7 Symptoms of a Bad Camshaft Position Sensor (and Replacement Cost)
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.
What is a Camshaft Position Sensor?
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 Illuminates
When 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.
#2 – Ignition Problems
As 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 Surging
If 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 Stalling
An 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 Acceleration
Aside 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 Shifting
Certain 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 Mileage
This 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.
