P0016 on a 60k mile car

[jrhudson]

I have a built motor and actually replaced the two intake cam sprockets initially when the motor was first put together. Now at 1100 miles i got a P0018. I did the usually OCV and cam sensor swap with same code P0018. Now i'm trying to get techstream to work to verify if my cam sprocket is working in acceptable ranges and i'm a little confused on how to download it.

also would using a ecutek OBDII connector work with techstream?

When the CEL and slip lights come on, the rough idle or loss of power isn't apparent, at least to me, but i've been babying(>4000RPM) the car since i'm still in the break-in period.

[kinghurl]

In my car the loss of power was very subtle and really apparent when (legally) drag racing other similarly prepped cars. Totally driveable most of the time other than the code, but the loss of power was clear and verifiable.

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[demasrv]

After around 500 miles on a new small block I decided to push the engine a bit. The car threw a P0016 and then a few days later a P000b. I ended up taking the two exhaust OCVs out, cleaned them up and one of the plungers was sticking some. I used some compressed air and electronics cleaner, then swapped the OCV positions. I drove the piss out of it and my rough idle conditions disappeared and I haven't seen a code since.

Fingers crossed!

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EDIT: Still good after 200ish miles of some hard driving. I'm thinking the plunger just got sticky after just sitting without oil for several months while I was working on the rebuild. That or some sealant got in there from the last rebuild/valve spring recall.

[Doof_FRS]

My brain is a little fried from 5+ hours of reading on this code so if the answer should be obvious please forgive me. I have a 2013 FRS m/t that I bought used with about 90k mi, about a year ago the engine decided to kamikaze itself driving home from work, I spent months trying to find a replacement. Found a pretty good deal on an engine/trans combo out of a 2014 FRS with about 74k mi on it. I swapped over to the replacement and started driving it, it threw the P0016 as well as P000A and P0011. After having a local mechanic take a look they said it seems fine mechanically(I doubt they checked values in ecu) I reset the codes and drove maybe 50mi over 3 days and my CEL and slip came on, but just P0016 comes up as pending/permanent/and stored.

This all leads to the question: Could blowing up my engine cause these codes to come up and now they are “burned in” on my ecu and need the “5k relearn” or is it more likely that it is caused by the new engine?

Hopefully this makes as much sense as it does in my head, again I’ve been reading about this for 5+ hours on a phone so my heads pretty fried.

EDIT- Not sure if anyone is still floating around this thread but to update I swapped the OCVs and checked the sensor. The sensor was definitely dirty so I cleaned that up and will be test driving tomorrow.

EDIT PT 2(P0016 boogaloo)- Cleaned sensor, cleared codes, drove for about 80mi so far and no more codes.

[86JW]

2013 FRS here

P0018 code

Tried swapping sensors left to right, code remained P0018. After reading all day on this the next plan is to swap in new cam gears and ECU.

Can someone confirm my shopping list?

Intake Cam sprockets:
Part Number: 13320AA070
Part Number: 13322AA080
ECU: 22765AG511

[ShadowReaper]

This thread has been deader than dirt for a while but thank you to everyone that shared their experience. I have now also been blessed with the cursed p0016 and spent about a week reading this thread, learned a lot from @Ultramaroon and @rusty959

I have been on JDL Turbo (tuned by James Martin), 5w 30 oil for around 7 years now with no issues whatsoever but a wire that was partially consumed by heat.

There seem to be a lot of correlations with certain factors from others in this thread. I also got the code around 60k, during cold weather, near the end of oil life, car runs completely fine. The only noticeable symptom for me, besides loss of power, is that the RPMs will shoot down close to 500 and near stall when shifting gears, usually when going into 1st and it feels like it's “easier” to stall the car. This was going on well before the code. Could this directly point out the sprocket?

Based on experiences in this thread, if there is most likely nothing wrong with the timing itself like the code suggests (sounds intimidating when first reading that), then it sounds like there is really no critical concern with the car besides loss of power.

The most I’ll do is oil change, clean/swap sensors/OCVs, clear/flash with ECUtek. If it comes back after that I’m just going to a subaru known performance shop I know and let them find the mechanical issue first before I do anything with the ECU.

Which is what makes this whole thing such a damn hassle. The ECU. I understand there’s a write up on switching ECUs but how much of a hassle is it to go back to the ECUtek tune on the former ECU to the new one?

