I checked engine, what is my code? plz help Options

[ssnake86]

About two months ago my check engine light came on, two days later while driving down to toyota to see what the problem was it just turned off. And i thought well maybe its just a sensor problem or soemthing, cause the car drives perfectly normal. Since then it flashed on and off about 4 or 5 more times. at one time i had not seen it on for about a month. It came back on again today, so i checked it with the paper clip. it flashed 7 times and paused for maybe a sec and flashed once more. Does anyone know what this could be? is it serious?

[Snarfer]

EGR valve recirculates exhaust gases back into the intake manifold, helps reburn certain gases, as well as dilutes the the fuel/air mixture (One the reasons JDM models have more power, no EGR). I think there are three things that would cause the check engine, one is a leaky hose going in and out of the egr. Next is a bad valve or carbon deposits collecting in the valve, there is some way to check how to test it with a vacuum. The last is the solenoid that controlls how much the valve opens and closes. A bad EGR can harm the engine, if less fuel/air dilution takes place the engine may run hotter, or detonation and pinging could occur. This is probably unlikely, and toyotas can take a beating. The worst that will probaly occur is some erratic idleing and that's it.