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A glowing check engine light, stalling, poor acceleration and bad fuel mileage are all possible signs your camshaft position sensor may be failing.Gone are the days of carburetors and distributors, replaced by a variety of sensors that help a car’s computer get the maximum performance out of the engine. A camshaft position sensor (or any sensor) can fail due to wear-and-tear or an accident. Here’s what you need to know.
What Is a Camshaft Position Sensor and What Does It Do?A camshaft position sensor is an electronic device that does what it suggests — monitor the camshaft position and speed — and feeds that data to the vehicle’s engine control module (ECM). The ECM needs this data to control how much fuel enters the combustion chamber and ignition (spark) timing to ignite the fuel. When the air/fuel mixture is ignited at precisely the right time, engine power and fuel economy increase, and tailpipe emissions decrease. On modern auto-start/auto-stop engines, the camshaft position sensor determines which cylinder is in its power stroke relative to the crankshaft position, delivering fuel and spark to start the engine when you step on the accelerator. A bad camshaft position sensor may give you a warning before it completely fails and leaves you stranded. What Are the Symptoms of a Bad or Failing Camshaft Position Sensor?1. Check Engine Light Comes OnThe most common indicator that the camshaft position sensor is failing is a lit Check Engine light. OBD II (on-board diagnostics II) systems efficiently monitor vehicle hardware and software and can detect part deterioration that causes imperceptible performance changes before a part completely fails. Although you can connect to the ECM using a DIY scan tool to try and diagnose the problem, it’s best to take it to the pros when the Check Engine light illuminates. Ignoring the Check Engine light can lead to expensive engine or transmission repairs. 2. Poor DrivabilityA failing camshaft position sensor begins losing its ability to quickly transfer data. Mismatched fuel delivery and ignition timing, even if off by a few milliseconds, will cause your vehicle to sputter, accelerate poorly, lack power, stall or even shut off. 3. Transmission Shifting ProblemsData received by the ECM from a failing camshaft position sensor can keep transmission shift solenoids from operating and gears from shifting. Called “limp-home-mode” on some models, it helps protect the engine from damage by restricting engine speed. 4. Bad Fuel EconomyInaccurate camshaft position sensor data can keep fuel injectors open too long, forcing excess fuel into the combustion chamber. This also can cause engine knocking and serious damage if too much liquid gasoline (which does not compress) builds up in the combustion chamber. The Engine Will Not StartIf you ignore the symptoms listed here and your camshaft position sensor fails, your vehicle will not start. As a camshaft position sensor weakens, so does the data it transmits to the ECM. Eventually the data signal becomes so weak the ECM switches off fuel and spark delivery, and your engine will not start. This is only a frustrating inconvenience if it happens while your car is parked, but it can be a dangerous situation if your car shuts off while you’re driving. When your vehicle doesn’t run like it used to, or the Check Engine light is on, the camshaft position sensor may need to be replaced. Eventually your engine will stop running if you disregard these symptoms. Last Updated on January 24, 2022 The camshaft position sensor (CMP) is just one of the many electrical parts found in a vehicle. We’ll go over what this component is, the symptoms of a bad camshaft position sensor, and what you can expect its replacement cost to be when it’s faulty. A lot of people confuse the camshaft position sensor with the crankshaft position sensor because they sound similar. But there’s a big difference between the two as they perform different functions in the vehicle and have different symptoms when something goes wrong with them. Need help with a car problem RIGHT NOW? Click Here to chat online with a verified mechanic who will answer your questions. Related: Single Overhead Cam Engine vs Double Overhead Cam Engine
 Every modern-day vehicle has a camshaft position sensor. This sensor is a very important part of any vehicle because it helps ensure that the engine is running properly. You may have trouble spotting the sensor when you look under the hood of your car. Usually, different car manufacturers will have their own unique spot near the engine for mounting the sensor. You may find it either in back of the cylinder head, in the lifter valley of the vehicle, or next to the engine block. The purpose of a camshaft position sensor is to determine the position of the camshaft as it relates to the crankshaft. This data is then sent to the powertrain control module (PCM) for use with fuel injector and/or ignition system control. Common Symptoms of a Faulty Camshaft Position Sensor#1 – Check Engine Light IlluminatesWhen your camshaft position sensor is faulty or starts having issues, the first thing you should notice is that your “Check Engine” light comes on in your dashboard. Obviously, the “Check Engine” light could indicate a variety of problems and not necessarily a bad camshaft position sensor. In