2012 Honda CRV VTC Actuator Replacement and Diagnosis FULL 

Buddy this is such a high quality video. Your step by step explanation was amazing. I hope you and your business have even more success in 2021. Keep at it bro

One of the best how to videos ive seen!

I like these videos, i feel like its been a while since you’ve shot repair videos like how when you started. Take care bro and have a happy new year

Great info and thanks for the sound the engine made I have a Wrx that is making the same noise and the dealership won’t warranty my clients vehicle after we found the same issues with his car. This vid made me remember when you first started making vids they were full of info and great tips which for a person like me who at the time had 0 knowledge of cars had just begun as the advisor at my dads shop after the previous one left in a hurry helped a lot. The one thing I remember you had said back then was that if someone wanted to be in the top 50% of techs all they needed to do was simply read the repair manual before doing the job. This has been not only true but countless times been the reason I was able to help my guys in a repair that frustrating them. This has also allowed for myself to find success in learning to do programming as it is very specific, but at the end it’s just following directions. Thanks for your efforts Keep it up man glad to see you are doing well take care

Great to see repair videos again. Thanks Nestor!

Dude you are a professional tech, this was real informative.

Great work. You are very conscientious about your work. That's a sign that you care about what you are doing, and making sure it's done right the first time. 👍🏻

Hands down this is the best explanation video on this. I’m ready to get at it. Then one day rebuild my coyote 5.0 Timing on that is super crazy

My 2012 CR-V is at the Honda dealer right now for this repair. Wish I had come here first, bc they had a hard time getting it to replicate the noise! After watching your video, I understand why it's costing quite a bit. Thank you.

Great video and information. FYI, you can remove the vtc without removing the cam. Follow these instructions but knock the cam bolt loose and pull the vtc off the end of the cam

Very well done. Just completed the project.

Incredible video and thanks for the clear explanation and spending the time 👍👍

Your video covered everything that I needed to feel confident in doing this on my CRV. I enjoyed the video very much and the only thing that you might be able to improve on is the lighting. I can also tell that you take pride in your work and give the customers a great quality job without the worries of whether it was done correctly. Watching your video would make me also feel confident to bring my vehicles to you for repair. You are a great mechanic that I would definitely trust. Do you have any videos on oil leak repairs that aren't apparent on a 2017 Honda CRV?

This is the exact problem with my car!! Thanks for the video

Great video! You did an excellent job of explaining the process and pointing out the small details about the process. Thank you. Semper Fi, USMC.

Hi my friend l like the video l like the mechanic job l learning about the new technology this is Avery good video thank you for teaching congratulations 😅

Thanks a lot man for this video. Before showing to my mechanic can you tell me how many labor hours it takes?

Super nice video bro! Thanks 🙏🏼

Hi. Is there a replace part to solve the grinding issue of these faulty VTC actuators, or its the same part?

Appreciate the video. I think once you have done your first one and build your confidence, not such a hard job. I found it much easier to work with once I took out the tensioner. It gave me a ton of room to fine tune the alignment of the cams.

just curious, where is the diagnostic part in the video? and the link in the description for the full directions of the process?

At about the 9:52 mark you mentioned that the side marks on the VTC actuator and the exhaust sprocket were not perfectly aligned, so you turned the crankshaft slightly until they were. Does this not throw the number 1 piston off of top dead center? If so, do two of the three have to line up (Arrows and side marks on actuator) as opposed to crankshaft? Please advise. Thank You.

Hey man I accidently locked the vtc during install and torqued it down. Did I ruin my vtc? Or should I unlock it and reinstall?

Don’t need to take the cam out, just remove exhaust side gear and replace vtc gear and reinstall gears and timing chain.

This really doesnt seem that difficult to do. Great explanation.

Excelente video amigo

Thanks for the video. I have the confidence to do this myself. I have a 2012 CRV that I purchased new. It’s been doing the start up noise for about 6 months. Only during the winter months. If it gets worse I will replace the VTC actuator, but I will replace the timing chain, guides, and tensioner as well. I heard that the noise does not really affect anything. I also heard that the noise can stretch your timing chain little by little once that happens it will throw a engine code. Camshaft position sensor code I believe. Some people been living with the start up noise for years and they are fine... others Changed the VTC actuator and noise came back...

flood mode start is a good idea to get oil on that tensioner before starting its like a pre lube . good work young man .

