2006 legacy cel code P0021

[TNHSTI]

hi guys so the other day i just purchased a 2006 prefacelift 3.0r legacy in 6spd manual from dunedin 

 

i drove it home to nelson and within 30mins of nelson the cel light came on but went off again after 10min while i was driving i decided it was fine 

 

after getting home and a new tank of fuel i realised the fuel economy was terrible after the cel light issue i got to half a tank and it only had done 150ks

 

so i got my obd scanner and plugged it in and it threw the code P0021  which is "Camshaft Position 'A' Timing Over Advance or Performance Bank 2"

 

i then cleared the codes and the obd scanner says its fine now does anyone have any ideas of what it may have been? the car has just clicked 45,000kms so very low

 

should I take it to nelson subaru to be sure its ok? 

[Andy_Mac]

Probably. It'll be one of the AVCS solenoids thats failed or jammed up somehow. Do some more runs with varying throttle and load to see if it comes back. If you're keen you can check the banjo filters for a start.

 

Is your scanner just a code reader or

can it log certain parameters?

[TNHSTI]

yeah okay thats good to know thanks my scanner is one of these

 

 http://actronuscan.com/ from supercheap auto

 

so would the avcs issue explain the fuel economy? 

Edited January 3, 2017 by V7STI1992

[TNHSTI]

 

also in the above photo are any of the items circled the acvs? just unsure as to where its located

Edited January 3, 2017 by V7STI1992

[TNHSTI]

anyone?

[Andy_Mac]

Not a clue what that one is. Have never actually had much of a dig round inside EZ's. On EJ engines its right where you're looking but has a blue plug and is a large cylindrical bulge off the head

 

If its completely failed it'll definately give super crap economy

[Andy_Mac]

Had a quick google and found that. So that one is for the AVCS and that banjo bolt just below that earth wire you have there may have a filter in it. Worth checking both sides to be sure. 

 

[TNHSTI]

10 hours ago, Andy_Mac said:

Had a quick google and found that. So that one is for the AVCS and that banjo bolt just below that earth wire you have there may have a filter in it. Worth checking both sides to be sure. 

 

 

 

thanks heaps for this so do you think it will be ok now that i have cleared the code with the scanner i have? 

[Andy_Mac]

Maybe, maybe not.

Its a fairly common code for GT's with checking the filters if they have them as the first, easiest step. Worth still checking them as you have no real idea how consistant the previous owner was with oil  changes.

[TNHSTI]

sso i checked both banjo bolts but both didn't have a filter at all also checked both solenoids and they looked fine but as i said the car has only just done 45,000kms and its just had a recent service 

 

any other suggestions?

[sobanoodle]

Never had anything like that happen to mine. Was the car stationary for a while? 

I'd keep an eye on the codes, might be just a one-off and you'll never see it again. 

 

And what exactly do you mean by crap fuel economy? What sort of km/l do you get and under what conditions i.e mostly city/motorway/highways etc?

[TNHSTI]

24 minutes ago, sobanoodle said:

Never had anything like that happen to mine. Was the car stationary for a while? 

I'd keep an eye on the codes, might be just a one-off and you'll never see it again. 

 

And what exactly do you mean by crap fuel economy? What sort of km/l do you get and under what conditions i.e mostly city/motorway/highways etc?

 

ok so on the open road i managed 8l per 100km and round town about 11l per 100km now its doing 16l per 100km round town i only got 150kms on half a tank

 

yes the car was stationary for a night cos i stayed thw night in christchurch in a hotel

 

but now the codes have been cleared it seems to be better, yet to confirm it... 

[sobanoodle]

By stationary I meant prior to your ownership i.e stuck at a dealership for a while.

 

8L/100 on open road is not too bad at all, so is 11L/100 in the city.

16L/100 is well achievable if you fang it from every traffic light and so on, nothing really suspicious and I had similar numbers pre tune, then it settled at 8.6-8.8km/L and I mostly do inner city with a bit of a motorway.  

 

[TNHSTI]

42 minutes ago, sobanoodle said:

Never had anything like that happen to mine. Was the car stationary for a while? 

I'd keep an eye on the codes, might be just a one-off and you'll never see it again. 

 

And what exactly do you mean by crap fuel economy? What sort of km/l do you get and under what conditions i.e mostly city/motorway/highways etc?

 

ok so not stationary for ages the previous owner imported it at 33ks and used it as a daily to work 

 

hmm yeah ok well im planning to get a reflash etc otherwise i love the car

[TNHSTI]

Okay so on the way to work this morning the CEL came on again it threw two codes this time P0011 Camshaft Position 'A' Timing Over Advance or Performance Bank 1

and P0021  Camshaft Position 'A' Timing Over Advance or Performance Bank 2

 

I already had the car go to Subaru to check this out and they couldn't really fault it one of their suggestions was that it had incorrect oil in it so they changed it for me, the mechanic there was adamant that it wasn't the ACVS Solenoid 

 

meanwhile I got charged $350 for them to check it out and change the oil!

