P0013 means the engine computer has found an electrical fault in the circuit that drives the exhaust camshaft actuator solenoid on Bank 1, the valve that lets the computer move the exhaust camshaft’s timing. It is a wiring and solenoid code, not a timing code. That matters, because most of the advice written about this family of codes, such as changing the oil, cleaning the phaser and checking the timing chain, belongs to its neighbours P0014 and P0011, which report timing that has drifted. An oil change cannot repair an open circuit. A multimeter at the solenoid connector settles P0013 in about ten minutes, and this article covers that test, the five real causes in order of likelihood, and what each repair typically costs.
The table gives the short version. The triage note under it says when to stop driving.
| Cause | Telltale Sign | Typical Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Failed exhaust actuator solenoid | Solenoid resistance out of spec or open at its own pins | $80 to $300 |
| Connector fault | Code comes and goes; oil, corrosion or a loose pin in the plug | $0 to $100 |
| Damaged wiring | Chafed or heat-damaged harness near the exhaust side of the engine | $50 to $300 |
| Lost power feed | P0010 or other emissions codes stored at the same time; blown fuse | $5 to $150 |
| Engine computer driver fault | Solenoid and wiring test good; often follows a shorted solenoid | $500 to $1,500+ |
Stop driving if P0013 comes with stalling, a rattle or knock from the front of the engine, or the oil pressure light. Stalling at junctions is a real risk on some engines with this fault, and a mechanical noise or low oil pressure means something more than a circuit fault is happening. If the engine runs normally, or just idles a little rougher and feels flat, P0013 is safe to drive on for a short time while you arrange the test below.
What the P0013 Code Actually Means
Engines with variable valve timing can rotate each camshaft a few degrees relative to the crankshaft while running. A hydraulic phaser on the end of the camshaft does the turning, and engine oil does the pushing. The engine computer controls the oil with a solenoid valve, often called the oil control valve or VVT solenoid, which it switches on and off many times a second to set how much oil reaches the phaser.
The generic definition of P0013 is “B” Camshaft Position Actuator Circuit/Open, Bank 1. In the standard code naming, camshaft “A” is the intake, left or front camshaft and camshaft “B” is the exhaust, right or rear one. On almost every twin-cam engine with variable exhaust timing, “B” is the exhaust camshaft, which is why GM’s own definition reads Exhaust Camshaft Position Actuator Solenoid Valve Control Circuit. Bank 1 is the side of the engine with cylinder 1, and on an inline four-cylinder there is only one bank.
The computer does not move the camshaft to test this circuit. It monitors the circuit it drives. When the solenoid is switched off, the computer expects to see one voltage on its control wire; when it is switched on, it expects another, along with a sensible current through the coil. A broken wire, an open coil, a lost supply or a short changes those readings, and P0013 sets. This check runs whenever the engine is running, so the code can appear within seconds of starting. On some vehicles it turns on the check engine light on the first drive.
Once the fault is set, most engines stop commanding the exhaust phaser and leave it at its default, locked position. The engine keeps running, but with exhaust timing fixed at one setting rather than adjusted for load and speed.
Read the Freeze Frame Before Anything Else
Freeze frame data records the conditions when the code set. It helps with P0013 because circuit faults have patterns. A code that set seconds after a cold start points towards a solenoid or connector that fails before it warms up. One that set at full operating temperature, or only over rough roads, points towards a connector or harness that opens when hot or when it moves. Note whether the code is current or history, and note every other code stored with it before clearing anything, because the companions change the diagnosis more than anything else.
Symptoms You May Notice
- The check engine light, sometimes with no change in how the car drives
- A rougher idle, especially when warm
- Reduced power or a flat feel under acceleration
- Slightly worse fuel economy
- On some engines, hesitation, hard starting or stalling
How much you notice depends on where the exhaust phaser parks when the computer gives up on it. On some engines the difference is barely noticeable. On others, such as the GM four-cylinder engines covered by the bulletins below, owners report rough running and stalling.
1. A Failed Exhaust Camshaft Actuator Solenoid
This is the most common cause. The solenoid is a small coil of fine wire in a body that sits in hot oil, gets switched on and off thousands of times a minute, and lives through every heat cycle the engine does. Over time the winding or its internal connection breaks, and the circuit reads open.
GM documented exactly this failure at scale. Its Special Coverage 15824 covered approximately 211,600 2013 Cadillac ATS and Chevrolet Malibu vehicles with the 2.0L turbo or 2.5L engine, where P0010 or P0013 could set “as a result of an internal broken wire” in the intake or exhaust actuator solenoid. A follow-up, Special Coverage N182189940, covered approximately 64,273 2014 ATS, CTS, Malibu and Regal 2.0L turbo models where “a wire within the exhaust camshaft position actuator solenoid valve may break”, setting P0013 with rough idling or reduced power. Both programmes ran for 10 years or 120,000 miles from the in-service date, so very few vehicles still qualify, but a dealer can confirm from the VIN.