So, is it super bad that i was able to unlock mine simply by turning it? im in the midle of amajor teardown and inspection of my timing system because of a drivability issue, and i remember just one time thath mine made the cold start grinding noise many months ago. Perhaps my lock pin is rounded and therefor not locking when its suppposed to. My analysis of it with my eyes and brain suggests that the lock is there to stop it rotating until there is oil pressure, so as to stop the cold start rattle and also to stop it form moving out of time while there is no oil pressure to hold it in time. I was undoing the little torx bolts to inspect it, (without the chain) and it just slipped, then i realised i could lock it again by turning it back, thne give it a hit with my palm and i could unlock it. Now im wondering if this is happening randomly causing my stuttering at idle, and maybe even the reason for my lack of power and code p0341, which i thought was a stretched chain.

Very detailed explanation

Great video. Where are you located?

Had the VTech actuator, timing chain, and tensioner replaced by a good mechanic on a 2013 CRV with 150k miles. Same cold startup rattle has returned after 1.5 years/30k additional miles. Synthetic 5k oil and filter changes every 5k miles. Is another $1000 job (2hrs labor) needed every 30k miles?

Great vid bro

I have the exact same issue on my 2012 Crv and it's been almost 10 years. Didn't notice anything worse, is it bad if i don't fix it or should get it done?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't the loosening sequence of the cam caps be the opposite of the tightening? That is, start from the outside and work your way towards the middle? Thanks for the video, doing this job on my 2014 soon to get it ready to sell.

do believe your supposed to remove the cam cap bolts in reverse sequence of the original sequence. I see you show to remove them from the inside out it should be opposite, outside working your war to the middle?

I saw a video where a dude removed the sprocket without even removing the cam shaft. Would you recommend against that?

I have a crv 2013 just purchase it and noticed the sound next day... because it only comes up when the car is cold. i took to a mechanic and there was a loose screw that couldn't get tightened so he said ok lets replace the pulley and tensioner with original ones, that was were the screw was. so that's done. I pick the car go home next day turn on the car... there it goes still a rattling sound. so I took to another mech and we realized it was inside the motor maybe the chain or the actuator but he said the car has no lights on and runs perfectly so it was not an emergency. what could happen if I leave this on ? could this damage the engine later on? how do I know a mechanic has experience doing this repairing?

Thanks for the Video bro 👍✌

Thank you for the great video. I watched as my 2014 CRV has the same noise when cold start since last few months. Now I have check engine light and couple of other light too like traction & steering so I took it too auto parts store for a quick scan and I have P0341 code for Camshaft position sensor but today I took it too Honda dealer for second opinion and I am told that I need VTC Actuator, tensioner, guide and timing chain but not camshaft sensors. Now I am really confused if I should just replace position sensor as per my scan or should I replace everything asked by dealer which is almost CAD $1500. Let me know if anyone has any suggestion. Thank you!

Hi, friend. You repair only the camshaft right.

Interesting. So, did the problem come back after your repair some 6 months later?

My moms 2011 Honda CR-V is having this vtc actuator problem. I’m worried about her car not starting one day. Is this something that could happen?

Hello ! Thanks for your usefull video. Maybe "wrong marks" on crankshaft pulley indicate the moment you can secure the tensioner using the pin or am I wrong ?

Nice video was wait for this video

Nice work

Check you are using 0w30 oil before spending time and money, i found out with 5w30 oil change the noise started and got worst with 10w30 used in next change. This made me think cold start oil thickness might be the problem, and it was. I canged to 0w20 (not very hot down here) and it stopped making noises for two weeks now.

good job

I’ve had several customers come in with this noise but they usually don’t want to fix it due to the price. One was a 2012 CRV with as low as 30k miles, so I sent her to the dealer for warranty repair. We’re going to be doing this job Monday so it helps a lot to see a human do it vs the TSB. Thanks!

Good info, thanks

Besides the noise it was making what are the other symptoms? This would be my last part that could be causing the code. I have replaced…..Oem timing chain, new tensioners, new guides, new vtc solenoid, new vtech solenoid, new cam position sensors on both both exhaust and intake. Crv runs fine at high speeds but stutters on build up rpm’s. Code P0341 2002 crv

Is there another name for this part? I can't find it on Autozone or Advance

I want to start a career as an auto mechanic but i dont know where to start. I dont want to be in debt for the rest of my life but i also dont want to pay for some school that wont get me proper training. Do you have any advice on where i should start looking. I have been working on family cars my whole life, would i be able to use that as experience?

