About 2 months ago the check engine light came on my 2004 F-250 6 Liter Diesel.
I have been driving it with the light on as the engine ran very good. With the light on, I towed both my 8,000 lb trailer and also my 12,000 lb travel trailer. My trips have included back and forth from San Francisco to L.A. over Grapevine. I maintained 65 - 70 MPH on the flat as well as over the Grapevine's 4,200 ft summit. The engine pulled good and the fuel mileage was normal.

Last week I took the truck to my Local Ford dealership (Walnut Creek Ford, California) to have them check why the check engine light was on and to turn it off. They first said it would cost $99.00 to check it and to turn it off. However, when I picked it up they said to turn of the light was "Very Complicated". The tech. said "he had to do some very special things to turn off the light as the code which caused the light to come on was the P0401 code." He said this P0401 code doesn't mean anything but very difficult to clear. As the result, they had to increase the cost to $249.65 for the specialized things they had to do to turn off the light.

I picked up my truck and after driving less than 10 miles, the Check Engine light came on again. For the Thanksgiving holiday, I again hauled my 12,000 trailer to L.A. over the Grapevine and back. The engine again ran perfectly.

Has anyone had experience with this P0401 code?
Does it sound like the dealership knows what they are doing? Shop rate here is approx. $100/hr. Should it take a tech. 21/2 hours to clear a code?

I would appreciate any comments and recommendations.

 

P0401 Exhaust Gas Recirculation Flow Insufficient Detected

Strong indication the EGR system is going bad. Check EGR cooler.

 

First thing stealership took your money. I would have cleared it for only 50. But it would come back, 401 is not to bad, could be egr needs cleaning. could be exhaust leak. I have it and have been told by the experts in the 6.0 forum thats its not egr cooler. so don't panic

 

Thanks!

What are your thoughts on installing an EGR delete on my 2004 6.0?

 

Doing it as we speak, Oil temps hit 235 doing oil cooler,and egr delete and or keep stock cooler. just got turbo off few hours ago. Will pull intake and oil cooler in morning. this is my first time this far in, theres a lot of stuff to do.started thursday afternoon. Taking my time

 

I am sure they did nothing except clear the code. I have had 5 or 6 of these trucks with the P0401 code, and every one was perfect after a good EGR valve cleaning. If the dealer was honest they would have cleaned, or at the worst (read: laziest) replaced the EGR valve, and then cleared the code.

 

You could have purchased a quality scanner for $249.65 and cleared the code yourself.

 

couldnt you just unplug the battery cable for a half hour or so to clear the code. or does that not work these newer trucks?

And sounds like you need to find a new dealership