Cause
Incorrect injection timing
Fuel injected at the wrong moment relative to the piston, either through a timing error in the drive or through the module commanding a timing it cannot verify. On a modern engine timing is calculated rather than set, so this is usually the module acting on a wrong reference rather than anybody having mistimed anything.
A stretched timing chain or a slipped belt is the mechanical version, and it moves the camshaft's relationship to the crankshaft so that every calculation based on it is offset. The signature is a correlation code between crankshaft and camshaft alongside the injection fault — the module is telling you its two references disagree.
The consequences are worth understanding because they are visible. Injection too early raises peak pressure and produces a harsh knock and high oxides of nitrogen; too late leaves fuel burning into the exhaust, which shows as smoke, poor economy and rising exhaust temperatures — and on a filter-equipped engine, unnecessary regenerations. Verify the mechanical timing marks before adjusting anything electronic, since a module cannot compensate for a chain that has jumped a tooth.
Typically specialist work. Needs equipment or training most home workshops do not have.
Some of these codes mean you should stop driving
1 of the 3 codes this can cause indicate a fault where continuing to drive risks damage or is unsafe. Which one you have matters more than the cause does — read the code's own page before deciding.
Codes this can cause (3)
Codes where this is a likely explanation first, rather than merely a possible one.
Information, not instruction
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Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
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