94 Camry Check Engine Light Code: 71 Check EGR Valve - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

laksh99 · 06-11-2005, 01:07 PM

My 94 Camry shows a check engine light. I just bought it recently and so asked the guy who sold it to me about it. He told me that it had been on for a year and since the car is driving fine, he didnt bother to check it with a mechanic. He just reset the battery to remove the check engine light (it goes off temporarily and comes back on after a couple of days ... thats how I got fooled when I bought it)

Anyway, I took it to a mechanic and he hooked the scanner and found the error code to be 71 which is Check EGR Valve.

The mechanic looked at the EGR valve and drove the car and thinks it looks fine. He suggested that I buy Seafoam(additive) and pour it into gas tank and engine and that will clean any carbon residue and may solve the problem. I tried it, but the check engine is still on.

What do u think I should do (except ofcourse take it back to the mechanic, who will probably ask me to change the carburator or egr valve ... it will be expensive I guess)

Also while trying to get info about the code 71, I found it had something to do mainly with California. I stay in Missouri. Any suggestions regarding this.

Thanks...........

ShawnM · 06-11-2005, 03:57 PM

The most common problem with these EGR valves is they get plugged up from carbon build up. Best way to test it is with a little hand held vacuum pump. Hook it up to the EGR valve and with the engine running at idle and squeeze the vacc pump handle a couple times to open the EGR valve. That should kill the engine. If it dosent, the EGR valve is probably plugged up. At that point you'll have to take it off and clean the carbon out. Even if you have your mechanic check into it, it shouldnt be that expensive to remove it and clean it out or replace it.

_VVTi_ · 06-11-2005, 04:18 PM

at here in calgary i asked about the egr valve part itself its like 300+ CAD!!

500KCamry · 06-11-2005, 09:37 PM

There's also the EGR modulator, beside the EGR valve, it has a cap that comes off and you can clean the filter in it. Theres an EGR temperature sensor to test too.

If you search these threads, there's a way to eliminate the EGR valve if you don't have emissions testing.

I found the EGR valve difficult to get at, the bottom pipe fitting. It's easy to get at if you pull the distributor (easiest) or throttle body.

afyouthbrigade · 06-12-2005, 01:32 AM

i have this problem on my gen2. it recently resolved itself (however that works) and the engine light had been off for some time, but it came back on again. i'm going to take a look at it tomorrow and clean it, and hopefully i can find the thread here so i can pull it out of there. i'm in california and get smogged every 2 years, so i'll just place it back in (if it is just that easy).

Jon

laksh99 · 06-21-2005, 09:56 PM

The mechanic did a test on the egr valve and the filter and said they are fine. He really couldn't figure out what the cause for the check engine might be, even though the code is 71: Check EGR Valve. He suggested that I should take it to a Toyota dealer and they may help.

The car seems to be running fine. Should I take it to a dealer or just leave it like that?

92Camry5sp · 06-22-2005, 12:15 AM

Theres two EGR..did he check the one on the bottom of the engine..

laksh99 · 06-24-2005, 10:02 AM

He is a Foreign Car mechanic and a well known one in my small town. So, I assume that he would have checked both of them.

sixsick6 · 09-11-2005, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 92Camry5sp

Theres two EGR..did he check the one on the bottom of the engine..

Two EGR valves? I see no reason why there would be two, especially since there is no reference to two of them in the Toyota PDF files. Just to be sure, I'll check again but are sure you know what you're talking about?

Sorry to be blunt but it's the only way I can ask/put it

krispytapa · 10-05-2005, 07:15 PM

has anyone resolved this problem? i had the cel 71 for a 1.5 years.

and calif smogg is next month. i've cleaned the egr pipe many times to no avail.

TriumphGT6 · 10-07-2005, 02:05 PM

Go to Autozone and have your current EGR Valve, removed from the car, tested and they will determine if it is defective. They tested 2 for me, and neither was a replace, just a clean and they worked great (1996 Saturn, 1998 Malibu LS). If they don't have a brand that suits your wants, just test it, then buy the new somewhere else, no commitment to buy.

Good Luck,
GT6

JCamry94 · 04-21-2009, 02:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laksh99

My 94 Camry shows a check engine light. I just bought it recently and so asked the guy who sold it to me about it. He told me that it had been on for a year and since the car is driving fine, he didnt bother to check it with a mechanic. He just reset the battery to remove the check engine light (it goes off temporarily and comes back on after a couple of days ... thats how I got fooled when I bought it)

Anyway, I took it to a mechanic and he hooked the scanner and found the error code to be 71 which is Check EGR Valve.

The mechanic looked at the EGR valve and drove the car and thinks it looks fine. He suggested that I buy Seafoam(additive) and pour it into gas tank and engine and that will clean any carbon residue and may solve the problem. I tried it, but the check engine is still on.

What do u think I should do (except ofcourse take it back to the mechanic, who will probably ask me to change the carburator or egr valve ... it will be expensive I guess)

Also while trying to get info about the code 71, I found it had something to do mainly with California. I stay in Missouri. Any suggestions regarding this.

Thanks...........

First of all do what triumph suggested...

Quote:

Originally Posted by krispytapa

has anyone resolved this problem? i had the cel 71 for a 1.5 years.

and calif smogg is next month. i've cleaned the egr pipe many times to no avail.

Check all around your throttle body for little hoses that may not be slipped on all the way, or broken, cracked etc. And if you're in cali just erase the code before you smog and it will be fine!

Mine was, I had a code 71 and about an hour before I had to test I erased it and all was well

Quote:

Originally Posted by TriumphGT6

Go to Autozone and have your current EGR Valve, removed from the car, tested and they will determine if it is defective. They tested 2 for me, and neither was a replace, just a clean and they worked great (1996 Saturn, 1998 Malibu LS). If they don't have a brand that suits your wants, just test it, then buy the new somewhere else, no commitment to buy.

Good Luck,
GT6

pangerme · 10-18-2011, 07:08 PM

I think I fixed the check engine DTC 71 on a '95 Camry several days ago, by replacing the EGR Vacuum Modulator. Had to search on-line to get one under $40. The old one had a filter in bad shape (dirty/clogged). It was a simple/quick task of pulling 4 vacuum lines, and reconnecting them to the new modulator. Removing the EFI fuse for 10 seconds, clears the DTCs (resets the check engine light) - it's easier than disconnecting the battery.

Owner_of_2_Camrys · 10-19-2011, 10:23 AM

Got the same code for my 1993 3VZFE Auto earlier this year...tried cleaning the EGR valve and EGR modulator. Code 71 popped up again. Gambled on a new EGR modulator. Haven't gotten that code since. Good luck.

corolla man51 · 10-26-2011, 07:30 PM

Hi all I don't know if anybody's thought of this but my corolla's kept getting a code 71. I tried everything short of buying a new EGR. One day I heard a belt squilling so I went to tighten it and noticed that the wire that grounded the engine was unpluged so I pluged it back in and reset the CPU and no code yet it's been two days. keeping my fingers crossed. Hope this nfo helps.