A week ago I was traveling in my wife’s 2009 RX350 at freeways speeds and outside ambient temperatures around 80 degrees. After traveling about 2 hours and stopping for about half-hour for lunch, I started the vehicle and went around a mile and the Check Engine light came on, the VSC was flashing and the traction control indicator was illuminated. I stopped quickly in a gas station and checked the manual for what the warning lights meant. Nothing of any value was found; I filled the car up and headed for home, about 4 more hours at highway speeds. The warning lights stayed on and the VSC flashed the entire way home. The vehicle ran perfectly with no problems at all. The next morning I started the car and the lights were out. Still worried, I purchased an OBD2 scanner and pulled a P0015 code, Camshaft Position - Timing Over-Retarded (Bank 1). I erased the code and the car has been fine ever since. Finally to the question, is this something I need to worry about? I travel this trip about once a month and don’t want to get stranded along the road. The car has 54K on it and if it is a sensor in the engine, it should be covered by the powertrain warranty, but more importantly, will it cause damage to the engine? I read that the camshaft position sensor would only be replaced under warranty if it was inspected and causing a loud ticking noise, which I do not hear. If it throws the same error code again, I will take it in to the dealer and let them look into it. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Check your air filter. I know this sounds crazy, but an engine starved of clean air can "knock" from time to time which would be enough to set off the knock sensors.

I would not worry about it too much as it could have been a quick reading that was out of range. If the engine sounds smooth at idle, your timing is likely fine. That model has a timing chain which means it is difficult for the car to be out of timing perameters. However it has VVT I think which could be the cause of the brief problem. Alsi check your oil level. With a hydraulic V V T system, it is important that the oil levels remain towards full rather than low. Low levels mean the cam cannot gather enough oil pressure to change "vary" the V V T and could cause a quick reading out of whack.

 

Htownblue thanks for the response. I will check the air filter and oil levels tonight. Thank you for the help.

 

I know this is an old post but I had the same thing happen. If mileage is under 70K check with your Lexus dealer as the repair is being done under warranty

 

This just happen to my wife today.
What is the repair that is being done?

 

This has to do with the variable valve timing V V T.

I don't know what the actual repair is but it is VERY expensive.

Based on what I understand, the car is still safe to drive and I've driven it for many miles with the engine light and tire pressure lights on and VSC flashing. The 'only' problem is that it is not performing at its best. The car may not have the acceleration you are used to. The gas mileage may suffer. And BTW, I have not noticed either.

Two suggestions were given to me to 'solve' this problem without going through the extensive repair job.

One person told me that the VVT is very sensitive to the quality of the oil in the engine and suggested getting an oil and filter change more frequently than the recommended 5K miles.

Someone else told me to use premium gas if not already.

Right now my lights are off and I'll be taking the car in for an oil change tomorrow, at 3.5K

 

For anyone reading this in the future, your issue may or may not be the same, but I had codes P0015 and C1241 come up on my 2013 RX 350. I did what HtownBlue suggested, changed out the engine air filter and checked the oil, sure enough it was on the lower end. Topped it off and the warning lights went away! So glad I found this because I almost scheduled an appointment at a car shop. This was a quick and easy fix!

So just wanted to jump in here to say that if you have the code, try this first to see if it clears it.

 

Experienced the exact same thing on my wifes 2009 ES350. Vehicle ran fine. After struggling to figure out why I had multiple failures on the Intrument panel and only one Code, I decided to just erase the code using my scanner and all warnings disappeared. One thing I was counseled on was make sdure the oil level is at full. The VVTC Solenoid can stick if momentarily starved. Added half quart !

Momentary 0015 Code