The test is simple. With the key off, unplug the solenoid and measure resistance across its two pins. An open reading, or one well outside the specification in your service information, condemns the solenoid without any further work. Many of these solenoids measure somewhere in the single digits to low teens of ohms, but use the figure for your engine rather than a general rule. Also check from each pin to the solenoid body: there should be no continuity, and a reading there means the coil has shorted to its case.
2. A Connector Fault at the Solenoid
The connector is the next most likely cause, and it is the cheapest to fix. It sits on the front or top of the cylinder head, often near a valve cover gasket or a camshaft seal that can weep oil. Oil can wick into the plug and its seal, and in time it can work along the wire inside the insulation. Look for oil inside the connector, green or white corrosion on the terminals, a cracked or missing locking tab that lets the plug back off, or a terminal that has been pushed back out of position.
A connector fault behaves differently from a dead solenoid. The code tends to come and go, may set only when hot or over bumps, and the solenoid itself measures correctly on the bench. Clean the terminals with electrical contact cleaner, check that each female terminal grips a test probe firmly, and make sure the plug locks with an audible click. If the wiring is soaked in oil, find and fix the leak too, or the fault will return.
3. Damaged Wiring Between the Solenoid and the Computer
On many engines the exhaust camshaft sits on the hot side of the cylinder head, close to the exhaust manifold or, on turbocharged engines, the turbocharger. The harness to the exhaust solenoid therefore runs closer to more heat than the intake side. Look along the whole run for insulation that has gone brittle or melted, wires rubbing on a bracket or the edge of the valve cover, clips that have broken and let the harness sag onto something hot, and rodent damage.
To test the harness, unplug both the solenoid and the engine computer connector, and use the wiring diagram to identify the two circuits. Check each wire end to end for continuity (it should be close to zero ohms), check each wire to ground (there should be no continuity), and check that the wires are not shorted to each other. Flex the harness while measuring, because a wire that is broken inside its insulation often reads normal until it moves.
4. A Lost Power Feed: Fuse or Relay
On many designs one of the solenoid’s two wires carries battery voltage from a fuse or relay, and the engine computer switches the other wire to ground to operate it. Other designs do the switching on the supply side, so check your wiring diagram rather than assuming. Where there is a separate supply, it is usually shared with other emissions components such as the intake solenoid, the oxygen sensor heaters and the EVAP purge valve.
That is why the companion codes matter so much. P0013 on its own points at the exhaust solenoid or its own wiring. P0013 with P0010, the intake equivalent, is less likely to be two solenoids that failed on the same day and more likely to be the supply they share. Add oxygen sensor heater or purge valve codes and a blown fuse or failed relay becomes the first thing to check. With the key on and the solenoid unplugged, a test light on the supply pin should light. If the fuse has blown, find what blew it before fitting a new one, because a chafed wire or a shorted solenoid will blow the replacement too.
There is one known exception to that rule of thumb. GM bulletin 17-NA-098 covers 2010 to 2012 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain models with the 2.4L engine that run rough, hesitate, are hard to start or stall, with any of P0010, P0013, P0011 and P0014 set. Its correction is to replace both camshaft position actuator solenoid valves and make sure the engine computer has the latest software. On those engines, solenoid failure on both camshafts is a known pattern rather than a coincidence.
5. An Engine Computer Driver Fault
The engine computer switches the solenoid with an internal transistor called a driver. A driver can fail, and the commonest way to kill one is a solenoid that shorted internally and drew far more current than it was designed to carry. That makes this cause both rare and often a second fault. If a solenoid tests shorted, check the computer’s output after fitting the new one, and if a new solenoid fails quickly, suspect the circuit has a short that is still there.
Only consider the computer when the solenoid measures correctly, the supply is present, and the harness tests good end to end. Before replacing it, ask a dealer whether a software update applies to your engine, as bulletins for these codes often include one. A replacement computer normally needs programming to the vehicle, which is a large part of its cost.
How to Diagnose P0013 in the Right Order
- Record every stored code and the freeze frame. P0013 alone, P0013 with P0010, and P0013 with heater or purge codes each point somewhere different.
- Look before measuring. Check that the connector is fully seated and locked, look inside it for oil and corrosion, and follow the harness looking for heat or chafe damage.
- Measure the solenoid at its own pins, key off and unplugged, and check each pin to the solenoid body. Out of spec or shorted means a new solenoid.
- Check the supply with the key on, using a test light on the harness side, if your design has a separate feed. No supply means a fuse, relay or supply wire.
- Test the harness end to end, to ground and between wires, flexing it as you go.
- Command the solenoid with a bidirectional scan tool if you have one. Most will switch the solenoid on and off or command a cam angle; a click from the solenoid, or a noid light or test light flashing across the harness connector, confirms the computer is driving it.
- Clear the code and drive. Because the check runs constantly, a circuit fault that is still present usually comes back within one drive.
