I own a 1996 Accord EX with 4 cylinder VTEC engine with
137K miles on it. I mostly drive this car in city and when I drive
it faster than 55 mph, the check engine light turns on (but not always).
OBD code reads as P0401 - EGR valve insufficient flow
Whenever it turns on, I clear the code and it does not appear
again unless I take a freeway. I haven't found any unusual
symptoms with the light on. Since I drive only about 200 miles
per month and do not want to spend hundreds of dollars repairing it,
I just clear the code whenever it comes on and it happens about
2-3 times per month.
Recently, I discovered that there is an extended emissions warranty
which applies to 1996 Accord (and some other models).
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/caa/amerhonda.html
So my questions are
1) Is this problem covered by this extended emissions warranty?
2) If it is not, would it damage the engine if I keep clearing the code
and do not fix this problem?
For question #1, I just called the dealer and was told that they can
say for sure after doing diagnosis on the vehicle. I would like to
know because I need to pay the diagnosis charge if it is not covered
by the warranty.
Thanks in advance!
johnin - 16 May 2006 21:04 GMT
I dont know if you have any recoarse or not with "american honda" being a 96 year it may be difficult photo copy the page and bring it the dealer worth a try. they will need to scan again you car. retrieve the code(s) that will give the technition the bad circuit to check. after he will look up on a service manual or on a subscribed ALLDATA system the test procedures needed to isolate the problem. P.S. you should have it repaired for your up coming emission test. just a thought ;
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johnin