power for 90 minutes and a week later it hasn't come back on.

[SuperBarbarazo]

Thank you so much for this video, I follow the instruccion and that help me out. Againt thank you good man......

[TheBabyLuigi]

I tried this on my 1999 Odyssey. It worked just like this video showed. Thank you.

[shadyx302x]

How can anyone dislike a video like this? He took time out of his day to help YOU. Much apprieciation my man, im bout to start this job right now

[wormguy119]

Access to the throttle body lower bolts is easier if the air intake is removed from the throttle body first. Also, when the cleaner is sprayed on either part of the EGR port, it can dissolve the glue from duct tape and cause it to stay on the manifold. Make sure to clean it off.

[tucucca]

I love the video and will have to do this myself.

However, it p!sses me off that there was a service bulletin on this and Honda was supposed to contact the owners of all cars that had the problem. It was a known defect and the letter offered to fix the problem for free if done so within 8 years or 80,000 miles. We never got the letter so it's DIY for me.

[Headswithsacks]

Hey you guys give this video a "thumbs up" if it helped you. You do that by clicking on the little "thumbs up" sign underneath the video up there. I think if you get a bunch of thumbs up on here it helps the video to show up better in search results. Thanks!

[Headswithsacks]

@jackycoll1243 Not sure what you mean about the gas cap. I've never heard that. If your van is throwing the same code then I would do what you see me do in the video before I'd pay someone big money to begin going through everything. When you're done cleaning it, however, you will need to get the dealer or auto zone or somebody to reset the coding system. Or pulling the positive battery terminal may clear it...I can't remember now. Hopefully someone can clarify that part of it.

[Quanda612]

I just took my 2001 honda odyssey to garage shop and spent $300 for the egr valve replacement. I drove 30 miles and the check engine tcs lights are back on. Is there any way to tell if the valve has been replaced

[Headswithsacks]

@Quanda612 I would guess the valve would look "new" but I'm not overly sure to be honest. Plus, anytime this has happened to me it has never been an EGR valve problem but, rather, a clogged port problem just like I showed in the video. So if they changed the EGR but did not clean out the port which is caked up with carbon then that's why your light is still on. I would call them & ask them & I would also ask them why your light is back on & if they stand behind their work.

[naciri1931]

@Quanda612

Samething happened to me with 2000 honda oddyssey. I found out that the Mechanic put after Market EGR valve. They supposed to put OEM Egr Valve. I learned this after I went to diesel Mechanic school.

[jayoomonu]

Hi Thanks for this really useful video. I have one question. Does anyone here have any tips on how to remove that really inaccessible one nut/bolt holding the intake manifold to the throttle body? I can remove three of them fairly easily enough...but I just can't seem to access the fourth one. It's really frustrating. Any tips/help much appreciated.

[LORRI2005]

@jayoomonu try removing the battery and play with the intake box ..you are also gonna need extensions that should do the trick

[Headswithsacks]

@jayoomonu If it's the bolt I think you're talking about I had to struggle with mine a little too. You may have to get an extension or a different sized ratchet or something. Or use a deep well socket.

[Ajmiguet]

@jayoomonu First remove the intake snorkle entirely. Take a 12mm deep socket with a 3" extension on the wrench and you can fit it to the hidden bolt by touch.

Take the EGR valve off too to make sure that cleaner and gunk that you wash out of the port has somewhere to go.

[mrsparkle19]

I had read the bulletin and was pretty confident I could do this on my '01 (132K), but this video was some real reassurance. Took me about 90 minutes; the lower throttle bolts were a bugger! But the Check Engine light is off (wife no longer thinks the car may spontaneously explode) and I saved $200. Thanks guys!

[exclusivebuyersagent]

Our 2001 Odyssey has been throwing the code for about 3-4 years now (since @175,000 miles, currently has @215k), but it would go off briefly every 4,000 miles or so. Sometimes the light would be off for a couple hundred miles, other times just 20. I meant to try this cleaning every year, but the light would go off when we were close to needing to pass emissions, so we just would pull into the nearest shop and it would pass just fine.

[exclusivebuyersagent]

But this year it hadn't gone off in over 9 months and emissions were due (Actually past due) so we finally pulled the manifold, cleaned the port with the drill bit (by hand), sprayed everything down good with carb cleaner and gave it another cleaning with bristle brushes, put it all back together and it hasn't come back on in over 2 months and over 1,000 miles. We spent 2 hours on it, but I was perhaps way too thorough than I needed to be with the cleaning.

