Codes P0011, P0014, P0021, P0024

Hi Sisco,

When is the last time your checked your oil or changed it? The fact that you are getting all four cam sensor codes is very unlikely that they are all bad. Incorrect oil or old oil or low oil will cause this. Also, the engine noise is concerning. I am wondering if you are low on oil and it is starting to knock.

Attached is the diag for these codes. Also the location. FYI. this is just a picture of one of them but this component is on the front of each cam shaft.

I would not suggest just replacing these as it is not a simple plug in sensor.

Give this info a read and let me know what questions you have and then tell me about the oil and we can go from there. Thanks

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-camshaft-variable-valve-timing-works

Okay. That is great that we got it figured out. As for the cause, oil is either leaked out of the engine or it is used by the engine, which is commonly called burning oil. Every engine burns oil even when they are new. The issue comes in when they start burning too much. The main cause of an engine burning oil is the oil control ring on the piston becomes stuck or clogged with carbon.

The oil control ring is meant to keep the oil out of the combustion chamber of the engine but lubricate the sides of the cylinder.

Here is a video that explains this pretty well:

https://youtu.be/Wadmzv1Vs0Q

Now for what you need to do moving forward. First thing is, don't worry too much about this. Most likely you are using about one quart every thousand miles assuming you change your oil every 3,000 miles. That is at the high end of the scale but it is not to the point where you need think about doing anything drastic today. If it were me, I would set some money aside every month until you had enough to pay for a replacement engine and then if it ever fails (it may not fail for the remaining time you have the vehicle because as long as it has the proper amount of oil, this will not effect the performance for now) you can just replace the engine and keep moving.

Next, you need to check your oil every other time you fill your gas tank which will be every 600-750 miles. I would suggest just buying a case of oil and putting in your trunk. When it is a little low, top it off. This will prevent the engine from doing what you experienced at the beginning of this post.

There are a lot of products out there that say they will fix this but they don't actually fix anything. Most of them just prolong the life of the engine but you checking your oil will do the same thing. Those products actually give you a false sense of security so I just stick to the old fashion way of checking the oil.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks

I was a little concerned about this. This DTC says the catalytic converter is not performing as well as it should. It could be an o2 sensor that is contaminated by oil/soot but when an engine burns oil, it can damage the converter itself.

You have 4 sensors. One upstream (prior to the converter) on each side and then one down stream (past the converter) on each side.

This code is pointing to the Bank one side. This is detailed in the attachments.

I would suggest pulling them out and looking at them. You may find they are covered with oily residue and if they are, you want to replace them. Don't try to clean them because you can damage the components inside the sensor and it will not function properly.

https://youtu.be/oSPZ5rl0QH8