What not to replace on suspicion: the camshaft phaser, the timing chain and the camshaft position sensor. None of them is part of the circuit P0013 monitors. Oil does matter for variable valve timing in general, and low or sludged oil should be fixed whatever the code, but it does not open or short an electrical circuit. If a timing code such as P0014 or P0011 appears once the circuit is repaired, that is a separate fault with an oil-related list of causes.
P0013 Repair Cost
These are typical ranges for independent shops in the US, including parts and labour. Your vehicle and local labour rate will move them.
- Exhaust camshaft actuator solenoid: roughly $80 to $300. The part is commonly $30 to $150, and on many four-cylinder engines the solenoid is bolted to the front of the cylinder head and comes out in well under an hour. On V engines, or where intake plumbing is in the way, labour rises.
- Connector clean or pigtail repair: $0 if cleaning and reseating fixes it, up to about $100 for a new pigtail spliced in.
- Wiring repair: about $50 to $300, depending on how much of the harness is damaged and how hard it is to reach.
- Fuse or relay: $5 to $150, plus whatever it takes to fix the short that blew the fuse.
- Engine computer: roughly $500 to $1,500 or more including programming. A software update alone usually costs a diagnostic fee.
A diagnostic charge of around one hour’s labour is common, and for this code it should cover the electrical tests above. Ask for the solenoid resistance reading. It is the figure that justifies the repair.
Can You Keep Driving With a P0013 Code?
Usually yes, for a short time. With the exhaust phaser parked at its default position the engine runs on fixed exhaust timing, which costs some power, smoothness and fuel economy but does not damage the engine by itself. Most drivers notice a rougher idle or nothing at all.
The exceptions are the ones in the triage note. Stalling makes the car unsafe in traffic, and GM’s bulletin for the 2.4L lists it as a symptom. A rattle from the timing end of the engine or an oil pressure warning means the problem is mechanical or oil-related, and driving on can do real damage. A flashing check engine light means misfires, which can overheat the catalytic converter. Leaving P0013 for months also means the car will fail an OBD-based emissions inspection, and while the light stays on for P0013, a second fault can set without you noticing.
P0013 and the Codes It Gets Confused With
The camshaft code family is a grid: intake or exhaust camshaft, Bank 1 or Bank 2, and a circuit fault or a timing fault. P0013 is exhaust, Bank 1, circuit.
- P0010: the same circuit fault on the intake (“A”) camshaft solenoid, Bank 1. Stored together with P0013, check the shared supply first. See the P0010 guide.
- P0014: exhaust camshaft timing over-advanced, Bank 1. The circuit works, but the camshaft is not where it was commanded, which is usually an oil or phaser problem. See the P0014 guide.
- P0011 and P0012: the intake camshaft timing over-advanced or over-retarded. See P0011 and P0012.
- P0023 and P0020: the exhaust and intake actuator circuit codes for Bank 2, found on V engines. Same tests, other side of the engine.
- P2090 and P2091: the exhaust actuator control circuit reading low or high, Bank 1. Some vehicles set these more specific codes instead of, or as well as, P0013.
- P0365 and P0366: the camshaft position sensor “B” circuit and its range or performance, Bank 1. The sensor reports where the camshaft is; the actuator moves it. They are separate parts, and swapping the sensor does not fix an actuator circuit code.
- P0016 and P0017: crankshaft and camshaft position correlation, which can mean a stretched chain or jumped timing. See P0016 and P0017.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the P0013 code mean?
P0013 means the engine computer has detected an electrical fault, usually an open circuit, in the solenoid that controls the exhaust camshaft timing on Bank 1. It is a wiring and solenoid fault, not a report that the camshaft timing itself is wrong.
How much does it cost to fix P0013?
Most repairs cost $80 to $300 for a new exhaust camshaft actuator solenoid fitted, nothing to about $100 for a connector, $50 to $300 for a wiring repair, or $5 to $150 for a fuse or relay. An engine computer replacement, which is rarely needed, runs about $500 to $1,500 or more with programming.
Is it safe to drive with a P0013 code?
For a short time, usually yes. The exhaust camshaft stays at a fixed default position, so the engine may idle rougher and feel down on power. Stop driving if the engine stalls, rattles or knocks from the front, or the oil pressure light comes on.
Will an oil change fix P0013?
Not on its own. P0013 reports an electrical fault in the solenoid circuit, and oil does not open or short a circuit. Fix low or dirty oil anyway, because it causes the related timing codes P0014 and P0011, but test the solenoid and wiring to fix P0013.
Can I replace the exhaust camshaft solenoid myself?
On many four-cylinder engines, yes. The solenoid is usually held by one bolt on the front of the cylinder head. Measure its resistance first to confirm it has failed, disconnect the battery, keep dirt out of the oil passage, and lightly oil the new O-ring before fitting.
What is the difference between P0013 and P0014?
P0013 means the exhaust camshaft solenoid circuit has an electrical fault. P0014 means the circuit works, but the exhaust camshaft timing is more advanced than commanded, which usually points to oil condition, a sticking oil control valve or a worn phaser. They need different tests.
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