2008 Clubman, original owner -

I currently have about 68k miles on the car and while it's been fairly
trouble-free, it's recently started throwing a P0015 CEL ["B" Camshaft
Position -Timing Over-Retarded (Bank 1)].

This has happened 3 times over the past couple months, say every 1000 miles or so [I drive a lot!]. It only throws the code when the engine is cold and within a mile or so of leaving home or work. Physically I can feel the vehicle "hesitate" or "hiccup", almost like a transmission gear backlash that's felt frequently with manual transmissions. Aside from the code and the "hiccup" (which as I said unless there was a CEL you wouldn't know anything had happened), the vehicle drives fine - acceleration, going up hills, cruising, etc, are all OK. The first time it happened [11/11/10] I cleared the code using a ScanGaugeII (thinking it may be a fluke) and kept driving. After about 1000 miles of driving it popped up again, within a mile or so of leaving home, and I cleared it again. The light came on again today with the same error (although it did come on at lunch, not in the morning drive into work?]. I can't think of a single unifying factor other than it's only happened very shortly after starting from a cold engine, and I can't repeat the error at
will.

I have contacted the dealer but due to the mileage I am not sure if this is a warranty issue - as I said it doesn't appear to impact the car's performance and I'd prefer for it to not turn into a wild goose chase if it isn't a warranty repair.

Any ideas? I'm pretty handy and can check connections, etc. The problem is that trouble shooting will be tough since the light comes on so infrequently. I've read elsewhere (mostly on BMW forums) that people have had success in reseating connectors and such, but what to clean and reconnect? I don't really know my way around under the bonnet.

 

most likely a bad sensor. I would fix it before ugliness happens.

 

Where is it located?????

 

The camshaft position sensor, is located on the valve cover on the right hand side (as you look at the engine) over the Inlet camshaft.

Having said that, your problem will not be with the sensor itself, your problem will probably be that the timing will be slightly out, due to wear (stretch) of the timing chain, this will all be linked to the overall cold start issue and the timing position.

Even with the timing slightly out, the engine will continue to run and perform quite well, most folks don't even feel the slight difference!

So get yourself to the dealer and get that timing checked, or push for the full fix for the cold start timing issue.

 

Thanks for the idea. I've been in contact with a SA regarding this and his first thought was to check the sensor, so I went down to the dealer today and picked up a sensor. There are 2 sensors on the car, very easy to change, but they only had 1 in stock so I will ride with the new sensor in one position for awhile and if that doesn't fix the problem, change it over to the other position. At $90 a pop it's not a cheap fix.

How much will it cost them to fool with the timing? I know that's not something I want to mess with myself.

The light has come on a couple times- it actually cleared once by itself. Two things seem to be consistent though - it ONLY comes on with a cold engine and it always happens within a mile or so of starting up and driving off. The problem seemed to start when the weather started getting cold, but I don't get the CEL every cold morning. Perhaps it may be me thinking about it too much, but the car seems to be.... jittery..... lately, especially when cruising in the 2k RPM range. It almost feels like clutch slippage, but I have zero problems accelerating or at highway cruising speeds (75mph/3krpm).

The car has nearly 70k miles - is that a normal interval for checking the timing? I've been in a couple accidents with it - ran over a deer (well, over it's head, but that was far better than hitting it straight on) in June 09, then rear-ended a SUV in May 10; both accidents were minimal damage performance-wise - most of the cost was in replacing body/trim pieces but the radiator was changed both times, and the engine and etc was spared both times.

I have the sensors out - the far sensor looks just like the new sensor and the close sensor's tip has a greyish appearance. Could that indicate something?

 

Good afternoon. I am the original owner of a 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman (fully loaded if anyone cares). I bought the car in May of 2009. The car has just under 64000 miles on it. I do about 80% highway driving for my job. I bought this car because of the gas mileage, the practicality (compared to my previous car) and since it is made by BMW I thought I could not go wrong. Now it is throwing codes. Any suggestions or advice will be appreciated, please.

CODES:
P0597 - thromostat heater control circuit
P0303 - cyl 3 misfire
P0301 - cyl 1 misfire
P0015 - cam position timing over retarded B1

Thanks!

 

Well the P0015 has already been discussed so the cheapest fix is a new camshaft position sensor. Let's hope your VANOS isn't out of whack!

P0597 means your thermostat is stuck open. The R56 MCS has an electronically controlled thermostat. This is a common failure mode. You need to replace the entire thermostat housing assembly with a new one.

Misfire codes - Check ignition, fuel system, and air system (including compression and leak-down) on the problem cylinders. If you have an MCS I wouldn't be surprised if excessive carbon build-up is causing the misfire issues. I won't go into an extensive diagnosis plan because troubleshooting misfires is practically the same with all gasoline engines.

Ha, all cars have problems. The MINI just happens to be much more fun to drive than many others :-)

 

I just came across this old post and was wondering if the problem was ever corrected with the P0015 code by changing the sensor or did it need actual timing correction.
I have a used 2009 cooper with 79k miles that is giving me that code.
The cars rpms would drop from 4,000 to 200 rpm and want to stop run if the clutch was depressed and afoot was off the accelerator. It's not acting right now but the code is still there.

 

I took it to the dealer after having an email discussion with them. Even though my code reader (ScangaugeII btw) would say all codes cleared, the dealer said that there are "computer codes that code readers can't clear". I was worried I was being "taken" by taking it in, but that was 50k miles ago and I haven't seen the error or symptoms since (knowck on wood). As far as I know they didn't touch the timing, etc., although honestly it was so long ago.

 

Thanks Dr. J. That's very reassuring. I hope I'm that lucky

 

Hey guys, I know it's been a few years and you guys may not even be around anymore but I have a 2007 Mini Cooper (non-s) and I'm getting the P0015 and I was wondering if swapping the sensor was not only a good fix but also easily done. I have minimal mechanical experience but and loving learning and the Mini is perfect to learn on because I can actually reach everything. Thanks for any info you can provide.

 

the base model has 2 sensors. they are actually solenoids. one in the front and one in the back.

try swapping them to see if the code moves with it. Also, check the timing and chain.

here is some literature:

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/r...ontrol/FsoLOtm