Hello Everyone,

Long story short, I've got a 03, S40 with 186K on the dial. No CEL, up to date on all the typical stuff....Belts, oil, plugs. VVT gear already replaced. Overall well cared for. I've been its only driver for 15 years.

Went over a pothole, exhaust broke in half...right after the 2nd cat. I was able to stop immediately to see what happened, but had to drive (and drag) another 1/2 mile to a safe place.

I turned the car back on after I was home (exhaust still in two pieces) CEL shinning brightly. Didn't think much of it, given the circumstances.1 beautiful, shiny and complete exhaust later (I stopped at the first cat and O2. The O2 is only 8ish years old).....CEL still on.

I pulled the code and its a P0015. It left me scratching my head. I cleared it, and then successfully drove it 3-4 trips, 100 ish miles.

Trip 5, CEL back, same code. I noticed the cold start idle go from normal to above normal after a few seconds. A warm idle was back to normal.

Other than the cold idle, car drives like it was new once again. I'm just not sure where to start on this one.

Helpful thoughts appreciated!

 

the P0015 is saying your exhaust cam timing is retarded - nothing to do with the exhaust system or O2 sensor. this can be caused by a faulty sensor or an issue with the VVT (ie solenoid / gear). You can google for some youtube vids on cleaning the VVT or try an oil treatment (seafoam etc) to see if you can get it to remove any sludge to free up the solenoid. Plenty of other posts on a P0015 code to read through.