P0402: too much exhaust is being fed back into the engine
EGR feeds a small amount of exhaust back into the engine to lower the temperature inside the cylinder and cut emissions. This code means the engine control unit has measured more exhaust flowing back than it expects, even at times it hasn't asked for any. It doesn't say why the flow is high, only that it is.
You might notice
- The engine warning light comes on
- The engine may idle unevenly or hesitate, since too much exhaust flowing back can act like unwanted air in the mixture
- EGR
- — a system that feeds a little of the exhaust back into the engine to lower the temperature inside the cylinder and cut emissions
What the code itself says
P0402 is a powertrain (engine, gearbox and drive system) code, and the 0 after the letter means it is a generic code with a standard meaning.
Grouped here as: Engine running, fuelling and misfires — Air metering, fuelling, ignition, misfire, idle, boost, knock, oxygen sensors and the catalyst, all working together in the running engine. That grouping is ours, to help explain the code. The code's official family is the letter at the start.
This page is generic. Your car isn't.
A code on its own only tells you what the sensor saw, not what's actually wrong — and that changes next to your other codes. Read this one together with the rest of your scan and we'll work out what's really going on.
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