Cause
Low or dirty engine oil
Engine oil is a working hydraulic fluid on a modern engine, not only a lubricant — variable valve timing and rocker arm actuators are moved by oil pressure through small passages and fine screens.
So oil level, grade and service history are diagnostic questions rather than maintenance ones, and the dipstick is the free first check on any code naming those systems.
Typically an easy fix. Often worth checking before paying anyone to look.
Some of these codes mean you should stop driving
47 of the 72 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 (72)
Codes where this is a likely explanation first, rather than merely a possible one.
- P0011 Camshaft Position A — Timing Over-Advanced or System Performance (Bank 1) Likely for this code Moderate
- P0012 Camshaft Position A — Timing Over-Retarded (Bank 1) Likely for this code Moderate
- P0014 B Camshaft Position — Timing Over-Advanced or System Performance Bank 1 Likely for this code Moderate
- P0015 Camshaft Position B — Timing Over-Retarded (Bank 1) Likely for this code Moderate
- P0021 Camshaft Position A — Timing Over-Advanced or System Performance (Bank 2) Likely for this code Moderate
- P0022 Camshaft Position A — Timing Over-Retarded (Bank 2) Likely for this code Moderate
- P0024 B Camshaft Position — Timing Over-Advanced or System Performance Bank 2 Likely for this code Moderate
- P0025 Camshaft Position B — Timing Over-Retarded (Bank 2) Likely for this code Moderate
- P0026 Intake Valve Control Solenoid Circuit Range/Performance — Bank 1 Likely for this code Moderate
- P0027 Exhaust Valve Control Solenoid Circuit Range/Performance — Bank 1 Likely for this code Moderate
- P0028 Intake Valve Control Solenoid Circuit Range/Performance — Bank 2 Likely for this code Moderate
- P0029 Exhaust Valve Control Solenoid Circuit Range/Performance — Bank 2 Likely for this code Moderate
- P0196 Engine Oil Temperature Sensor A Range/Performance Likely for this code Moderate
- P0298 Engine Oil Over Temperature Likely for this code Stop driving Critical
- P2646 A Rocker Arm Actuator System Performance or Stuck Off Bank 1 Likely for this code Moderate
- P2647 A Rocker Arm Actuator System Stuck On Bank 1 Likely for this code Stop driving High
- P2651 B Rocker Arm Actuator System Performance or Stuck Off Bank 1 Likely for this code Moderate
- P2652 B Rocker Arm Actuator System Stuck On Bank 1 Likely for this code Stop driving High
- P2656 A Rocker Arm Actuator System Performance or Stuck Off Bank 2 Likely for this code Moderate
- P2657 A Rocker Arm Actuator System Stuck On Bank 2 Likely for this code Stop driving High
- P265B B Rocker Arm Actuator Position Sensor Circuit Range/Performance Bank 1 Likely for this code Moderate
- P2661 B Rocker Arm Actuator System Performance or Stuck Off Bank 2 Likely for this code Moderate
- P2662 B Rocker Arm Actuator System Stuck On Bank 2 Likely for this code Stop driving High
- P3402 Cylinder 1 Deactivation/Intake Valve Control Circuit Performance Likely for this code Stop driving High
- P3406 Cylinder 1 Exhaust Valve Control Circuit Performance Likely for this code Stop driving High
Information, not instruction
CarGeek is a reference, not a service manual. Its pages are written from public sources and from what other people have found, never from a manufacturer's own service information, so they can be wrong or incomplete for your particular vehicle. Some of what they describe carries real risk: high voltage, fuel under pressure, stored energy, hot and moving parts.
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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What makes one worth reading:
- The car — make, model, year and engine. The same fault behaves differently on each.
- What you measured, not only what you replaced.
- What actually fixed it — or that nothing did, which is worth knowing too.
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