I would replace cam position sensor. Cheaper and easier to the alternative of wiring harness.

https://www.lotustalk.com/threads/check-engine-p0014.415937/

 

Strange issues to happen specifically after heat soak. I live in south florida and very often during summer my car coolant temp rises over the halfway mark. Only under extreme temps does the engine fan kick in to cool it down during stops. (I wish I had a manual override to turn it on after a drive in the heat) However, my car doesn't go limp mode if I take a drive after my first drive in the summer heat. As you know from my other posts that I've had my wiring harness replaced... if thats a factor. I wonder if the heat from the engine bay has a degrading effect over time on certain wires or electronics.

 

Only thing that comes to my mind is the, ziptie on the throttle body connector. If none, do it. Just ensures a solid connection that won't wiggle out.

 

Yes and to that point...

 

The theory that one of my camshaft position sensors is bad sure sounds like it could be the smoking gun. I’ve contacted the local Toyota dealership to order up 4 of the sensor and they let me know that the old part number 90919-05060 has been superseded by Toyota 90919-T5005. This will be a bit pricy to replace all four myself, but far cheaper than taking the car to the dealership and pay for diagnostics and even just one sensor from Lotus. I think I’ll roll the dice here and start swapping these out when my order is filled. Thank you all for the help and I’ll report back if this solves the issue.

 

I wonder if there's a way to test individually to narrow it down?

 

I’m sure there is, but my fault is currently only occurring when it’s really warm and I personally can’t test for it without the correct scanning equipment. Essentially, I can buy all four Toyota sensors for $135.72 each ($542.88 total), or I can bring it to Lotus for them to scan the car and charge me $306.13 for one sensor and hope only one was bad, plus the diagnostic fees. I have a feeling that labor will be more than the $236.75 delta, so throwing sensors at it is actually the cheaper option in this case. I see what you’re saying though.

 

I was think more along the lines of with a scope or 20/20 testing. Anyone with 20/20 like @friss does the diag software test the CPS individually?

 

Easier than the plugs

 

Do you have an OBD2 code reader or do you know someone that can scan it for codes for you? Even if the CEL is not on there could be stored codes. If you find that there aren't any stored codes and this issue is easily repeatable, go out and make it happen again, then immediately check the codes. Does it feel like it's running on 3 cylinders and sound like a truck, or does it run normally and just limit the RPMs?

Edit: Whoops, I see you posted the codes. Hmm...

P0014 is related to the variable valve timing system. Could be a failing VVT solenoid. They are sitting right on top of the valve covers, 2 on each bank. That code doesn't seem to tell you which one it is though. TJ gave me a tip one time when mine went into limp mode... While the engine is running poorly, tap on each solenoid and see if that makes it start running smooth again.

 

The engine never sounded like it even stumbled, except for when I tried to drive beyond the extremely low red-line (around 4,500 RPM). Then it was cutting fuel. That's the only time it didn't sound normal. Thinking about it though, it seemed like the car was trying to keep me out of the second cam, or whatever the 2GR-FE has for the upper rev range. And I only got the engine codes when I tried to go beyond the low red-line. When this redline issue popped up again most recently, I respected the shift lights and didn't get any check engine codes.

I'm still stumped as to why Sport mode still worked during the error and it allowed me to force what gear I wanted. Either way, I'm still betting on the camshaft position sensors and one going haywire at high temps. I'm going to pick them up from Toyota today and try to install them this week. If the car gets the fault after this fix, I'll look into the other potential issues.

And to my comment about the coil packs, that's still above my knowledge base because I believe those need to be lubricated and I don't know what to use or how much or... I'd let the professionals handle it.

I'll report back once I have the new camshaft position sensors installed and tested.

 

Update on my status. The camshaft position sensors were replaced, but my issue still remains. I went on a spirited drive today and it was about 85°F out at the time. 45 miles in with aggressive driving and the limp mode kicked in while not pushing the car on a highway while in 6th gear. I could tell because the cruise control light turned off and wouldn’t reactivate, just like the other times. I took videos showing the 4K limit and the fact that the coolant temp was right in the middle. I’ll post the videos later tonight. I should mention no CEL indicator on the dash, but there was a pending P0014 when I scanned for codes.

