Depending on driving habbits and engine wear, you could get a blocked egr valve. It;s the same with bad fuel.

One way to get more milege between egr cleaning is to clean it as good as posible so soot won't adhere easily.
You can use stove cleaner and watter. It usualy does a great job.

Looking at cars I see a number have EGRs and I have found out what they do. Opinion seems divided as to their value and what to do if there are problems.

Looking for enlightenment - what can cause problems with an EGR for it to come up as a fault ? Is it sensible/possible/legal to remove it ?

Views of BR appreciated. I like to know.

In all the years I've been driving and all the cars that I've run (probably tempting fate) I've yet to have an EGR issue and neither have any of my customers that've listened to my advice. The reason being, I service my cars on time using the correct oil and I avoid supermarket fuel unless there's no other option near by and I advise anyone who's bought a car off me to do the same. I supplied a tidy old Astra 1.4 16v LS to a good friend a few years back who totally ignored my advice regards supermarket fuel and sure enough EGR valve was gummed up in no time and again not long after being cleaned. Good quality fuel additives that are standard in BP/Shell/Esso fuel do make a difference, especially on an older engine. It's not a big fear though. Maintain the car properly, use good fuel and there's no reason to expect any problems with the EGR valve.

Whilst I've not had the number of cars that have passed through your hands - I too have never had an EGR issue despite always using supermarket fuel - however the similarity is that all my cars are serviced on time, with additional interim oil changes and always the correct oil, both SAE viscosity and ACEA grade.

Edited by RT on 10/07/2017 at 23:06