 

Can someone please help?

[TNHSTI]

Bump - I'm guessing no one has had much experience with this issue? seems Subaru here in Nelson doesn't know much either.....

[west_minist]

Did you had the timing chain adjusted?

[TNHSTI]

1 minute ago, west_minist said:

Did you had the timing chain adjusted?

 

nope never had it adjusted, ive only just bought it and its only done 46,000ks

[GC8E2DD]

Do you know if it has had the gauze filters removed from the AVCS oil feeds?

[west_minist]

I would get the timing adjust since you are suffering on mileage.

 

Can you send me a log?

 

Usually at this age, the AVCS solenoid needs changing. I need to see whats happening.

[TNHSTI]

2 minutes ago, GC8E2DD said:

Do you know if it has had the gauze filters removed from the AVCS oil feeds?

 

yes i checked these they are both removed

 

2 minutes ago, west_minist said:

I would get the timing adjust since you are suffering on mileage.

 

Can you send me a log?

 

Usually at this age, the AVCS solenoid needs changing. I need to see whats happening.

 

yeah i think now the fuel economy is ok i just didn't know what to expect for this car

 

sorry i dont have acess to any logs unfortunately 

 

yes well after looking on the net it looks as though most people have determined that replacing the acvs solenoid fixes this issue, i have found subarugenuineparts.com is the cheapest for the solenoids they charge 120nzd where as to get them here in nz it costs 350nzd for one

 

so i think i will replace both solenoids, although iam surprised at 46ks they need replacing?

[boon]

1 hour ago, west_minist said:

I would get the timing adjust since you are suffering on mileage.

 

Can you send me a log?

 

Usually at this age, the AVCS solenoid needs changing. I need to see whats happening.

 

Huh? 45000kms... is ridiculously low for these motors.

Between myself and my father's BPE's we have a combined 350000kms (both around 175000) and no issues with the solenoids, or timing, on either car.

There's a lot of these around with 200000+kms and no issues.

 

Before you go and replace the solenoids, have a real good look to make sure the filter hasn't fallen out the bottom of the banjo and got wedged in there.

 

A workshop with a proper SSM should be able to switch on the solenoids individually and monitor the associated cam advance; it could be a sensor issue as well.

[GC8E2DD]

What is the solenoid part number? Have you looked it up on Partsouq?

[TNHSTI]

6 minutes ago, GC8E2DD said:

What is the solenoid part number? Have you looked it up on Partsouq?

 

Yep see here https://partsouq.com/en/search/all?q=10921AA070 says its unavailable Subaru dealer here in NZ gave me the part no this is for one side the other side here https://partsouq.com/en/search/all?q=10921AA040 however is available

7 minutes ago, boon said:

 

Huh? 45000kms... is ridiculously low for these motors.

Between myself and my father's BPE's we have a combined 350000kms (both around 175000) and no issues with the solenoids, or timing, on either car.

There's a lot of these around with 200000+kms and no issues.

 

Before you go and replace the solenoids, have a real good look to make sure the filter hasn't fallen out the bottom of the banjo and got wedged in there.

 

A workshop with a proper SSM should be able to switch on the solenoids individually and monitor the associated cam advance; it could be a sensor issue as well.

 

Hmm yeah that's what I thought too, I definitely checked the banjos properly and there is nothing there..

Edited February 21, 2017 by V7STI1992

[boon]

CHECK CURRENT DATA. 1) Starttheengineandletitidle. 2) MeasuretheAVCSsystemoperatingangle and oil flow control solenoid valve duty output using Subaru Select Monitor or general scan tool. NOTE: • SubaruSelectMonitor For detailed operation procedure, refer to the “READ CURRENT DATA SHOWN ON DIS- PLAY FOR ENGINE”. <Ref. to EN(H6DO)(diag)-26, Subaru Select Monitor.> • Generalscantool For detailed operation procedure, refer to the general scan tool instruction manual.	Is the AVCS system operating angle approx. 0 deg., and oil flow control solenoid valve duty output approx. 10%?	Check the follow- ing and repair or replace if neces- sary. • Engineoil (amount, dirt) • Oilpipe(clog) • Oilflowcon- trol solenoid valve (clog or dirt of oil rout- ing, setting of spring, clog of valve) • Intake cam- shaft (dirt, dam- age of camshaft) • Timingchain (matching of timing mark)

 

That's from the FSM. They reckon check the oil feed line as well...