spywryder

I am not a car person, just looking for some advice.

My check engine light came on (and off and on and off and on...etc.). Took car in - they say the cam shaft gear is broken, that this is a common problem, but if I choose NOT to fix it it's probably no big deal, it just helps exhaust come out of the tailpipe. Is it really not important?

From googling around and on here, it seems as if the setup is a little different for the Scions than other cars, so I thought someone on here might know.

Also, I am concerned if check engine light remains on...something else could go wrong and I'll never know (until it explodes).

Thoughts?

2006 Xa - 72,000 miles (i.e. out of warranty)

vintage42

It sounds like the variable valve timing (VVT) gear. It is not broken, just stuck so it won't rotate the camshaft to adjust the valve timing according to rpm. The engine will not perform right unless it is repaired.

See these threads on it:
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/scion-xa-xb-1st-gen-drivetrain-power-1638/vsc-trac-off-check-engine-light-came-81815/
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/scion-xb-1st-gen-owners-lounge-1602/p0012-petition-89702/
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/scion-xb-1st-gen-owners-lounge-1602/feb-9-2007-t-s-b-p0112-91089/

Here are some previous posts from the forum:

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DTC (Diagnostic Trouble Code) P0012 VVT Gear
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=149623
Last week the VSC/Trac Off/Check Engine lights came on... so I dropped it off at the local Toyota dealer
They scanned the codes and these were the codes they came up with:
P0012
C1201
According to the invoice, they found that the VVTI controller (timing gear assembly) was stuck on the lock position. They had to remove the engine head cover, remove the camshaft and replace the VVTI gear assembly. They have superseded the original timing gear assembly 13050 21040 with 13050 21041 meaning there was a defect that could be fixed. I didn't get charged since it was under warranty.
My xB only has 18,129 miles.


https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=161996
T.S.B. (Tech Service Bulletin) EG003-07
... THE DEALER WILL COVER IT UNDER THE T.S.B. AS LONG AS YOUR BOX HAS LESS THEN 60K AND YOUR VIN# FALLS BEFORE JTLKT3#4#64078922

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spywryder

Yes, well he did not actually say "broken" - I believe the phrase was "on the fritz" so I can mentally align that with "getting stuck".

He also called me back and said he found out he can fix it without taking engine apart, which will save about $300 in labor, so that's good.

At any rate, based on my gut feeling and your info I think I'll go ahead and have it fixed. Thanks for the help.

jekerskel

So my XB is an 05 manufactured in 12/04. So I am wondering if all the Xb manufactured during a certain time frame have bad VVTI gears? I have 66k on mine and have not had any issues yet. But I see that others have gotten a few more miles out of theirs before it happens. Any help here would be appreciated.

madmaxbb

The vtti part is 200 dollars/ 169 if u can get a discount and the labor is around 195 to 200 at a toyota dealership. Ask the parts department if they have warrantied the parts a lot that way u know the mechanics have done them. I talked to a mechanic at one dealership and he said he done about 5 of them and he can do it with out talking the whole timing cover off (he just takes the valve cover off but he said it not easy to do with out the right tools. If u want to get it covered under warranty u might have to pay diagnostic charge (100 dollars most dealerships) doing that u may find them saying there is nothing wrong with ur xb and ur out 100 bucks so just a fyi for ya. The xb and xa and the tc have a tsb on this so its known by toyota.


tsb on xb and xa = http://scionlife.org/Scion_Docs/Scion_TSBs/eg00307.pdf