Page 2. The rest of the story....
I had the Check Engine and VTM-4 lights come on at 129k miles and had the code read at AutoZone. This really sucks in the winter here in the buckle of the snow belt since Honda, in their infinte wisdom, has the AWD disengage when the VTM-4 light is on...even though it had nothing to do with the AWD!!
Anyway...the code was for "EGR Valve or Clogged EGR port." I replaced the valve first but the lights came back on shortly afterwards. I read one of the posts here on the forum about cleaning out the EGR port and thought that I'd give this a try before throwing money at sensors, etc. As soon as I pulled the intake cover I realized that the problem was MUCH bigger than just the EGR port. This is probably why some guys clean only the EGR port and still have the problem. The key, IMHO, is getting at that maze in the manifold cover. Screwdriver first, then solvent (I used B-12 Chemtool).
I did give the EGR port a little extra love and attention, first filling the port w/ B-12 and letting it soak, then pulling the EGR valve and flushing the crap out of it. The result is an impressive pile of goo on the garage floor. I did the trimmer string in drill thing too, but I wasn't too good at this and didn't get much (black gooey) juice for the squeeze.
This problem is bigger than a Sea full of Seafoam, though I admit that I tried this first. There is already a noticable improvement in mpg and I only had half a tank left when I did the procedure. Well worth the time IMHO. In fact, I don't think that I needed to replace the valve and would absolutely try this first before shelling out $130+ for a new EGR valve.
I kinda think this is worth a free Piloteer sticker, don't you?
