Glitchy ECM problem? CEL P0018
 

Long Time lurker. Any advice is appreciated.
Need advice on a CEL P0018
this code intermittently came and went after oil changes before, now it's consistently on.

Pic is of TIS scan of Initial VVT learning values. VVT #2 is out of range by 10ish degrees

car : 2013 FRS 38K
no engine mods. basic catback exhaust.
Engine runs fine. idle great. drives smooth. leads me to think it's not a timing issue.

Things I've tried so far.
tried running different oil weights as well.
swap and replaced the crankshaft position sensor.
swap and replace OCV.

haven't swapped ecu or pulled timing cover to check (i probably should but wanted to see if flashing would fix it first).

I read flashing it may make it relearn the initial position values.

If i flash with an OFT will it make the ecu relearn the values?

How is your oil pressure? Does the oil look clear or is it foamy? Just a shot in the dark but you mentioned that it did it after oil changes. VVT works on oil pressure. Maybe you have a problem with your oiling system.

Thanks for your fast responses.

Sly: i don't have a oil pressure sensor so i not sure. But oil doesn't look foamy just looks like fresh oil (after oil change), prior to oil change looked like any other old oil. no odd smells to it either from what i recall.

Ultramaroon: I did play with the value of bank 2 like a couple of pushes out of curiosity but didnt notice any crunchy. but I didn't pay much attention to it. I'll look further into it and feel out the other side to compare.

I'm like 20 pages into the post you link, It's been an emotional roller coaster. @ page 15 i was devasted in thinking i'd have to replace sprocket, then by 20 it's like maybe flashing an ecu will fix it. But i'm optimistic, I'll try reflashing ecu first.

Is a cheapo Tactrix just any J2534 cable (same cable i used with techstream)? Can I use this cable to flash/update my ecu?

Reflashinv wont fix your problem its a hardware issue


Condsidering that you swapped position sendors and ocv, that leaves the ecu or the actual cam actuators.


Be heaps easier and cheaper to swap in spare ecu. Then onky rearly actuators left which means engine dissassembly

So i'm not sure i fully understand. Reflashing the current ecm won't work because of the code? shouldn't reflashing the ecm erase that code?

I've also read your guide on how to flash the ecm here

It doesn't mention if you can mix and match. I assume it's all the same since same part numbers. and picked up a dirt cheap used ecm just now.
If i throw a 2013 brz ecm into the 2013 frs would i have to deal with the immobilizer?

Reflashing will clear cel codes and learned parameters, but if ecu has actual harware fault on the input\output channels for the cam sensors or ocv control signals then reflashing wont fix that.


You can use any model ecu hardware all the same but you may need to flash ecu with a compatavle calibration id\tune to get car to start


Ecu swap proceedure i wrote up here





http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102810

My 2013 FRS has this problem which is why I ditched it. Changed the OCV and swapped the sensors and did not do a thing. Ended up needing a new sprocket and EFU. The P0018 code was soft coded into the ECU and wouldn’t go away. Even after the hardware was fixed, still had ECU issue.

It’s not the actual sensor, it’s the Sprocket. If you love this car, change all 4. I changed one and sold the car with the possibility of 3 sprockets going bad. This was recommended by the dealer as the engine needs to come out anyways. Might as well only do it once.