Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting CEL and dealer diagnosis, am I being screwed?

I took my contour into the dealer for a bunch of problems today. A blown strut and heater switch resistor that were covered by my extended contract, and a CEL that wasn't.

They said that the intermittent CEL was caused by carbon buildup that was stopping the EGR from working properly, so they have to take off my intake and clean it and ****. They are charging me 400 bucks for that. I don't mind paying the 400 if the problem is going to be fixed, and these are the first probs I've really had with my car which has 52,000 miles on it. But is the carbon buildup gonna happen again in another couple years requiring getting all this work done again ? is it from bad gasoline or something?

Short answer, yes.
I would hold off on agreeing to that work until you get a little more info yourself on the subject from this site. Funny that with extended warranty they pick the thing you have to pay for.
No CEL points to cleaning specifically, most point to a range of items that are to be checked.
Another dealer's opinion would be wise if you are not a DIY type, also useful to get CEL code they read and post it here for comment. It was probably a code that indicates "insufficient EGR flow".
I can add more later and I'm sure others will.

superblue ...

I had the same problem in '99. CEL came on intermittantly and then went off. I ignored it for a while because the manual said it wasn't "serious" .. arr ... arr ... Finally got sick of looking at the CEL and took it in. Got the usual treatment ... $70 for diagnostic ... then it's this, it's that, could be this, etc.

The CEL code was for too rich/too lean mixture and the tech deduced that it was my MAF (mass air flow sensor) had died because my CEL light didn't come on during the ignition of the car ... ie: as you turn the key on to start it, the idiot lights come on to show you what's working, etc. ... That was the first issue: $175 for the MAF + labor ($25 for nothing to install the part) ... Then, they told me the CEL would light again for clogged EGR ports; which it did.

This issue seems to only be around during cold months for me - presumably the carbon gook gets watery enough that the sensor still works from about "May through September >>> it's now a fair-weather Contour" .. but then I blow a code again in winter as the gunk gets colder and tends to thicken up ..... I haven't yet cleaned out the upper intake and purchased a new EGR valve yet, but am tempted to do it soon myself. I had a really, really hot July in 2000 and this seemed to help loosen this crude during the hot months !

There is a step by step instruction on how to clean the upper and lower [if you must] intake here in FAQ's and a number of folks have also done it ... check the search feature for "EGR Ports and cleaning".

I do notice an improvement in gas mileage in summer and some slight loss in power in winter due to the sludge, etc and cold/warm weather effects.

I'd check the MAF issue ... this might be causing your EGR problem. Could be something else, too ... maybe a more knowledgable poster can help .... If your MAF is dead and they only clean your intake/EGR valve ... then you will have the same problems in a few months, I would think.

regards,

my95contour

You got seriously screwed!

A CEL diagnostic check (takes 15 seconds) would be covered under warranty.

$400 for cleaning the intakes is larceny plain & simple. It's a simple, 2 hour DIY job.