Hi all,

I had an EGR sensor fault flag up earlier. Upon restarting the car the warning light has gone and I've given the car a good thrash up and down the motorway near me. What is the likelihood of a replacement sensor/valve being needed compared to it just being a bit clogged up and in need of a long, fast drive?

The car is an Audi a3 1.6tdi (59 plate, circa 75k miles)

Ta.

clogged up yes.

can you easily remove / clean it with a bit of carb cleaner etc etc.

used to get that with my old sintra tdi

about once a year we used to put a bit of petrol with the diesel in to blast the system out.

dx

Cheers buddy, that's my hoping too.

Although it does the commute it's usually being driven for economy - so I think I'm going to absolutely thrash it on a long jorney at the weekend.

mine used o get clogged up about every 12ts

used to give me poor idle

and stalling when pulling away

or poor acceleration at low revs

on mine it was just 2 bolts

give it a good dose of carb cleaner

make sure whatever method is used by the little motor to open/close

the slot is moving freely.

dx

That's the way. People get charged £hundreds when taking this into a garage to be cured when there is no need to replace the unit at all. You can even bypass it altogether but might need to reconnect it for an MoT.

I'm going to play it by ear. I think it's just the sensor, but on the 1.6 version it's quite a big thing that yu have to change. I'm hoping a good old thrash in high revs will do the job.

EGR helps a quick warm up and helps economy. Bypassing it will increase fuel consumption. Worse, it can light the EML.

If it can be fixed with an "Italian tune up" and/or some carb cleaner it is best to keep it.

If it can be fixed with an "Italian tune up" and/or some carb cleaner it is best to keep it.

That's the approach I'm going to take for sure.

I'll report back!

carb cleaner is the only way sadly.

once you've cleaned it

then the petrol/thrashing will work

but till you do

its a waste of time.

dx

Will investigate mate!