[exclusivebuyersagent]

I could probably do the whole thing in under an hour next time, which I don't expect to be for another 5-7 years or more. Over the past 3-4 years and 40,000 miles the car has never shown any signs I've heard some others ask about, only the CEL and the EGR code when read. (No strange acceleration/deceleration/sput­tering/shutting off, etc.) If your car has other signs, more research won't hurt. BTW, my port was clogged SOLID, like it had been shoved full by a large crayon.

[MrJonniebahama]

Did you ever clean the egr valve

[MrChuck517]

Thanks i cleaned it out but after a couple hours the check engine light and tcs comes back on? What should i do next?

[bboywhite]

This helped me alot

[Headswithsacks]

@bboywhite Let us know if yours passes after you do this!

[LORRI2005]

@Headswithsacks hey great video i did the exact same thing on my 98 honda accord v6 has the 3.0 engine and man did it help... no more check engine light anymore thanks......

[MrChuck517]

so when the egr valve is clogged does that make your car shut off while you are driving? my 99 odyssey does that.. it randomly shuts off when I am on the road whenever it feels like it.. my tcs is also on?? help..

[Headswithsacks]

@MrChuck517 I would think you have a different problem but I could be wrong. I just found this for you to explain what EGR does: EGR stands for Exhaust Gas Recirculation. Exhaust gas is routed back into the combustion chamber because the exhausted air is much hotter than the intake air. By sending warmer gas into the combustion chamber, the air/fuel mix does not have to do as much work to heat up, and your engine runs more efficiently. I would call Honda or a local parts store and ask them.

[TheSleepermgm]

did it work ??

[Headswithsacks]

@TheSleepermgm Yep, it worked.  Passed with flying colors.

[INFAMOUSSPEED]

Thanks man, Just did this on my 99 Accord and this work perfected. EGR port was omega clogged, not no more lol

[egn83b]

In the future sea foam the engine and it won't have this issue with the egr valve but change the oil after words because it makes the oil nasty with carbon.

[ChrisSchweisthal]

160,000 on my 2000 honda odyssey.  You saved me a ton of money. Thanks for sharing this video

[Headswithsacks]

@crombieposterboy It did fix my problem. $100 bucks? Laughing...no thanks. I'm sure you can get it done just fine. Give it a shot.

[AdirondackNY]

honda did have a recall on this problem but not sure if it is still valid. when I fixed my neighbors van @ 280,000 miles the only diference is I used a vacuum to suck the chunks of carbon as I cleaned it with a drill bit then flushed the entire intake.

[FootballMania2009]

my 99 Accord is throwing that same code and the repair shop told me I "needed" to throw 800 bucks down the toilet to fix the problem or my engine would go kaputt, so would I approach my problem the same way as yours even though mines the 3.0 and not the 3.5 the Odyssey is equipped with?

[Headswithsacks]

@FootballMania2009 I'm not a mechanic so don't want to give you bad advice but I know one thing...I'd surely give it a try before I flushed that $800.00 down the toilet. The cost to try this is about $5 and some time. So even if it does not fix your problem then you're out $5 and some time. If it does fix it then you just paid yourself $795 to do an easy repair. Not a bad trick to me...but I'll let you decide. Let us know how it goes.

[calebcowan85]

@FootballMania2009 the 3.0 works the exact same as the 3.5 in this Odyssey. :)

[INFAMOUSSPEED]

@FootballMania2009 Yeah, Just tried it today, couple things you dont have to take off but this is right on the money.

[cynthiarsanders]

omg!! last year i failed emissions and after replacing the egr valve and that didnt fix the problem the dmv game me a pass for one year. but time to renew is almost here again and I have been dreading taking my van to the dealer because I didnt know what else to do. Im gonna try this myself and see what happens. Thank you so much!!!

[Headswithsacks]

@cynthiarsanders You're very welcome!

[llado4288]

Thank you! You saved me about $500. The only thing I did different was to clean the entire manifold. 00 Odyssey 170,00 miles and still running...

[Headswithsacks]

@llado4288 Fabulous! Good for you. I take paypal if you want to split the savings with me! ( smile )

[anotherboringmovie]

Our dealer wanted 700 bucks, they also drill the hole bigger and install a metal sleeve in you intake. This was Easy ! I put it off for months, took like 30 minutes. Thanks

[Headswithsacks]

@anotherboringmovie Did I mention I take paypal?

[eduardosantacruz]

I had the same problem in my 96 acura rl, which is basically a similar engine. i just ran Seafoam thru the brake booster line, and let it sit for 30 minutes and revved the engine till it was all out of the system, i put the other half of it in my gas tank, and the check engine light hasn't came on since. Total cost: $7

[jetix007]

Thank you for posting and sharing this great experience. I haven't tired on my 2000, but I believe this is the problem. I replaced cat.converter with after market part at first and it passed emission. But a later in a few the engine light on. I will do as you show on this video. Thanks alot.

