P0015

A trouble code records what a control module measured. It does not identify which part failed. Test before replacing anything.

Safe to drive

Usually drivable short term with reduced power. Stop driving if oil pressure is low, oil level is down, or the engine rattles.

Urgency

Diagnose soon

Will it pass emissions

No

If ignored

Reduced mid-range power, worse fuel economy, rougher idle, and a failed emissions test. If the cause is degraded oil or restricted passages, the restriction also affects the timing chain tensioner and bearing feeds, so a solenoid-level problem grows into a chain or engine-level one over time.

Check engine light

Solid

Clearing the light

A completed drive cycle is normally required before the monitor re-runs and the light can clear.

• Power loss especially in mid-rpm range
• Possible rough idle or stalling
• Increased fuel consumption

Many vehicles show no symptom at all beyond the warning light. The absence of a symptom does not mean the fault is not real.

These are the causes this code can have. For the order to work through them in, see what to check first.

Ordering reflects how often each cause is responsible in general, not a probability for your vehicle. Confirm by testing.

In order. Each of these is cheaper or faster than what follows it, and each one can make the rest unnecessary.

1. Engine oil level, condition, and viscosity

   The phaser cannot move without oil pressure through small passages. This is the cheapest cause and an easily overlooked one, and it must be ruled out before any part is bought.

2. Whether a circuit code such as P0013 is also stored

   If the solenoid circuit is electrically faulty, the module cannot control the phaser at all. Fix the electrical fault first and retest before investigating anything hydraulic.

3. Whether a crank-to-cam correlation code is also stored

   A correlation code points at the timing chain rather than the phaser control system, and that is a fundamentally different and far more expensive repair.

4. Commanded versus actual cam angle on live data at full operating temperature

   It takes seconds and tells you whether the phaser is completely stuck, sluggish, or actually working with an intermittent fault.

5. The oil control valve connector for oil intrusion

   Oil wicking into the connector causes intermittent solenoid control that mimics a hydraulic problem, and it is a visual check that costs nothing.

1. Record all codes and freeze frame data

   Tools Scan tool

   Note temperature, rpm, load, and run time at the fault, and list every companion code. Circuit and correlation codes stored with P0015 redirect the entire diagnosis.

   Expected

   A full companion code list with the recorded conditions at the fault, captured before anything is cleared

2. Verify oil level, condition, viscosity, and interval

   Tools Basic hand tools, service data

   Check the level settled and cold, inspect the filler cap and dipstick for varnish, and confirm the viscosity matches the manufacturer's specification for that engine rather than what happens to be in it.

   Expected

   Oil full, clean, correct specified viscosity, within its interval

3. Graph commanded versus actual exhaust cam angle fully warm

   Tools Scan tool with graphing

   Watch both values at idle, at steady raised rpm, and during load changes. A trace where the actual value stays pinned at the fully retarded end while the command moves is the condition the code names.

   Expected

   Actual cam angle reaches and holds the commanded position within a few degrees

4. Command the oil control valve and observe cam response

   Tools Scan tool with bidirectional control

   Sweep the solenoid duty cycle with bidirectional control and watch whether the cam moves toward the commanded position at all. No movement with a good circuit points at the valve, the oil path, or the phaser. Check service data for whether oil advances or retards this engine's exhaust phaser before deciding whether you are looking for a blocked supply or a spool that will not seat. Sluggish movement points at oil supply or a worn phaser.

   Expected

   Cam moves smoothly and repeatably toward the commanded position

5. Test the solenoid electrically and then off the vehicle

   Tools Multimeter, scan tool, fused jumper leads, wiring diagram

   Confirm a good supply, confirm the module is switching the control side, and measure winding resistance with the connector unplugged against service data, which is engine-specific. Then energize the removed solenoid on the bench and confirm full spool travel.

   Expected

   Clean switching, resistance matching the service-data figure or the matching solenoid on the other bank, and full spool travel when energized

6. Inspect the oil control valve screen and feed passages

   Tools Hand tools, clean solvent, good light

   A screen packed with sludge or debris starves the phaser of the oil it needs to move. Clean and inspect thoroughly. Debris in the screen is also evidence about the engine's internal condition, not just about this valve.

   Expected

   Clean, unobstructed screen and free-moving spool

7. Measure hot engine oil pressure with a mechanical gauge

   Tools Mechanical oil pressure gauge and adapter

   Measure at idle and raised rpm with the oil at operating temperature. Location and specification vary by engine. Pressure below specification explains a phaser that cannot reach its target and needs its own diagnosis before any phaser is replaced.

   Expected

   Measured pressure meeting the engine's specified figure hot at both idle and raised rpm

8. Clear codes and verify over a full drive cycle

   Tools Scan tool with data logging

   Confirm the cam now reaches commanded position across the operating range through a complete warm-up, and that the monitor runs and passes without the code returning.

   Expected

   Cam tracks command, monitor completes, no codes return

Almost all the cost variation is access and how deep the real cause turns out to be. An oil change or a solenoid is inexpensive; anything behind the timing cover is not, and a shop will usually replace chain and tensioner while they are in there. Ranges are US independent-shop, parts plus labor.

• Buying a phaser before measuring oil pressure. If the supply is inadequate, a new phaser behaves exactly like the old one.
• Confusing P0015 with P0014. Same actuator, opposite direction, and different likely causes.
• Assuming a retarded-stuck cam always means oil is not reaching the phaser. On engines whose exhaust phaser parks advanced and is retarded by oil, the hydraulic cause runs the other way — check service data for that engine.
• Cleaning a sludged solenoid screen and reinstalling without addressing why it sludged, which brings the code back within months.
• Ignoring a companion circuit code, and diagnosing a hydraulic system that the module cannot electrically control in the first place.
• Assuming bank 1 is on the front side of a transverse engine. Bank 1 is the bank containing cylinder 1, and its physical position varies.
• Testing at idle only, when many phaser faults appear only under load and at full operating temperature.

• Camshaft Position Actuator
• Oil Control Valve
• Cam Phaser

• P0012"A" Camshaft Position - Timing Over-Retarded (Bank 1)Severity level 3 of 5: Diagnose soon.moderate
• P0022"A" Camshaft Position - Timing Over-Retarded (Bank 2)Severity level 3 of 5: Diagnose soon.moderate
• P0025"B" Camshaft Position - Timing Over-Retarded (Bank 2)Severity level 3 of 5: Diagnose soon.moderate
• P0014"B" Camshaft Position - Timing Over-Advanced (Bank 1)Severity level 3 of 5: Diagnose soon.moderate
• P0016Crankshaft Position - Camshaft Position Correlation (Bank 1 Sensor A)Severity level 4 of 5: Get it looked at now.high

Definition

Generic code set (SAE J2012 / ISO 15031-6) via the OBDexopen database, dedicated to the public domain under CC0-1.0.

Diagnostic guidance

Written and reviewed in-house. See our editorial policy.

Review status

Reviewed

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