[Ultramaroon]

@tomm.brz

[tomm.brz]

p0016 is probably just an OCV
they are relatively cheap new, change them, maybe just 2 at time to spend less for now

about a new ecu i do not see the necessity but in case you ll need a new ecutek license and you ll need the .bin file that was flashed into the ecu you have right now, no real hassle just expensive because of new license
you ll also probably need techstream to set a VIN into the new ecu before buying a new license

anyway
just replace OCVs

[ShadowReaper]

Originally Posted by tomm.brz

p0016 is probably just an OCV
they are relatively cheap new, change them, maybe just 2 at time to spend less for now

about a new ecu i do not see the necessity but in case you ll need a new ecutek license and you ll need the .bin file that was flashed into the ecu you have right now, no real hassle just expensive because of new license
you ll also probably need techstream to set a VIN into the new ecu before buying a new license

anyway
just replace OCVs

Thanks. I sure hope that's the case, seems like most people in the thread OCV change didn't do it.

[TorqueRavine]

I know this old, but just coming here to say I had a P0018, and fixed it. It’s been over a year and the code hasn’t returned.

I figured out which model ECU my car came with, then went to the delicious tuning website. They have an OTF OTS (Off The Shelf) Stage 1 tune for our car, you don’t need any supporting mods to run it. I downloaded it, flashed it onto my ECU using a Tactrix, and not only did the code go away, but the torque dip was basically gone as well.

Anything to avoid going to the stealership lol

[kcratos]

@tomm.brz @Ultramaroon

Sorry to tag you out out of the blue,

I have P0016 code with 160k miles. stock. Never beat on the car oil changes every 5k miles. 3x a year.

Car was driving good without any problems but then my dumb ass cleared the code with my mechanic and his scanner also reset the ECU. the car started to shut off bc air fuel ratio needs to relearn. Then the code came up again but now I just remove it with torque app. I've adjusted to the throttle. It does shut off sometimes when I throw it into neutral while cruising to a stop.
But The car seems to be getting better as I drive more. like 100 miles now. It doesn't seem to be in a limp mode ether, I've tested it on highway it did go above 4500 rpm

If I replace the OCVs or "clean them" the ecu wont be able to adjust to it?
and i would need to replace the ECU the ($1000OEM or the $100 used) to fix the code from coming back.

But if I have the code but the car drives and its not the sensor,(ive replaced it) can I just continue driving. Maybe Do an oil change and would the car learn to adjust to dirty OCV even it it takes 5000 miles. could it go away on its own?

Or should i replace the OCV and have the existing ECU try to adjust and relearn back to clean OCVs for 5000 miles.

Also, can anyone verify TorqueRavine solution? @TorqueRavine can you pls give more detail.

[tomm.brz]

at that mileage i d just have the mechanic open the front cover and change chains and retainers

anyway yes open the OCVs to clean them... i would also change them or at least 2 of them, they aren't expensive though
i've seen some car improve vvt precision swapping them new

With engine stone cold, disconnect battery, clean ocvs, reconnect battery and press 4 times throttle pedal slowly til floored and then release is slowly, with ignition on (2 times start button without clutch)

then crank engine on and leave it idling more than 5 minutes

Clean air filter and maf sensor possibly, it s not very normal for the engine to shut down randomly at crossroads

[tomm.brz]

at that mileage i d just have the mechanic open the front cover and change chains and retainers

anyway yes open the OCVs to clean them... i would also change them or at least 2 of them, they aren't expensive though
i've seen some car improve vvt precision swapping them new

With engine stone cold, disconnect battery, clean ocvs, reconnect battery and press 4 times throttle pedal slowly til floored and then release is slowly, with ignition on (2 times start button without clutch)

then crank engine on and leave it idling more than 5 minutes

Clean air filter and maf sensor possibly, it s not very normal for the engine to shut down randomly at crossroads

[kcratos]

Originally Posted by tomm.brz

at that mileage i d just have the mechanic open the front cover and change chains and retainers

anyway yes open the OCVs to clean them... i would also change them or at least 2 of them, they aren't expensive though
i've seen some car improve vvt precision swapping them new

With engine stone cold, disconnect battery, clean ocvs, reconnect battery and press 4 times throttle pedal slowly til floored and then release is slowly, with ignition on (2 times start button without clutch)

then crank engine on and leave it idling more than 5 minutes

Clean air filter and maf sensor possibly, it s not very normal for the engine to shut down randomly at crossroads

Thank you for your response.

"With the engine cold" procedure what is this for ?