P0401 Not enough exhaust gas is being recirculated
7 owner reports and 324 manufacturer filings across 58 model years from Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, Hyundai and others.
Where P0401 shows up
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications and complaintsShowing the 25 model years where P0401 appears most; it is on file for 58 in total.
A model year appears here because the code is named in its record, not because every one of these vehicles sets it. Counts are mentions in the federal files, not failure rates — nobody publishes the denominator.
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P0401 by make
The same record, one make at a time: the model years, bulletins and owner reports that name P0401 on that maker’s vehicles.
What it gets filed under
What owners said
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners’ own words, one per nameplate, scrubbed of anything identifying. These are unverified reports filed with NHTSA — they are what was said, not a finding that it was true.
The diagnostic trouble code was P0401 –and was diagnosed with an EGR cooler failure causing coolant to leak into the combustion chambers
On 8/15/25 I received a check engine light with error code P0401 indicating an issue with the EGR Valve
They wasn’t any warning signal or codes before this but not code p2600 and code p0401 are coming up
324 manufacturer filings name P0401. Start with what the maker wrote down.
A code names the test that failed, not the part. A bulletin that names it is often a diagnosis someone has already written down — quote its number at the service desk.
Manufacturer filings that name it
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communicationsService bulletins and campaigns whose filed summary names P0401.
- TSB 24-2263 Service bulletin2024-08-27 · Engine
- Some 2024 Edge and 2023 Nautilus vehicles built on 28-Aug-2023 and through 02-Apr-2024 equipped with a 2.0L EcoBoost engine may experience an illuminated malfunction indicator (MIL) with diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) P0401 or P2457. Various engine cooling system symptoms which may include an internal/external leak, white smoke from the tailpipe, and/or over-temperature warnings may also be prese
- 18-049-24 Service bulletin2024-05-17 · Power Train
- "Flash: Powertrain Control Module (PCM) Updates Customers must experience a Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) illumination and the vehicle must exhibit/set one or more of the following Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs): ● P0401 - EGR System Performance. ● P00FD - Battery B State Of Charge Performance. In addition, the following software enhancement(s) is/are available: ● Enable customers to operate a
- 23-EE-009H Service bulletin2023-08-21 · Engine And Engine Cooling
- This bulletin provides warranty procedure for EGR Valve replacement related to DTC P0401 EGR Flow Insufficient on 2020 and 2021MY Sonata (DN8a) equipped with 2.5 GDI Vehicles.
- TSB-23-13-004 Service bulletin2023-08-02 · Engine And Engine Cooling
- This Technical Service Bulletin provides instructions to reprogram the ECU with the countermeasure software when the check engine light illuminates with DTC of P0401/ P0400.
- NTB23-015 Service bulletin2023-02-23 · Engine And Engine Cooling
- MIL ON AND DTC P0401 STORED IN THE ECM IF YOU CONFIRM The Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) is ON and DTC P0401 (EGR System) is stored in the ECM. ACTION 1. Inspect the EGR fitting on the intake air duct (Figure 1) for a restriction. 2. Replace the intake air duct if a restriction is present in the EGR fitting.
- NTB22-067A Service bulletin2022-10-14 · Engine And Engine Cooling
- MIL ON WITH DTC P0401 AND/OR P0404 STORED IN THE ECM This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
What P0401 means
Source: SAE J2012 / OBD-IINot enough exhaust gas is being recirculated.
A stored code names the test that failed, never the part that caused it. It is the starting point of a diagnosis, not its conclusion — the same code has several possible causes and the cheap one is not always right.
Common questions about P0401
Source: NHTSA files and the OBD-II standardCan I keep driving with P0401 stored?
Nobody can answer that from the code alone, and a site that does is guessing. A steady light means a fault was logged and the car should be checked soon; a flashing light means a severe misfire — slow down and get it seen as soon as possible, because severe misfire can quickly damage the catalytic converter. The safe read of this page is the mileage and the components, not permission.
Does a code mean the car is recalled?
No. Recalls are filed by campaign and matched by VIN, and none of them are triggered by a scan tool. If you want to know whether an open recall applies to one specific vehicle, check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls — that is the only source that settles it.
Why do the counts here differ from other sites?
Because these are not estimates. Every number on this page is a count of documents in NHTSA's own files: manufacturer communications that name the code in their filed summary, and owner complaints that name it in the narrative. We do not model, weight or extrapolate them.
Will clearing the code fix it?
Clearing turns the light off and erases the freeze-frame data a technician would have used to work out what happened. If the condition is still there the code returns, usually within a few drive cycles, and the diagnosis now starts from less information than before.