P0016: Crankshaft Position - Camshaft Position Correlation (Bank 1 Sensor A)

Short answer: P0016 means “Crankshaft Position - Camshaft Position Correlation (Bank 1 Sensor A)”. It is a standard OBD-II code, so the basic meaning is the same on every car. Below is what it means on each of the 6 cars we cover, with a link to the full page for each car.

Standard OBD-II code Same meaning on all cars (SAE J2012).

P0016 on each car

Symptoms

1. Check engine light on
2. Symptoms of a
3. P0016
4. The engine may run but with reduced performance
5. The engine may crank but not start
6. The engine may exhibit a rattle near the harmonic balancer indicating the tone

Likely causes

1. Timing chain stretched, or timing belt skipped a tooth due to wear
2. Misalignment of timing belt/chain
3. Tone ring on crankshaft slipped/broken
4. Tone ring on camshaft slipped/broken
5. Bad crank sensor
6. Bad cam sensor
7. Damaged wiring to crank/cam sensor

What to check, in order

1. Read the code and freeze-frame data with an OBD-II scanner
2. Check the connector and wiring of the part named in the code
3. Test the part with scanner live data or a multimeter, using the values in the repair manual
4. Fix the cause, clear the code and test-drive

Causes and checks above are the general meaning. The exact test steps and values differ by car: open your car’s page.

All fault codes