Rep Power: 0

Like the title says I've been rocking my em2 for a few years now, currently at 190,000 miles. The check-engine light came on (P0340) September 21 along with an abrupt loss of power while I was accelerating hard, since then I've had to drive about 500 miles without fully resolving the issue.

I've been troubleshooting and bringing it to the local shop in my spare time, I was able to replace the cam position sensor (under the timing cover) which got rid of the (P0340) code and the associated drivability issues (long crank times and uneven power delivery), but the less severe (P0341) code is still coming back within 1 or 2 in-town drives after resetting it.

When the P0340 code is present, the rpm is limited to about 3500, I can smell that it's running rich, and the throttle response and power delivery seems slightly off, but when I reset the code everything sounds and feels remarkably normal.

Stuff that I think is good:

• The local shop says the timing is correct
• I replaced the sensor with an ebay "oem" cam position sensor
• The connector going to the sensor does have a some grippyness left in the pins
• The wiring loom looks undamaged
• The ground and reference signals are present at the connector

Stuff that I think might be relevant:

• The block/head was resurfaced in 2018 to address a leaking head gasket
• The wiring loom was mended from a rodent attack earlier this year
• Earlier this year I noticed occasional intake backfires, particularly at low speed when blipping the throttle
• Freeze frame data shows high values for the Manifold Absolute Pressure (15 - 40 ATM)
• There is a small/moderate exhaust leak, downstream from the catalytic converter

 
Rep Power: 513

I'm putting money on the sensor itself. The TDC sensor is finicky enough, and the D17 doesn't typically play nice with sensors that aren't genuine Honda OEM

 
Rep Power: 0

aw you think so? The price was suspect but the listing and seller looked decent otherwise.
Guess I'll see how much the dealer wants for the part. In the mean time how bad do you think it is to continue driving, and do you think continually clearing the codes or running in limp mode is worse?
On one hand limp mode is there for a reason, but on the other, running rich is pretty bad for the cat.

 
Rep Power: 513

Honestly, sensors for the 7thgen are buy once, cry once (until it ***** itself after about the same amount of time the OEM sensor lasted). Go with something that seems hella sus (I play too many video games... -_-* lol), then it might be too good to be true. We got good ppl here, if you think something seems off, post up or DM one of the admins/mods (username will be either blue like mine for admin and orange-yellow or green for mods) and we'll set you straight. We hand picked this mod team for a reason, because we know our **** and we like helping people. That, and all of us post up on a regular.

But, uh, full disclosure.. The D17A2 MT (ex trim) is fully capable of 80mph in limp mode (idk what model or trans you have). I know from experience. lol. Tuned a boosted car with a piggyback (A'PEXi VAFC-II), and while it did decently for air/fuel management, the tuner had it controlling VTEC, too. ECU didn't like that and threw a P1259 until I disabled VTEC control.

In any case, here's a list of known trusted online Honda OEM parts dealers (there are a **** ton more out there), and I've used most, if not all of the following for parts:

• www.hondaautomotiveparts.com (majestic honda - one of my go-to's for a looooong time now)
• www.hondapartsunlimited.com (I think their website is broken...)
• www.hondapartscheap.com
• www.hondapartsnow.com
• www.hondapartshq.com
• www.bernardiparts.com
• www.bernardiparts.com
• www.collegehillshondaparts.com

Honestly, choose the one with the best price+shipping. Alternatively, find the one with the best price+shipping and see if your local dealership price matches online parts dealers. The worst they can say is no. The funniest thing I've gotten was, "ah ****.. you know about majestic...." One of 4 in my area I know will, and it's close to my office, so that's nice. I didn't even ask to price match there. I literally pulled up a part number to order and he offered to price match, then told me their policy. The one closest to me will get me like 25% off dealership price. The one I got my civic from is too far to justify me going there for parts, but I like the car salespeople there. The 4th is waaaaaaay tf on the other side of town and I can't justify going out that far.. For anything.

Also, if you have searched any threads and found either me or someone with a bold orange name pull a parts diagram or part number out of their ***, I can almost guarantee the diagram or part number came from one of those sites.

 
Rep Power: 134

"I replaced the sensor with an ebay "oem" cam position sensor" - use a OEM Honda sensor

"The wiring loom was mended from a rodent attack earlier this year" - and if the new sensor does not correct the code, double-check the wiring for this circuit

 
Rep Power: 0

Well I got the OEM sensor installed today, i'll need to take her out a couple more times to be sure but so far so good.
Makes me feel really dumb though, dropping a few hundred dollars on shitty parts and mechanic fees before posting here >_>, pretty sure the shop stripped some of the threaded holes in the head and valve cover too... but hey at least I didn't cut up my wiring loom.

 
Rep Power: 127

Don't beat yourself up about it, think of it this way; it could've been a hell of a lot worse.

Now you know to only use OEM Honda sensors for when the next one craps out.

 
Rep Power: 513

like chez said, don't beat yourself up over it. Everyone's always out to save a buck, myself included. Not everyone knows where or how to save a buck properly tho. There's a vast difference between shopping cheap and shopping frugally. That's what we're here for. We got experience on our side and can tell you what you can cheap out on and what you shouldn't, and where to get good stuff for the best prices. Also, we're happy to help in case you need it. Just post up and don't fight us if you get an answer you don't like. lol. I laugh, but it happens more than you'd expect.

also, that part about shop stripping out holes and stuff. There's a reason I trust me and 3 other people under the hood of my car. At least if something gets messed up, only have ourselves to blame, and me and the 3 other people I trust are good about fixing **** instead of hiding it.

Case in point kinda deal. Did a head gasket change, ran great for 2k miles, then my car told me that I didn't torque my TDC sensor bolt down well enough by coming loose and using the TDC bolt to eat my timing belt. Got fed up with it, and my dad convinced me to take my car to his friend's shop to fix (all 16 valves bent, and needed another head gasket change due to that). He led me to believe he was gonna cover the cost and it was gonna be quality work. $1500 of my money later, I was double checking this dude's work, only to find my head studs weren't torqued down properly, brackets and hose clamps missing, oil stains on the front of the A/C condenser (yes, front, as in away from the engine bay side...), random missing fasteners (luckily I had a stash of various fasteners) like dude was thinking, "eh, I can't reach those bolts or nuts, so I'm just not gonna put 'em on), and I was cleaning up RTV under my valve cover that looked like it was applied by a mentally disabled chimp with Parkinson's that was getting tased during application.

 
Rep Power: 519

I laughed way too hard at this

 
Rep Power: 513

Thank you, I'm here all week. You're welcome to use that E, seems like it'd fit with your repertoire