P0015: Camshaft Position B — Timing Over-Retarded (Bank 1)
What to do
Check oil level and service interval. A brief rattle on startup alongside this code is worth mentioning to whoever diagnoses it.
What this code means
The bank 1 exhaust camshaft is sitting retarded of its commanded position. Where this code appears together with a rattle for the first second after a cold start, suspect the phaser's locking pin: many designs rely on oil pressure to hold position and a mechanical lock at rest, and a worn lock announces itself before the code does.
Likely causes
Start here
- Low or dirty engine oil · easy
- Clogged camshaft solenoid oil screen · easy
- Failed camshaft oil control solenoid · easy
- Worn camshaft phaser · specialist
Less common
- Stretched timing chain · specialist
Symptoms
Components involved
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.
Community experience
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What makes one worth reading:
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