[ctchou11]

Great video! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I had a really hard time reaching the two bolts and the back nut of the throttle and ended up removing the air intake boot to get to them. A little more work but well worth it. Overall, it took me less than two hours. Thank you!

[hekg]

Thank you!!

[mattccurtis]

I did it! Thanks!

NOTE 1: The bottom screws on the throttle are hard but just approach from the bottom front. Moving the throttle away from the engine is tricky but just pull the surrounding hoses away, and pull strongly with both hands. Then shift it to the side or it will snap right back to the engine.

NOTE 2: I broke two pieces from a cheap socket wrench kit on the manifold bolts. Then I sprayed them with lubricant and got good quality 10mm and 12mm socket bits and everything was easy.

[lentocmb]

let me say THANK YOU, i did what you said in my oddissey 2000 and check engine ligth went off, save a least $400.00. Again thank you so much. God bless you

[Headswithsacks]

@lentocmb Thanks for the nice words but you had to do the work so good for you! Glad the video helped you lentocmb!

[maltagoyaclown]

sir, weather u want to believe it or not....BELIEVE IT..u are making a difference with this video...and you HELPED A PIECE OF MY LIFE..how,, being a new home buyer with a NEW BORN and less than a month dropped cpl thousands to rebuild the tranny since it was past its warranty period got my budget in a all of the sudden crash...NOW I GOT THIS PROBLEM with my 2002 v6 accord, which pretty much is the same engine.....long story short, THANK U VERY MUCH and GOD BLESS U.

[Headswithsacks]

@maltagoyaclown

I really appreciate the nice feedback. I know I didn't do it as perfectly as a mechanic would have but really glad to know it's helping someone out there. God bless you and your family.

[lilbluecar89]

there is a pipe kit that you can get from honda that will help prevent the carbon build up. you also need to very carefull when drilling the intake manifold when installing the pipe kit.

[AALEVK]

Does this only happen on 99's?

[Headswithsacks]

@AALEVK No, I'm sure it happens to most of them. I have a friend with a 2002 and it's doing the same thing on his.

[libbylee74]

Thanks for the video instructions. Seeing it done gave me the confidence to do it myself. Took a few hours and was simple thanks to you. I bought rifle/gun cleaning kits from Walmart for about $7....it came with various wire brushes and swabs that attach/screw onto a long pole making it much easier to get inside the EGR ports.

[Headswithsacks]

@libbylee74 Good tip on the wire brushes! Thanks for sharing that with everyone. Glad you got it done. I think the best would be some kind of way to "suck" the carbon out while you're breaking it up with the carb cleaner but though I wasn't able to do that I've had no problems and mine is still doing fine with no more problems.

[Ejust1]

I did the Process of cleaning. the intake port, manifold itself, removed the EGR valve and cleaned them all, I previously disconnected the battery so I think this reset the ck. eng. light, but the light came bk. on, then I tried an $10.00 System cleaning in the gas, but the light still on. However after all the van is cranking up a lot better & I knw. the system is clean Thank you for your research U still save me good money with the video. Appreciate you sharing the info.

[Headswithsacks]

@Ejust1 You may need a new EGR valve if cleaning everything didn't resolve it. Sorry it's not fixed yet. Hopefully, you'll find the problem soon. Thanks for the nice words.

[autophenakistoscope]

I used this video to fix our 99 odyssey with the EGR code. The video is right on, it cleared the code, and we passed inspection. Did this three months ago and all is still well (did not replace the EGR). Thanks very for this video, it would have been much more difficult without it and taken much longer.

[Headswithsacks]

@autophenakistoscope Fantastic to hear this. Some friends and family laughed at me for posting this but I'm glad to get such positive feedback about it.

[studpuppy69]

Would have been a GREAT chance to change out spark plugs and PCV valve too! Please don't blame Al Gore for everything, go back to the 1970's in California when pollution was a big problem, asthma, lung cancer, etc. Air quality has improved tremendously since then. While I'm not fond of all this emissions crap either, it does help out. Still, I prefer the older stuff, especially older diesel motors sound better and better MPG's!

[dzappss1]

@studpuppy69 All Diesels have EGR valves now also

[car7chr]

The video was great. It gave me the nerve to try it myself. My intake manifold passage was blocked. After I cleaned it and put it back together, I still had the CEL problem, although without the TCS that often would come on also. I replaced the EGR and it kept the CEL light off for about 500 miles, and it came on again, but just for a bit, and is off now. Not sure if I have it fixed or not now. Anybody have any ideas+

[car7chr]

This video gave me the nerve to try it myself. I found the passage in the intake manifold and it was plugged up with gunk. Cleaned it out, but it did not make the CEL go out. I changed the EGR and that did it. So far, maybe 500 miles post the EGR change and no CEL.

