You’ve probably previously heard about the renowned EGR valve, the anti-pollution valve. It is not always appreciated by motorists because it tends to create more concerns than anything else… In actual fact, based on the use you are going to make of your vehicle, it can become blocked and bring about you a lot of problems. If this is the case, you are probably wanting to know how to clean the EGR valve of your Mazda 5 ? Don’t be anxious, we’ve made this content to help you with this operation. To do so, we will first check out the goal of the EGR valve, then what are the failures that the EGR valve of your Mazda 5 can reason and at last the part that will probably appeal you the most, how to clean the EGR valve Mazda 5?

clean-egr-valve-mazda-5

How to Clean your Mazda 5 EGR Valve: Role and Operation

Role of the EGR valve

The EGR valve of your car has been added to diesel engines mostly to reduce pollution released by automobiles and to match EURO specifications on Mazda 5 . It will as a consequence control the quality of exhaust gas output and eliminate toxic particles, mainly Nitrogen Oxide.

Operation of the EGR valve

Before we discover how to clean the EGR valve on your Mazda 5 , we will have a look at how it operates. As described before, its goal is to clean the exhaust gases, so it will be placed 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 eliminate all unburned toxic particles. It will operate mostly at low speed because at high speed the combustion is sufficient to burn all these gases.

How to clean your Mazda 5 EGR valve: Identifying faults

The EGR valve, nevertheless very important to limit the pollution emissions of your Mazda 5 , will unfortunately tend to clog up because of soot/gas deposits that will build up in its system, which will inevitably risk blocking the functions of the valve, until completely blocking the engine, here are the signs of illness that a defective EGR valve on your Mazda 5 can provoke:

  • Motor light on
  • Performance loss
  • Technical assesment rejected
  • Black fumes
  • Vehicle that grazes at low speed
  • Low RPM settings

How to clean your Mazda 5 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 approaches that you can use.

Do it on your own

How to clean your Mazda 5 EGR valve system: Without dismantle

Even though this process is less effective, it is however possible to consider a “rough” cleaning of your EGR valve, actually, you will only need to use fuel additives, equivalent to the products used to clean the injection. These particular 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 Mazda 5.

How to clean your car EGR valve: With disassembly

Here is the most effective process, which will require sufficient access to the EGR valve to execute the process without help. If so, the process is fairly simple. 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 accomplished, now comes the time for cleaning. To make this happen, 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 also 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 Mazda 5.

Have it done by a professional

If, your EGR valve is not reachable because of the series or the engine of your car and if removing it would cause too many problems (removing too many parts that hinder access for example), how to clean the EGR valve of your Mazda 5? In such a case, it would be better rather than launching yourself into an overly complex operation, 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 based on the difficulty of access is between 70 and 300 €.

Remove the EGR valve of your Mazda 5

At last, some individuals make a more radical decision to limit the risk of a failed valve. Rather than cleaning the EGR valve of their Mazda 5, they just choose to block it in the closed position. This manipulation will have the effect of greatly increasing the pollution released by the vehicle, of no longer complying with pollution criteria, of having an engine warning light permanently on and finally risk fouling the engine. We strongly recommend against making this choice. If you have other questions or want to learn more about your car, don’t hesitate to take a look at our dedicated page.

If you need more guides on the Mazda 5, go to our Mazda 5 category.