this case, you should either use an OBD2 scan tool to retrieve the stored diagnostic trouble code(s) in your car or have a professional mechanic perform an inspection of the vehicle’s engine control module to see what is going on. They too will scan this module in order to receive a series of error codes which will indicate to them what the real problem is. Please do not ignore or postpone scanning your vehicle or getting it inspected when your Check Engine light turns on or else your engine could end up getting seriously damaged. The engine could even end up failing altogether, which means you’d end up having to either rebuild or replace your engine. Related: P0010 Code, P0011 Code, P0013 Code, P0016 Code, P0340 Code, P0341 Code, P1345 Code #2 – Ignition ProblemsAs a camshaft position sensor starts having problems and weakens, the transmitted signal to the car’s computer weakens as well. This means the eventually the signal is so weak that it will not allow the car to start since there will be no spark from the ignition. #3 – Car Jerking or SurgingIf you are driving your vehicle and the camshaft position sensor starts failing, the engine will at times simply lose power and cause your car to jerk or randomly surge forward. These are both a result of an improper amount of fuel being injected into the cylinders since the PCM is getting incorrect information from the camshaft position sensor. #4 – Engine StallingAn even worse scenario than not being able to start your car is that your engine actually shuts off or stalls while you’re driving because the fuel injectors aren’t being told to inject fuel into the engine cylinders. We probably don’t need to tell you how dangerous that situation could be. #5 – Poor AccelerationAside from jerking, your vehicle won’t be able to accelerate very fast when your camshaft sensor begins to fail. Heck, you’d be lucky to accelerate past 30 miles-per-hour in some cases. The poor acceleration is again due to incorrect fuel delivery by the injectors. #6 – Problems ShiftingCertain models of cars with a bad camshaft position sensor will end up with a locked transmission that stays stuck in a single gear. The only way you’ll be able to get out of that gear is to shut off your engine, wait a bit, and then restart. This is only a temporary solution and the problem will reappear so replacement of the sensor is necessary as a permanent fix. Along with this, your vehicle may put itself into “limp mode” which won’t allow you to shift gears or accelerate beyond a certain speed. #7 – Bad Fuel MileageThis is the opposite of not delivering enough fuel to the engine. In this case, because of an inaccurate reading from a bad camshaft position sensor, more fuel than necessary is injected into the engine which causes your fuel economy to drop. Camshaft Position Sensor Replacement CostTo replace a camshaft position sensor, you can expect to pay anywhere from $95 to $200. Parts alone will run about $25 to $100. Labor costs will be in the range of $70 to $100 for professional replacement. Expect to pay more if you have a luxury vehicle or are having your local car dealership perform the replacement. There will also be additional fees and taxes added on to these costs as well. Can You Replace a Camshaft Position Sensor Yourself?Yes. This is one of those jobs that almost anyone can do and is an easy way to save yourself the minimum labor fee (often close to $100) that a repair shop or dealership will charge you. It should take about 5-10 minutes to replace it. How to Replace a Camshaft Position Sensor
TipWhen you bring your vehicle in to a dealership or repair shop for routing service or a tune-up, the mechanic won’t normally inspect the camshaft position sensor if they are not asked to. If you have experienced any of the warning signs listed above, let them know you think it may be the camshaft position sensor. This will allow them to quickly inspect the camshaft position sensor to determine whether it’s causing these problems. How do you know if your camshaft sensor is bad?A glowing check engine light, stalling, poor acceleration and bad fuel mileage are all possible signs your camshaft position sensor may be failing. Gone are the days of carburetors and distributors, replaced by a variety of sensors that help a car's computer get the maximum performance out of the engine.
How do I test my camshaft position sensor?Set your multimeter to Ohms and touch your meter leads to the sensor terminal pins. If there is infinite resistance, the sensor is open and you need to replace it. On some models, you'll get a resistance value between 200 and 900 ohms. Consult your repair manual specifications.
How do you reset a camshaft position sensor?Unfortunately, there's no way to reset a camshaft position sensor. If you're having camshaft issues (check engine light on, acceleration trouble, sputtering and stalling, etc.), you'll have to replace the part entirely.
What causes camshaft position sensor to go out?There are a number of reasons your camshaft sensor might break down: grime and oil in the engine, water damage, bad wiring, and overheating can all cause a camshaft sensor to go bad. The biggest thing to do to avoid this is to take care of your car.
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How to check if camshaft position sensor is bad
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