dr-rjp

iTrader: (4)

Back in August, I got a SEL and, after taking it to AutoZone, the OBD scanner tossed out a P1040, EGR valve problem.

I read that a lot of people have had EGR SEL's with their 4th Gen. I remember reading that some people had taken off the EGR tubes, found them caked with oily carbon crap, and after cleaning them out, some (but not all) had the SEL go out and the problem fixed.

Back when gas was hovering between $3.50 and $4.00 a gallon, I switched to using Hess gas because it was 25 cents cheaper. I've used Hess gas before, but only intermittently, and never had a problem, per se.

My engine, though, much preferred BP or Chevron.

The permanent switchover to Hess seemed to work just fine for three months, and then the SEL hit.

I never attempted to pull off the EGR tube (too hard for me) and also did not take it in to be serviced. My car was running OK, so I kept putting it off.

Meanwhile, for some reason, in my mind I was convinced that the problem had resulted from switching to the cheap gas. So, after going back to BP Ultimate, along with using a couple bottles of Prestone 0-60 fuel system cleaner before fill-up, the light went out by itself after six weeks, and the car runs better.

I don't pretend to know why it worked, nor do I recommend not checking and/or cleaning your EGR system, but, HEY, it's worth a shot and it's a lot cheaper, too, if your car seems to be running OK despite the P1040/P0400.

One thing I do know, from lots of driving experience, is that anyone who tells you "All gasoline is the same" and sees nothing wrong with using cheaper off-brands, is just, plain wrong.

I had a prior incident with using Sam's club gas, and after only a week of using it, the car was ******* like crazy. It took me five tankfuls and four bottles of fuel system cleaner to get it back to normal.