Fault code

P0017 fault code.

This code comes up with 3 known faults.

Generic code

Code type

Engine and drivetrain

System

Crankshaft and exhaust camshaft do not match, bank 1

The engine control unit compares the crankshaft and the exhaust camshaft signal, and found the two shifted relative to each other. The typical cause is mechanical misalignment of the timing, that is a stretched chain or a worn sprocket.

The code tells you what the control unit measured, not which part has failed. The same code has several possible causes.

Failure type byte

P0017-85

The fault description states the code with this byte. The byte tells you why the code was set.

Which known faults it comes up with

critical2

1.5 BlueHDi (YH01): an undersized timing chain and a factory campaign

critical

The factory timing chain is 7 millimetres wide, and that is too little for this engine: the chain wears and stretches prematurely. The repair replaces it with an 8 millimetre chain. In a bad case the chain skips teeth or snaps, and then the valves and the cylinder head are seriously damaged. The early sign is a metallic knocking or rattling noise at idle when cold, together with power that slowly fades. In the fault memory, codes pointing to the relative position of the crankshaft and the camshaft appear: P0011, P0012, P0016, P0017 and P0018. The wear starts from 70,000 km. The maker issued a recall and a retroactive goodwill programme for it. The range is the engines built between October 2017 and January 2023, across five brands: Opel, Citroen, Peugeot, DS and Fiat. In Germany 141,700 cars were called in, and the workshops judge the condition of the chain by the noise of the engine. The warranty was extended to 10 years or 240,000 km, provided the servicing was done to the factory specification by a specialist workshop. Anyone who paid for the chain replacement themselves between January 2023 and June 2025 can claim the cost back, material and labour together. For used cars there is also a separate certificate confirming that the benefit passes to the next owner. The chain replacement on its own is between 1,200 and 2,000 euro. The specified oil is not a formality here: the engines covered by the recall need the lubricant to the FPW9.55535/03 specification, because its anti-wear additives slow the wear of the chain.

above 70,000 km1,200–2,000 EUR

What to check

At idle when cold listen for the metallic knocking or rattling noise
Read the fault memory and look for the codes P0011, P0012, P0016, P0017 and P0018
Ask whether the chain was replaced under the recall, and ask for the confirmation

2 more steps in the write-up

2.7 / 3.0 TDI V6: the rear timing chain and the oil pump drive

critical

The timing chain of the longitudinal V6 diesel runs at the back of the engine, on the gearbox side, so replacing it means taking out the engine or the gearbox. That alone makes it expensive, but the mechanism is the point: the chains stretch and the hydraulic tensioners lose their pressure. The first and only early sign is a 2 to 3 second metallic rattle audible on a cold start. If that is ignored, the chain jumps or breaks, and the engine is badly damaged inside. The same chain kit also drives the oil pump: if that seizes, the engine is left without lubrication.

What to check

Start it cold, in a quiet place, with the bonnet open: the rattle is audible in the first 2 to 3 seconds
Stand at the gearbox side of the engine: the noise comes from there, not from the front
Ask whether the chain and the tensioner were replaced, and ask for the invoice (it involves removing the engine)

3 more steps in the write-up

expensive1

Chain tensioner: the check valve is missing from the oil supply

expensive

The check valve is missing from the oil supply of the timing chain tensioner. With the engine stopped the oil drains out of the passage, so at start-up the tensioner does not get pressure straight away, and over time that wears it out. On early production examples it appears from as little as 60 000 kilometres.

Show the rest

The tensioner does not hold the chain, the chain goes slack and the valve timing shifts. The symptom is a metallic rattle audible at a cold start which quietens after a few seconds. If the chain jumps, the valves and the pistons meet.

The same noise is also produced by a failure of the camshaft adjuster, and there the fault code gives the direction: P001685, P001785, P001177 and P001885 belong to it.

The repair is not an engine strip. The tensioner can be reached after the charge air cooler and the front cover have been removed, and from there two screws hold it. The prevention is fitting the check valve into the oil supply.

above 60,000 km

What to check

Start it cold and listen to the first seconds: a metallic rattle points here
Watch whether the noise quietens after a few seconds: that is typical of the tensioner
Have the fault codes read and look for codes P001685, P001785, P001177 and P001885

1 more steps in the write-up

Information, not an expert opinion

We write the descriptions, and we put the source next to them. A person reviews them before they go out. They are still information, not a technical expert opinion.

A fault on the list does not mean the car you are looking at has it.
A fault missing from the list does not mean the model is fault-free. Write-ups are made model by model. Not all of them are done.
You decide whether to buy. This is no substitute for an inspection. That needs a workshop and a history check.

Details in the terms