I stopped to make sure the exhaust valve was still working when I pressed the Sport mode button and it was. A/C still worked.

I’ve noticed that in first gear, while just rolling a little bit then hitting the gas, the torque converter seems to be slipping a bit and not putting all the power to the ground. When at a full stop, this doesn’t seem to be the issue. It’s like the fluid is very thin.

I restarted the engine several times after the limp mode started and it was already in limp mode right away each time (since cruise control couldn’t be activated). This means that the fault was detected right away and had not gone away after a reset.

I took the car to a restaurant and had a very long lunch. When I came back to the car, it was behaving fine and the limp mode had gone away. I drove the car home fine with no issues. But I didn’t push the car at all.

CURRENT THEORY: the transmission is overheating. This is a 2013 IPS so it has the transmission cooler. The car might be baking the transmission and a thermal sensor is trying to protect the transmission by limiting engine speed. The fluid is getting very thin when in this overheated condition. Once the car cools down, the tranny temp is better so the fault goes away.

Question for the group: how does the transmission cooler work? Is there some sort of a transmission thermostats that can fail? Is there an oil pump that might fail? How does that fluid cooling circuit work?

 

..................................
Question for the group: how does the transmission cooler work? Is there some sort of a transmission thermostats that can fail? Is there an oil pump that might fail? How does that fluid cooling circuit work?

See attached pdf....

 

 

Have you seen this thread? https://www.lotustalk.com/threads/camshaft-position-timing-over-advanced.473452/
I had an intermittent P0024 code this past week in heavy traffic with the hotter weather. I've also been driving in Sport mode, which might exacerbate engine bay temperatures in city driving because of the higher idle RPM.
It only illuminated the CEL one time, but it was occasionally Pending when I checked for codes during daytime drives. It never cropped up at night and seems to be staying away if I'm not in Sport mode during the hottest parts of the day. I think I have 5W30 oil in my car, but will ask about using 5W40 next time because of the hot summers and mild winters here.

 

I think I have 5W30 oil in my car, but will ask about using 5W40 next time because of the hot summers and mild winters here.

5W40 is what the owner's handbook recommends for most use cases except for track:

 

Latest update. I brought my car to Glenview Luxury Imports a week ago to have the car looked at. I had the oil swapped for 5W40, but the dealership did have a Lotus document that showed 0W40 is now recommended by Lotus. Either way, I have 5W40 in the car now.

While the car was there, they were unable to determine anything wrong with the car since the car wasn’t excessively hot. For them to diagnose my issue, I need to deliver them the car with the fault occurring. I haven’t pushed my car since the visit and it made it all the way to Lotuspalooza and back to WI without any issues.

Fast forward to yesterday and I was driving my Evora around Lake Geneva. I parked the car at my house for an hour after and when I restarted the car, I had the wrench light illuminate for 30 seconds after starting the car. This is a new fault for me. Looking that up, it looks like it could be one of four things: clutch pedal position sensor, AC compressor going out, secondary water pump malfunctioning, or a bad battery. For these, my car is IPS so it’s not the clutch pedal since it doesn’t exist. My AC works without issue. I don’t know how the second water pump is doing so it could be that. But I’m guessing my battery might be the issue.

My battery is 3 years old and I always keep it on a battery tender when I’m not driving the car, even for a night. There could be corrosion on a post or an internal short. I don’t know the replacement cost yet but I plan to swap the battery out this week and see if that stops the wrench light. With any luck, that might solve the limp mode issue. Perhaps the battery is malfunctioning when it’s getting too hot.

I’ll swap the battery and report back what the car’s doing at that point.

 

Just drove the car home after it sat in a parking lot for a day without a battery tender and the car was cold. The wrench light did not linger and extinguished right away after starting the car. When I got home, I shut it off and turned it back on. Still, no wrench in the warm state. I think a battery swap is still in order.

 

Have you checked the clock spring? And, does it have the updated engine harness with grounding points? (Also 2013 IPS - for me it was the clock spring.)

