You’ve probably previously heard of the famous EGR valve, the anti-pollution valve. It is not usually appreciated by motorists because it is likely to create more problems than anything else… Actually, dependent on the use you are going to make of your car, it can become blocked and bring about you a lot of problems. If this is the situation, you are probably wondering how to clean the EGR valve of your Lexus ES ? Don’t get worried, we’ve made this content to help you with this procedure. To do so, we will initially take a look at the intent of the EGR valve, then what are the failures that the EGR valve of your Lexus ES can cause and finally the part that will probably appeal you the most, how to clean the EGR valve Lexus ES?

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How to Clean your Lexus ES EGR Valve: Role and Operation

Purpose of the EGR valve

The EGR valve of your car has been added to diesel engines primarily to reduce pollution emitted by automobiles and to fulfill EURO requirements on Lexus ES . It will consequently control the quality of exhaust gas output and eradicate toxic particles, mainly Nitrogen Oxide.

Operation of the EGR valve

Before we discover how to clean the EGR valve on your Lexus ES , we will check out how it functions. As described before, its task is to clean the exhaust gases, so it will be positioned at the engine outlet, thanks to a valve, it will be able to return the unburned exhaust gases to the engine for a second burn which will eradicate all unburned toxic particles. It will operate mainly at low speed because at high speed the combustion is enough to burn all these gases.

How to clean your Lexus ES EGR valve: Identifying faults

The EGR valve, even though very beneficial to limit the pollution emissions of your Lexus ES , will regrettably tend to clog up because of soot/gas deposits that will accumulate in its mechanism, which will ultimately risk obstructing the functions of the valve, until entirely blocking the engine unit, here are the signs of illness that a defective EGR valve on your Lexus ES can provoke:

  • Motor light on
  • Performance loss
  • Technical assesment refused
  • Black gases
  • Automobile that grazes at low speed
  • Low RPM settings

How to clean your Lexus ES EGR valve: In practice

And now we’ll commence the part you are most interested in, how to clean the EGR valve of your car. Here are the two methods that you can use.

Do it yourself

How to clean your Lexus ES EGR valve system: Without dismantle

Nevertheless this process is less efficient, it is however possible to consider a “rough” cleaning of your EGR valve, in reality, you will only need to use fuel additives, similar to the products used to clean the injection. These specific solutions must be injected into the running engine, at the right operating temperature, diluted in about 20 litres of fuel and run the engine for 3 or 4 minutes in high rev to clean the EGR valve of your Lexus ES.

How to clean your car EGR valve: With disassembly

Here is the most reliable process, which will require enough access to the EGR valve to accomplish the operation on your own. If so, the operation is fairly easy. You will need to disconnect the electromagnet from the EGR valve, remove the few screws that hold it in place, and remove it. Once these simple steps are finished, now comes the time for cleaning. To get this done, you will need to use a product such as solvent, petrol, oven cleaning product, which you will leave to act for ten minutes, then scrape off the rest using a scraper, finish cleaning with wire brush. If you want to go further, you can as well clean the two canal on which it is connected which may be scorched, for this, use a scraper and a vacuum cleaner to avoid dropping deposits in the conduits. You will only have to reassemble it and you will have finished cleaning the EGR valve of your Lexus ES.

Have it done by a professional

If, your EGR valve is not accessible because of the series or the engine of your car and if removing it would cause too many complications (removing too many auto parts that hinder access for example), how to clean the EGR valve of your Lexus ES? In such a case, it would be better rather than launching yourself into an overly complex procedure, you turn to an auto mechanic. He will be able to carry out the job more cleanly and will be able, if required, to change the valve if it is dead. The cost of cleaning dependent on the difficulty of access is between 70 and 300 €.

Remove the EGR valve of your Lexus ES

Finally, a number of people make a more radical decision to limit the risk of a failed valve. Rather than cleaning the EGR valve of their Lexus ES, they just choose to block it in the closed position. This treatment will have the outcome of greatly increasing the pollution emitted by the car, of no longer complying with pollution criteria, of having an engine warning light all day on and eventually risk fouling the engine. We strongly suggest against making this choice. If you have other questions or want to learn more about your car, don’t think twice to take a look at our dedicated page.

If you need more guides on the Lexus ES, go to our Lexus ES category.