How long can you drive with a clogged EGR, that has the check engine light? Asking for a friend.

 

bump to the top, Not long will have issues. How do we know it is clogged, what codes tell him that. I would bet it is not the EGR, but rather the EGR cooler.

The cooler can be taken off and cleaned and reused. If taken to Ford, they will replace it. This would be covered under the 5 year 100K warranty on the motor.

We would need more info.

 

Are sure about that warranty coverage Senix? I would think that was an emissions component and any bolt on item to the engine is not covered by the 5 year/100k. The starter is not covered that's how I know external components don't count.

 

2011 6.7, p0401 code, 180,000 miles. There is some form of recall going on. Not sure if this truck qualifies. EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION COOLER
Campaign#
21M04

 

According to the 03/2010 2011 warranty guide 2nd printing, for GVWR of 14,000 lbs or less it states EGR cooler has coverage for 7 years/70,000 miles for whatever reason, emissions warranty is normally 5 years/50,000 miles for HD classed F-series.

This needs proper troubleshooting but this is the standard 2011 EGR cooler issue. It's plugged up and needs repair sooner rather than later, especially if it's being driven currently. Check on and clean up the throttle body (yes, Ford calls it that) and related area if it too has a lot of soot build up. P0401 causes power derate. It's not as noticeable without payload or towing but make the engine work or WOT, it'll have an obvious lack of power. When I had this issue, I could hardly pull a 5% grade with a tractor behind me in 3rd and couldn't reach 50 MPH.

Soak the cooler bolts with whatever favorite brand of penetrating oil a few times over a week or two in advanced for an improved chance to get those removed without snapping off.

Very little info currently on 21M04 but if it's like most of Ford's extended service bulletin's like this, it'll be up to 120,000 miles. Your friend should call and ask if Ford will cover this repair while the opportunity exists while DTC P0401 is active.

It shows on my VIN but to "call dealer." Too bad it took Ford 12 years to realize the EGR cooler is a problem on the 2011, when most owners are going to be over 120,000 miles (I'm currently only assuming the mileage restriction since it's not in the release info).

 

As a follow up, the EGR cooler tube assembly was replaced under the 21M04 campaign on a 10+ year old, 180,000-mile truck.

 

Good for you. Heavy use and hotter temps will help the cooler stay cleaner. Later years they did some re-routing of the coolant system to help with this.

I think my 2021 the EGR cooler is now part of the primary cooling system.

 

I received the CSP 21M04 letter today. It states 11 years or 120,000 miles from the warranty start date (whichever occurs first).

Further, if either the time or mileage limit has been exceeded, CSP 21M04 still applies through April 30, 2023 and subsequent owners are eligible.

 

EGR Cooler letter from Ford - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums (ford-trucks.com)

 

My EGR cooler clogged at just over 60 months and around 57K miles. After some haggling it was covered under the emissions system warranty. I seem to remember 8/80 but could be wrong. They initially were trying to deny the warranty claim as it was past the normal 5 years.

 

Was that recently?
I've got a '12 with 154k and my dealer is telling me it's $2300 to replace the cooler and that the tsb's were for something else..

 

If your truck has active DTC P0401 (Insufficient EGR Flow) and/or P2457 (EGR Cooler Performance; under-cooling), you likely qualify under the "Until April 2023" wording. This is for "certain 2011-2014" model years.
If you do not have either of these DTCs, it's going to depend on (A) how much the dealer cares to spend on diag and (B) if the caring dealer can get Ford to approve the warranty work after proving the EGR cooler issue but without a DTC.
The customer letter states "may experience a DTC" but to not visit the dealer until the malfunction indicator light shows, the tech alert states "with" the above DTCs. My guess is these DTCs are going to be required.

If you don't have a Ford owner profile, edit this URL and replace "your_vin_here" with your VIN and paste into your browser address bar.
Past the recalls section, look for "Exhaust Gas Recirculation Cooler" within the CSP section.
If 21M04 shows for your VIN, this will help you prove your VIN qualifies for 21M04 if you have one or both of the DTCs.

 

Sorry for the delay in my response, Yes, I had the work done about 10 days ago.