 

If it was tranny, you would have the specific hot trasnsmission fault code on dash.
Let's look at thing in order of ease.
1. Zip tie around MAF
2. Brake Light switch
3. Fully charged battery.
4. O2 sensors. If OE they are old now!
5. Coils don't give codes in many cases. easy to check if you are driving and this occurs. Just unscrew the bolt from 1 coil at a time while running and see if it misses. It can be very subtle and to my surprise, its how I found a bad coil. Pulled 1 out no change. Unplugged it, put in a different one and suddenly car was happy again.
6. Things like a clock spring get more difficult but you have ruled out all the easy stuff.
7. BTW a pre cat failing will play games with you as well. Ask me how I know?

 

Latest Update.
The limp modes are getting more frequent. But now, they're occurring on initial cold start of the car. This is a good and a bad thing. Bad, because now I have to hope the car functions properly after a restart (which is has every time so far), but good because now I might be able to catch this at a dealership where it can be tested in limp mode.

I've been using my Evora as a commuter as my BMW has been needing extended work lately. In these times, I'm not putting my Evora on a tender. I was going into limp mode on a cold start in the morning after sitting all night while not on a tender. Thinking it was the battery:

I replaced:

• The battery
• MAF (because why not at this point)

But, this morning on a cold start after not being plugged into a tender for a day, it still started in limp mode, only revving to 4,000 RPM and cruise control not being able to be turned on. Again, A/C and Sport Mode still worked and there were no warning lights of any kind (No MIL, No CEL, No TC, No battery, No wrench, nothing.) The engine sounds just fine and it's not rough or sounding like it's misfiring.

I'm really stumped and I haven't driven my car the way I want in two years now as a result. I'm going to try the dealership again because I think we can get it to fault, as long as it's not kept on a tender and they cold start it after a day of sitting.

I'm still open to suggestions (but don't recommend the brake position sensor, that's already swapped haha).

List of items changed so far:

• Brake position sensor
• All four camshaft position sensors
• MAF
• Battery
• Zip tie on MAF
• 5W40 full synthetic oil (was 0W40 last year)

 

Any codes when reading with OBD reader?

 

Scanning right now. No codes. None stored. None pending. No lights.

 

On start up did the car go into limp mode after pressing the brake pedal. I had this experience and replaced my brake switch with GRP, did you adjust the plunger?

 

I’ve replaced the sensor in the last year and since having this fault. The sensor being bad generates a TC fault lamp. I am not receiving any error lights of any kind. I have two spare sensors and I’ll try both to see if the problem is less frequent or eliminated, but I know what that failure mode looks like and it comes with a light.

I have to depress the brake to start the car, so it is something the car is looking for immediately. My car is IPS automatic, so there’s no clutch. The tail lights on my car are stock, but I did only start having trouble since switching back to stock after having GRP V4s for a while. That tail light circuit does control the vehicle, unfortunately. I have spare stock tail lights. Maybe I’ll try swapping those for fun since it’s free.

Also, I don’t know if there are any inactive codes at the moment and I’ll check once I get to my car right after work. There might be a P0014 pending like before, but I don’t anticipate anything.

 

Last night was different, good and bad.

Started car late at night while it was parked outside and it had condensation on the car. I don't know if this matters, but it's a detail. Started the car and it was in limp mode right away (I could tell because the cruise control wouldn't illuminate the light). I verified by revving to 3,500 RPM and seeing the shift lights. I shut off the car.

I waited only a few seconds and I restarted the car. It went to limp mode, but it threw a CEL. My OBDII reader was in the trunk and my interior trunk release for some reason wasn't making the solenoid pop the trunk (but I could hear it actuate). I had to shut down the engine and then I was able to pop the trunk with the FOB.

OBDII plugged in, I started the car again and it started without any codes or limp mode. There was a stored "pending" code of P0019. Nothing else, but it's a start.

The internet says "Engine code P0019 means there is a misalignment between the crankshaft position and the camshaft position (specifically Bank 2, Sensor B), indicating that the crankshaft and the bank 2 exhaust camshaft are out of sync."

I've replaced all four camshaft position sensors already, so they are already new.

• Could this be a crankshaft position sensor issue?
• If it were the crankshaft, would more of the camshaft positions be out?
• Could it be a dirty sensor plug?
• Which camshaft sensor is Bank 2 Sensor B?
• If there really is a mismatch between the crank and camshaft, does that point to a timing belt or timing belt tensioner issue?

