Can someone shed some light on what the causes could be.

I know its an EGR sensor performance code. It says that either the travel or flow in the EGR system is abnormal. The dealer tells me that its the EGR valve. He says its common and it will have to be replaced. I know these valves get carbonned up. Is there a way to clean them? Is it hard to change? Any other possibilities? I can do the changes myself but I really don't want to buy an EGR valve if its not the problem. How can I make sure the EGR valve is defective before replacing it?

By the way the van only has 64000km / 40000mi

 

The dealer is right. Very common failure. Here's an article on it: EGR