[m5et]

Thanks for posting this. I did this job in no time with my 2000 (165K km) . but couldn't separate the throttle body from the manifold; instead, I covered the engine intakes with painter's masking tape, propped up the manifold with a 2x4 and used a 2-1/2" wood screw to gently clean out my clogged port. kept a vacuum cleaner on the whole time too; Most of the gunk is in the manifold so best to separate it as shown in the vid. all nuts/bolts tighten to 16 ft lbs as per service manual spec.

[TeaQue]

My wife's Accord is having this issue and this video has inspired me to fix it myself, thanks for posting it!

[samlo6]

A word of advice for anyone who plans on doing this job on their own. First of all I would like to say that this is an excellent demonstration and the proper way to clean out the egr port, there is an additional step that you should do and that is to clean out the remainder part of the manifold as you will see the build up of carbon in there. Also...and I mean ALSO, you should replace the EGR after doing this job because the CEL will come back on.

[Headswithsacks]

@samlo6 Hey thanks for the nice words samlo6. Just so that you know I never changed out the EGR and the check engine light has never come back on to date. We're still going strong so at least in my case it wasn't 100% essential. Not yet anyhow. I'll post on here if indeed the check engine light does come back on. Thanks again.

[car7chr]

This was a great post. I did not have the nerve to try it until I saw this. The CEL did not go off after I cleaned the intake manifold. It was indeed plugged up. So I changed the EGR valve, and that did it, but I did not reset the CEL, so it took about 125 miles before the CEL went out. So far so good, we have about 400 miles on the vehicle post the EGR change, and no CEL. Thanks to all who posted, the back and forth was a great help.

[car7chr]

@samlo6 Thanks for the great video, and back and forth discussion. The video gave me the nerve to try this. I cleaned the intake manifold passage, it was plugged completely. The CEL did not go out, so I replaced the EGR valve, and that did it. Vehicle has about 400 miles on it post the EGR change and no CEL. I did not reset the CEL so it took about 125 miles before the light went out. So far so good.

[car7chr]

@samlo6 Thanks for the video, I would never have tried the intake manifold cleaning without seeing it first. There was a clogged channel in my 2001 Ody intake manifold, but it did not turn off the CEL. I ended up replacing the EGR, and I have about 500 miles on it, and the light has not come back on.

[car7chr]

@samlo6

[jaytube54321]

what did you use to clean out the carbon???

[Headswithsacks]

@jaytube54321 I think I used Gumout brand Carburetor cleaner and it melted it away easily. I'm sure you can use any brand of Carb cleaner and it should do the trick.

[samlo6]

So...be honest,did the check engine light come on about a week or two after this repair? The reason I ask is because there is a blog on the internet where a bunch of odyssey owners complain that after the dealer did this fix the light still came back on.

[Headswithsacks]

@ samlo6,

No, til this day the light has never come back on for me. It passed Marta with flying colors and has never given me another problem. All is well. Not sure what the people at the blog are referring to. Doing it myself I didn't have to worry about any dealership doing anything wrongly. Doing it wrongly was completely going to be my fault! Nobody else to blame. But all worked out perfectly and saved me some money. Hope the video is helping people.

[huskybones]

derrickb1974 - I had this problem and fixed it per this great video. The van would surge and pause while driving - now it runs great. I also replaced the spark plugs at abouyt 120K.

[des0531]

I drove my 1999 Odyssey for four months with the check engine light on. I finally got the P0401 diagnosis code and with the help of this video, EASILY made the repair myself. Thanks Derrick for showing my how to do it!

[Headswithsacks]

Headswithsacks posted the video....not Derrick. But I'm glad you got it fixed!

[derrickb1974]

Did your Van behave any differently before and when the Check Engine Light came on. Did it hesitate, stall or just run normally while the CEL was on?

Thanks

Derrick

[Headswithsacks]

@derrickb1974:

No, my van acted and ran normally. It just would not pass emissions because it automatically fails when the check engine light is on.

I had no mechanical problems so if yours does then I'd say something else is going on with yours besides the carbon build up. But that's a guess. As you can see in the video I'm no professional mechanic.

[derrickb1974]

Thanks, I have a 2000 Accord V6. Pretty much the same exact engine. Thanks again for taking the time to do this video.

[Dominicanosoyyo]

Thank for this vid, I used this video to fix my 2000 V6 Honda accord and like you me and my brother did the same thing and saved myself $300 in fees the local dealership wanted to charge me to fix it!!!

[koolaidman10]

thanx body for that

[MrRedbike]

not bad for a newbie im a mechanic nice to see someone at home doing it right. i never show this to any of my customers i need to make my money