Would EGR cause bad start?
Drove all day in the mountains yesterday and after about 8 hours the check engine light came on. The VX also seemed to lose some power going up Vail pass on I-70, but not horrible, I could hold 60 in 3, so maybe that's normal. I haven't checked the code, but last time it came on (in Feb) it was the EGR. I didn't replace the EGR, just bought a new gasket and cleaned it. Reset battery and check engine went away.
I've had an ongoing problem though, the first start in the morning is perfect, VX starts up and sits a little over 1k RPM. After driving it, even just 30 minutes, starting it up again takes 2 - sometimes 3 tries. Especially if it's warm out. The longer I drive, the harder to start. Park it overnight and in the morning it's fine again. No overheat issue at all, temp is always below half. When the check engine light came on, I pulled over right away and checked the oil and just looked for anything loose around the motor. Oil was perfect (just changed it, mobil1 of course).
Does anyone think an EGR would cause this? Is it one of those things I should just replace, since it probably never was ... ? I've been avoiding it since it's a $150 part. Thanks!