The bad news is that the car could actually leave me stranded if this isn't a sensor issue and there's truly something wrong with the car. But the good news is that I finally got some code. Thoughts?

 

The Lotus Evora P0019 engine code indicates a correlation problem between the crankshaft and the Bank 2 exhaust camshaft, meaning the engine's variable valve timing (VVT) system is not in the expected position. Common causes include low or incorrect engine oil, a faulty Oil Control Valve (OCV), a worn timing chain, or a problem with the VVT actuator or camshaft gear phaser. Symptoms can include decreased engine performance, rough idling, and lower fuel mileage

What oil are you using and is it correct level?

 

The Lotus Evora P0019 engine code indicates a correlation problem between the crankshaft and the Bank 2 exhaust camshaft, meaning the engine's variable valve timing (VVT) system is not in the expected position. Common causes include low or incorrect engine oil, a faulty Oil Control Valve (OCV), a worn timing chain, or a problem with the VVT actuator or camshaft gear phaser. Symptoms can include decreased engine performance, rough idling, and lower fuel mileage

What oil are you using and is it correct level?

The oil is a full synthetic 5W-40. I don’t know the brand, but I had the oil changed at Glenview Luxury Imports like I always do since they’re my closest dealer. This problem also existed last year when the car had 0W-40 oil in it. The oil level is correct the last time I checked.

 

How many miles on the car? I think time to measure chain for stretch, inspect VVT and phaser.

 

Just shy of 65,000 miles. I’ll have to call the dealership to see what they think they can do.

 

Last night was different, good and bad.

Started car late at night while it was parked outside and it had condensation on the car. I don't know if this matters, but it's a detail. Started the car and it was in limp mode right away (I could tell because the cruise control wouldn't illuminate the light). I verified by revving to 3,500 RPM and seeing the shift lights. I shut off the car.

I waited only a few seconds and I restarted the car. It went to limp mode, but it threw a CEL. My OBDII reader was in the trunk and my interior trunk release for some reason wasn't making the solenoid pop the trunk (but I could hear it actuate). I had to shut down the engine and then I was able to pop the trunk with the FOB.

OBDII plugged in, I started the car again and it started without any codes or limp mode. There was a stored "pending" code of P0019. Nothing else, but it's a start.

The internet says "Engine code P0019 means there is a misalignment between the crankshaft position and the camshaft position (specifically Bank 2, Sensor B), indicating that the crankshaft and the bank 2 exhaust camshaft are out of sync."

I've replaced all four camshaft position sensors already, so they are already new.

• Could this be a crankshaft position sensor issue?
• If it were the crankshaft, would more of the camshaft positions be out?
• Could it be a dirty sensor plug?
• Which camshaft sensor is Bank 2 Sensor B?
• If there really is a mismatch between the crank and camshaft, does that point to a timing belt or timing belt tensioner issue?

The bad news is that the car could actually leave me stranded if this isn't a sensor issue and there's truly something wrong with the car. But the good news is that I finally got some code. Thoughts?

When it's in limp mode, how can you tell? Does the engine sound like it's running poorly, running on less than 6 cylinders, etc.? Or is it just the lowered rev limit and lack of cruise control function?

Common causes include low or incorrect engine oil, a faulty Oil Control Valve (OCV), a worn timing chain, or a problem with the VVT actuator or camshaft gear phaser. Symptoms can include decreased engine performance, rough idling, and lower fuel mileage

This kind of sounds like a VVT solenoid problem to me. I would be very surprised if the timing chain has stretched that much in 65k miles or it just randomly jumped timing. If the crank sensor were bad I would think he'd get a different code for that.

@ShadowWulf369 next time it goes into limp mode, can you try tapping on the VVT solenoids on bank 2 with a wrench or something and see if the engine starts running correctly? Could also unplug/re-connect them, check the wiring for damage, etc. Bank 2 being the side towards the front of the car.

 

When it's in limp mode, how can you tell? Does the engine sound like it's running poorly, running on less than 6 cylinders, etc.? Or is it just the lowered rev limit and lack of cruise control function?



