A friend messaged me w.r.t. her vehicle (a 2017 Kia Sportage) running poorly with the CEL on steady (but not flashing).
I read the code (P0010 - Camshaft Position Actuator Circuit), and noted that the idle speed was high (around 1500 RPM), the idle felt perhaps a bit rough, and the coolant in the pressurized reservoir was dancing around quite a bit. No bubbles, but I did wonder.
Our friend also reported that it might have been running hotter than usual, with the needle right at about half rather than the usual 7/16.
The oil showed at least half a litre overfull on the dipstick, making me wonder whether it was diluted with gasoline. (The vehicle is typically short-tripped around town, not exceeding 80 km/hr.)
I cleared the code, restarted the engine, and the vehicle ran fine. Idle was down around 875 RPM and smooth, and the coolant was not jumping around like it had been.
She drove home, the vehicle was fine, but when she went to drive it again, the symptoms all came back - CEL on, and high, rough idle.
Per some online research, oil of the wrong viscosity can cause the VVT actuator(s) to act up. I wonder if the (possibly diluted) oil is at an acceptable viscosity when cold, but thins out too much when the engine is hot.
I also wonder whether the actuator fails such that the camshaft is in its more aggressive mode (that is, I wonder whether it's opening the valves too quickly for too long). If so, that seems like a poor design - I'd way rather lose the high end breathing than the low end.
Thoughts? Thank you in advance!
I read the code (P0010 - Camshaft Position Actuator Circuit), and noted that the idle speed was high (around 1500 RPM), the idle felt perhaps a bit rough, and the coolant in the pressurized reservoir was dancing around quite a bit. No bubbles, but I did wonder.
Our friend also reported that it might have been running hotter than usual, with the needle right at about half rather than the usual 7/16.
The oil showed at least half a litre overfull on the dipstick, making me wonder whether it was diluted with gasoline. (The vehicle is typically short-tripped around town, not exceeding 80 km/hr.)
I cleared the code, restarted the engine, and the vehicle ran fine. Idle was down around 875 RPM and smooth, and the coolant was not jumping around like it had been.
She drove home, the vehicle was fine, but when she went to drive it again, the symptoms all came back - CEL on, and high, rough idle.
Per some online research, oil of the wrong viscosity can cause the VVT actuator(s) to act up. I wonder if the (possibly diluted) oil is at an acceptable viscosity when cold, but thins out too much when the engine is hot.
I also wonder whether the actuator fails such that the camshaft is in its more aggressive mode (that is, I wonder whether it's opening the valves too quickly for too long). If so, that seems like a poor design - I'd way rather lose the high end breathing than the low end.
Thoughts? Thank you in advance!
