I'm hoping you guys would know if this is a common problem with the ECU or something more serious.

I've got a 2006 Chevy HHR 2.2L thats been throwing a "P0341 Camshaft position sensor, bank 1" error for about 3 months now. Last month I went in to a Chevy dealer to purchase a camshaft for the car, the dealership was nice enough to print off a diagram of my cars engine block (however it was a 2.4L print off..and apparently a 2.4L part). The camshaft shown in the engine block diagram is not on my 2.2L engine (at least as the diagram shows). So I'm assuming the 2.2L doesn't have the camshaft and the 2.4 does. Anyway, why would my HHR be throwing a camshaft error when there clearly is no camshaft?

 

to the site!

Your diagram shows no cam in the block because it doesn't live there in our ecotecs...in fact, we have two cams, they live in the cylinder head...DOHC.

 

Umm... I would get a real mechanic to check it, but the camshaft sensor and not the camshaft itself would seem the likely problem given your error code. The computer is seeing errant readings from the camshaft position sensor. And yes, our motors have camshafts in the cylinder head as the previous poster stated.

 

You guys are quick.

That makes much more sense. I guess thats going to cost a small fortune to get fixed at a mechanic, so thats probably not going to be an option for me. Any idea why Autozone, NAPA, and other stores would show no camshafts in their systems? Or am I needing to buy new cylinder heads?

 

I have to agree with the previous poster...... Its a sensor issue......or maybe a problem with the cam drive not the cam itself. Since the problem seems to come and go my bet is a failed sensor or a bad/dirty/loose wiring connection.

Just my $.02

 

The cam should be available as a stand alone item, however, I agree with the other posts that it's not your problem. It would be the sensor as that would be the most logical item to go bad over your camshaft.

 

HHorange:
It went away for about a week one time, after I messed with the fuses, but it came back. I don't think its a fuse problem, or it wouldn't have gone away.

 

I think you may be fretting over it more than you need to. The code "P0341 Camshaft position sensor, bank 1" has told you exactly what you need to replace. Not the camshaft itself, nor a fuse. That's what these codes are for. As far as I know, this can only be purchased from a dealer. I can't tell you off hand how hard it is, but make a couple of phone calls and ask what they charge to replace just this sensor. It'll probably be less than $200. The sensor alone more than likely is somewhere between $50-$100.

If a parts house doesn't show camshafts, its because they don't carry them for this motor.

 

Thanks for all your answers, I'll open up the cylinder head and test the camshaft sensors to see which one is bad.

 

Man, you really don't sound like you know what you're talking about. I really hope you meant valve cover or cylinder head cover cause you aren't going to need to remove the cylinder head. Are you sure you can tackle an issue like this without making it worse? Sometimes it is less expensive to let a mechanic fix your car then to try it yourself and fail.