This kind of sounds like a VVT solenoid problem to me. I would be very surprised if the timing chain has stretched that much in 65k miles or it just randomly jumped timing. If the crank sensor were bad I would think he'd get a different code for that.

@ShadowWulf369 next time it goes into limp mode, can you try tapping on the VVT solenoids on bank 2 with a wrench or something and see if the engine starts running correctly? Could also unplug/re-connect them, check the wiring for damage, etc. Bank 2 being the side towards the front of the car.

When the car goes into limp mode, the engine sounds completely normal. There isn't a lumpiness or studder. It's not misfiring or have anything you can audibly or visually detect. The car can still be put into sport mode and the engine revs as fast and strong as ever, but only to 4,000 RPM. After 4,000 rpm, the car has all three shift lights blinking and it cuts fuel, and then the car starts to misfire. I've tried to push it beyond this redline in the past and that's when I got the engine codes for misfiring, but never got those codes if I obey the lowered redline.

The one thing that is strange is the transmission behavior. When in limp mode, if I'm starting out in 1st gear, it will not let me shift to 2nd gear until a very specific amount of time has passed. Something like 3 or 4 seconds. This means I hit redline very quickly and it will not automatically shift to second. I've tried using the paddle to get around this but the paddle doesn't do anything either. Once it does shift out of 1st, it tries to shift to the highest gear possible for the speed and stay there for as long as possible without stalling the engine. When I'm not in 1st gear though, I can use the paddles to shift between gears, as long as I say in the 4,000 RPM range. I'm sure this is the TCU protecting the car and it's being told to do this by the ECU.

When I start the car up cold and have not revved up the engine, I can only tell I'm in limp mode by the fact that the cruise control cannot be turned on. Recently when I've been in limp mode on a cold start, I can turn the cruise control light to On before starting the engine, and when I do start the engine, the CC light turns Off. I then can't re-engage the CC, so I know there's some check that the ECU is performing and it's not liking the results, so it throws the car in limp mode immediately. Now again, this limp mode has also occurred after driving for hours, so sometimes it doesn't like something after driving for a long time and then goes into limp mode. I can't help but think it's a sensor sending information the ECU doesn't like. If it's a bad sensor or something is truly wrong, I don't know.

I've never had the car come out of limp mode while running. I've always had to restart the engine to get out of it. Now, there have been days when I'm in limp mode until the entire car cools off for about an hour, so possibly in that case I could try tapping on the VVT solenoids, but I don't know where those are located on the engine. I like the thought of it though. If one of those is sticking and it does a check at start up, it could definitely be a cause of limp mode.

Heck, I just had a solenoid problem in my BMW for the wastegate. The sensor got dirty inside the actuator and it couldn't detect where it was in the resting "home" position. Once it moved, it knew where it was and would function correctly. Perhaps this is the exact same issue but with a VVT solenoid. I had to replace that actuator on my BMW a few weeks ago and it's been running great ever since. For a while, the BMW was going into a low performance mode (not quite a limp mode, just limited to 85 mph) because of the issue, but it wouldn't throw a check engine code. At least, not until it got bad enough, and then it was throwing codes every start up. Maybe this is something similar.

I really need to get the car to go into limp mode when it's at the dealer so they can test this. My bank account can't afford more random parts to throw at the car! But I agree, this sounds like an issue related to the VVT and the camshaft position sensors are picking something up occasionally.

I need to buy some contact cleaner and clean every plug I can find in the engine bay. Any recommended brands? I don't want to accidentally buy a generic that isn't meant for this purpose and cause everything to corrode or something. Thank you everyone for the help and support.

 

Strange with the not being able to use CC. Kind of like bad brake switch not allowing CC except you have other codes which would be more important I would think.

 

I appreciate the reply, but as stated in multiple other posts, this is definitely not a bad brake switch. I know what that limp mode is like and that comes with a traction control light and a weak throttle, which I am not getting. I've had bad brake switches in the past, so I'm familiar with how the car feels in those situations. This is not that failure mode. I've replaced the brake switch since this type of limp mode has started and there's been no change.

Please, just so it's not suggested by future readers, THIS IS NOT A BAD BRAKE SWITCH. Trust me, I've tried that one. Thank you.