Encountering a check engine light (CEL) during a road trip is never ideal, especially when you have your family in tow. Recently, while embarking on a 314-mile round trip in our newly acquired 2008 Toyota Sienna (with about 90,000 miles), that dreaded yellow light illuminated on the dashboard. It was a chilly day, around 20 degrees, and the timing couldn’t have been worse.
After the initial shock and a brief vocabulary lesson courtesy of my kids, I decided to press on. To my relief, the Sienna seemed to be running perfectly fine. There were no signs of rough idling, no power loss, or any other noticeable issues. Hoping it was a minor sensor glitch, perhaps an O2 sensor, we continued to our destination without incident.
Upon reaching our destination, a quick trip to Autozone revealed the culprit: OBD2 code P0015. Specifically, “P0015 ‘B’ Camshaft Position – Timing Over-Retarded (Bank 1).” A quick dive into online forums painted a confusing picture. Solutions ranged from simply resetting the CEL and ignoring it, to drastic and expensive repairs at the Toyota dealership. The internet, as usual, offered a spectrum of possibilities, not all of them comforting.
Opting for the least intrusive approach initially, I decided to reset the check engine light. For the next 30 miles of local driving, the CEL remained off. Encouraged, we cautiously began our 157-mile journey back home. To our surprise, the Sienna performed flawlessly. No CEL reappeared, power remained consistent, no misfires, no rough idling, and even the fuel economy was normal, hovering around 23 MPG. It was as if the problem had vanished into thin air.
While the immediate issue seemed to resolve itself, I’m not one to ignore potential problems, especially with engine codes. My next step is to try a common DIY fix suggested in various forums for the P0015 code: using Seafoam. I plan to add half a bottle of Seafoam to the engine oil and drive for about 100 miles. Following this, I’ll perform a complete oil change using full synthetic Mobil 1 5w-30 and a new oil filter. The theory is that a small deposit or sludge might be affecting the Oil Control Valve (OCV), causing the P0015 code. Seafoam and a fresh oil change are often cited as potential remedies to clean out such deposits.
Only time will tell if this approach permanently resolves the P0015 code issue on our 2008 Toyota Sienna. For now, the check engine light is off, and the van is running smoothly. Hopefully, any rogue particles causing the issue will be trapped by the new oil filter after the oil change. I’ll post an update after putting another 500 miles or so on the Sienna to let you know if the P0015 code reappears or if the DIY fix proves successful. Stay tuned for updates!