That sounds very similar to what my 2014 CR-V has started doing. I have 98,000 miles on it. I hope this isn't the problem. I was thinking a fan issue. It rattles on start up and initial acceleration when first running. 😒

While replacing the vtc actuator, auto tensioner pin fell off, how should I reset it? the chain is now too tight to put the camshaft back

rr v/c loosen gear bolts, I find remove and replace tensioner ( easily damaged if not retracted properly)and balancer. rr crk seal and mark links paint. shove rag under chain at crk sprocket so chain doesn't jump. No need to remove cam shaft

Great video man I know it's been a long time but how do you see your crank position with the timing cover on?

Do I have to unlock the vvt gear

Man thank you!!!

Thanks

Well done.

Thanks for the info. Just about your lighting - please just go get yourself some LED tubes and just hang the whole assembly over the work area for some even, soft and very bright lighting. Will improve the video quality no end.

How much. Does it cost to repair the same thing I’m my. Honda crv. 2013. I have the part

Just trying to figure out why it has to be unlocked if you lock it anyways before you put the cam back in. Does anyone know the reason behind this?I mean they actually say to unlock it with air pressure if it gets locked on accident before it is torqued,but I can't figure out why.

As it gets worse can you hear it while driving?

My Honda 2.4 2013 CRV just started making that noise when I started up in the morning, the dealership where I bought it said it’s not sending a code so we can’t fix it. Is it supposed to send the code can you tell me please thank you

It would be nice to show how you remove and install cam from chain instead of only explaining it. And how you took apart and install VVT from cam

why does it need to be unlocked when you install it?

Can it cause damage (or bad performance, or...?) if the VTC Actuator is not replaced? We have a 200K+ miles 2011 CRV that has this problem (noisy rattle when it starts). I've assumed it is not worth it on a car of this age. It is using some oil already, and accelleration is sluggish at lower RPM (...possibly due to lagging timing from bad VTC Actuator?...or not?)

Bro ..... you leave out the BEST part....Y didn't you start up that engine n let us hear what it sounds like......damn!!!!!

Coincidence I’m having this issue on my TSX now ? Could a bad VTC throw off converter codes or intermittent sluggish take off during street drive?

Nice Job.. great video... having a similar issue with a 1-2 second grinding noise on cold start. this video convinced me this job is way over my head to do.. :D

i own 09 crv and have same rattle noise but its all the time not only on cool start , if its the VTC Actuator is bad its is possible that does the same sound all the time or its just on cool start up?

Great vid30

Question tho, what happens if we dont replace the vtc actuator? What problems can arise in the future? Thanks!

Im going to do this on a friends car but can anyone explain what the point of removing the cam is? Cant you just hold the cam while its in the car, unbolt, put new phaser on in unlocked position, torque it down, then lock it, while its in the car the whole time? I cant find any good reason to remove the cam. 🤔

Where are you ?

Cool video, next time, just take the timing cover off. Its not worth the chain moving a tooth. Stock motors dont have a timing guide for the bottom crank pulley and the chain moves very easily over the teeth; take it from someone that has done this thousands of times at this point. Also, you dont have to keep the VTC unlocked, there is a pin tht centers the fixed portion of the gear.

Can the gear only go on one way?

Start the car to see your work

When do u pull the pin 📌

What happens if i didnt lock the VTC actuator?

Great video bro I’m in the Bay Area and my 2012 crv does the same thing. Let me know your shop name and number so I can bring it in.

I miss the part where you start the carcatvthevendcand the rattling noise us gone... 🤔😁

You need to do a valve adjustment after installing the new actuator.

It's the compression spring

Just replace the VTC actuator locking pin spring to save money, time and risk of timing upset. "springstart VTC'

You don’t even need to do all that!! Only should have to take off valve cover. Just gotta take out vtc spring and stretch it!! It’s inside that cam gear take off the hex screws and slowly pull apart. Normal honda issue alot of videos on it.

You didnt link any tools.

Even if you replace sounds will return they dont have a better part

How much does this cost?

U need some lights in there

Good video but Chris fix already helped us out

How much does it cost to replace

muestra bien todo en el momento que regresates todo asu lugar eso es lo que me interesa no que hables mucho las imagenes dicen mas de mil palabras

The actuator is a problem you can replace it & 2 years later same problem. Honda knows there's no fix

Just lock it before you put it on the camshaft, done it that way every time with no problems

Can’t you start the engine? Basics

Stay safe. Coronavirus cases are soar!

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