# 2007 JETTA: Fault codes P0016, P0300, P0304, P0305, P0303



## Steelart99 (Aug 27, 2013)

*2007 JETTA: Fault codes P0016, P0300, P301-P305*

I have a 2007 Jetta (2.5L BCG) with 185K miles that was running fine. Shut off the engine for about 10 minutes and then restarted. Engine light came on and runs a bit rough especially at low rpm or initial acceleration. Car runs okay at higher rpm although I can detect some low level vibration. Drove for 50+ miles with usual acceleration etc. After engine cooled (and codes reset), the engine starts with minimal vibration, but when I put it into gear and move a few feet, the engine light comes back on.

Detected codes P0016, P0300, P0301 - P0305. Crankshaft Position - Camshaft Position Correlation, Random Misfire Detected, Cylinders 1-5 Misfire detected.

What does this combination seem to indicate if they all showed up at the same time???

What sequence of actions can I take to work through possible issues?

Thanks


----------



## possgsi86 (Jan 21, 2010)

*Timing Chain Stretch*

Sounds like you have some stretch in your timing chain and the timing is slightly off.


----------



## Steelart99 (Aug 27, 2013)

possgsi86 said:


> Sounds like you have some stretch in your timing chain and the timing is slightly off.


Thanks for the reply.

Of all the possibilities, that was the one I was trying to avoid. From what I see online, a timing chain replacement can be quite expensive. 

I've replaced the crankshaft sensor; no change. 

Then I found that I was very low on oil (no dash light indicator), so I just changed the oil/oil filter; no change in error codes. It appears that i was down to under 3 liters of oil when the capacity is 6 liters. 

I may change the cam shaft sensor too, before starting to pursue a timing chain replacement.


----------



## possgsi86 (Jan 21, 2010)

If you were low on oil, its possible the hydraulic tensioner slacked and you jumped a tooth on one of the cam sprockets.
-This all just happened to me... ended up swapping the motor. When i replaced the timing chain i barred the cam into position and bumped a cylinder and bent a couple valves. I should have done some research before trying this. Its not a bad job to do.

To check timing; pull your valve cover off, when the motor is at tdc cylinder one at top position(passenger side cylinder) on the drivers side of the cams you will see a flat on each of the cams. these should be parallel.


----------



## Steelart99 (Aug 27, 2013)

possgsi86 said:


> If you were low on oil, its possible the hydraulic tensioner slacked and you jumped a tooth on one of the cam sprockets.
> -This all just happened to me... ended up swapping the motor. When i replaced the timing chain i barred the cam into position and bumped a cylinder and bent a couple valves. I should have done some research before trying this. Its not a bad job to do.
> 
> To check timing; pull your valve cover off, when the motor is at tdc cylinder one at top position(passenger side cylinder) on the drivers side of the cams you will see a flat on each of the cams. these should be parallel.



Thanks for the way to check timing. I wasn't sure if there was an 'easy' way to do this. Pulling the valve cover should not be that big an issue. I assume I'll need to replace the valve cover gasket when I reinstall it ???

When you say that replacing the chain is 'not a bad job to do' ... I'm stumped. All the DIY methods I've seen on this forum seem rather difficult for a casual DIY'er. Have I missed a something???

Thanks again,
Dan


----------



## Steelart99 (Aug 27, 2013)

*Resolution*

I thought I'd post a resolution to my issue. Sorry about the length.

Vehicle: VW Jetta 2.5L BCG, 2007 with 185,000 miles

Issue:
1.	Driving back from the CO Mountains and the Jetta was running fine
2.	Made a brief stop (10 minutes) and then restarted engine
3.	Engine light came on and I noticed some misfires at lower rpm
4.	Drove an additional 50 miles at speeds up to 80 mph and barely noticed misfiring
5.	Next day I checked engine trouble codes and found:
----a.	P0016: Crankshaft Position - Camshaft Position Correlation
----b.	P0300: Random Misfire Detected, 
----c.	P0301 thru P0305: Cylinders 1-5 Misfire detected
6.	Starting the engine was becoming more difficult

Repairs and Testing (note: fault codes are cleared before each retest)
1.	Replaced the crankshaft sensor; no change in fault codes
2.	Noticed that oil level was very low although the oil level idiot light had never come on
3.	Drained oil and measured only about half (3 Liters) of the amount required
4.	Replaced oil filter and added 6.5 Liters of oil
5.	Replaced the camshaft sensor; no change in fault codes
6.	Noticed that there was some oil just below the vacuum pump
7.	I think I may have had a cascading failure. I believe my vacuum pump was leaking oil (oil 'mess' on top of tranny), then my oil level idiot light did not come on, then my oil level dropped to half of what it was supposed to be, which MAY have caused the timing chain to jump
8.	Purchased a set of vacuum pump seals and rebuilt/reinstalled the vacuum pump. I did not anticipate that this would change any fault codes; it was a repair of the failure source.
9.	Per the suggestion of Humble Mechanic I pulled and cleaned the N205 sensor
10.	I noticed that oil level was too high. Drained oil until level was correct per dipstick
11.	I wanted to verify that I had a timing chain issue before attempting that repair
12.	Removed the ignition wiring and coils
13.	Removed the spark plugs and noted that they were both dirty and had white deposits (overheating?)
14.	Checked compress on each cylinder to verify that I had not damaged any valves. All cylinders were at about 135-140 psi, so there did not appear to be any valve damage
15.	Removed the valve cover
16.	Rotated engine (clockwise only) to bring the #5 cylinder to exactly Top Dead Center
17.	Timing Chain check per Humble Mechanic: To determine if the timing chain was stretched or had jumped a tooth, I used some precision ground steel and a micrometer to check the flats on the camshafts to determine if they were or were not exactly level with each other. To my surprise, they seemed to be exactly parallel or if they were off, it was by less than 0.75 degree. This would seem to indicate that I did not have a timing chain issue
18.	Reinstalled valve cover with new gasket
19.	Installed new spark plugs
20.	Reinstalled coils and ignition wiring
21.	Reassembled engine cover and air intake ducting
22.	Cleared fault codes and started engine. NO FAULT CODES DETECTED
23.	Drove at moderate speed for about 5 miles. No issues starting engine, no misfires and no new fault codes
24.	I’ll do some longer, higher speed trips to determine if the ‘fix’ is permanent
25.	I’m not sure what finally corrected the issue but suspect it might have been changing the oil and replacing the trashed spark plugs or possibly cleaning the N205 sensor


----------



## Ark83 (Apr 26, 2012)

:thumbup::thumbup:

Love it when solutions are posted. Good troubleshooting post. I am sure this will help someone in the future.


----------

