Which side of the engine is bank 2?

Bank 2 is whichever cylinder bank does NOT contain cylinder 1. On most transverse V6s (GM 3.6L, Nissan VQ, Toyota 2GR), cylinder 1 is on the firewall side, so bank 2 is the radiator-side bank. On longitudinal V8s, cylinder 1 is usually the front-right corner from the driver's seat, making bank 2 the driver's side. Check your specific engine's firing-order diagram before pulling anything apart.

Can I keep driving with P0020?

Yes, in most cases. The PCM falls back to a default cam-timing map, which gives you driveable but slightly less efficient operation. Avoid extended high-RPM driving and don't ignore it for more than a few hundred miles — if low oil pressure is the underlying cause, you can do real damage to the phaser internals.

Is the solenoid worth replacing as a DIY job?

On most platforms, yes — the solenoid bolts to the front of the head with one or two fasteners, and the connector is a simple unplug. The hard part is reaching the bank-2 location, which often means removing the intake manifold or upper plenum on transverse V6s. If you can change spark plugs on the rear bank, you can change this solenoid.

How much should P0020 repair cost?

Best case is an oil change that restores phaser operation: $50-100. The typical solenoid replacement runs $200-500 depending on bank-2 access difficulty. Worst case — a damaged phaser requiring timing-cover-off work — can hit $1,200-2,000, but that's unusual for a circuit-only code.

OBD-II trouble code

P0020: 'A' Camshaft Position Actuator Circuit (Bank 2)

The PCM is commanding the intake-camshaft VVT solenoid on bank 2, but the electrical feedback it's getting back doesn't match what it expects — usually an open, short, or wiring fault in the solenoid circuit on the bank-2 side of the engine.

Quick facts

System: Powertrain
Category: Variable Valve Timing
Severity: Medium severity
Drivable: Usually safe to drive short-term
Repair cost range: $200 – $700
DIY difficulty: Intermediate DIY

What does P0020 mean?

P0020 is the bank-2 mirror of P0010. The 'A' camshaft is the intake camshaft, and the actuator circuit refers to the variable valve timing (VVT) solenoid that the PCM uses to advance or retard intake-cam timing. When the PCM commands that solenoid and the electrical response doesn't fall inside the expected range — too much current, too little, or no continuity at all — P0020 gets set.

The twist with any bank-2 code is figuring out which physical side of the engine 'bank 2' actually is. Bank 2 is defined as whichever cylinder bank does NOT contain cylinder 1. On most transverse V6s (GM 3.6L LFX, Nissan VQ-series, Toyota 2GR), cylinder 1 is on the firewall side, so bank 2 is the radiator-facing bank. On most longitudinal V8s, cylinder 1 is the front-right corner from the driver's seat, so bank 2 is the driver's side. Inline engines almost never throw P0020 because they have only one cylinder bank — if you see it on a four-cylinder, something is misconfigured in the scan tool or PCM.

Unlike the 'timing over/under-advanced' codes (P0021, P0011), this one is specifically about the electrical circuit to the solenoid. The timing might actually be fine — the PCM just can't talk to the solenoid the way it expects. That makes the diagnosis lean heavily on multimeter work rather than on tearing into the timing cover.

Common causes

Failed intake VVT solenoid on bank 2 (most common — internal short or open winding)
Wiring damage between the PCM and the bank-2 intake solenoid, often from heat near the exhaust manifold
Corroded or backed-out connector pin at the solenoid
Sludged oil clogging the solenoid screen (a mechanical problem that the PCM reads as an electrical fault)
Open or shorted solenoid driver inside the PCM (rare, but a possibility on high-mileage modules)
Aftermarket battery disconnect or recent wiring work that disturbed the engine harness
Severe low oil pressure — some platforms throw P0020 when oil flow to the actuator falls below the threshold the solenoid needs to operate
Damaged actuator gear inside the camshaft phaser itself

Symptoms

Check Engine Light on, sometimes with a rough or hunting idle
Mild loss of power, especially under acceleration off idle
Reduced fuel economy because the PCM falls back to a default cam-timing strategy
Occasional rattle on cold start (when the phaser can't get locked in quickly)
Stored freeze-frame data showing the fault occurred at idle or shortly after warmup

Diagnostic steps

1.Pull freeze-frame data — note RPM, coolant temp, and whether the engine was loaded or at idle when P0020 set. That tells you whether to chase electrical (idle) or oil-pressure (loaded/warm) causes.
2.Check engine oil level and condition. Black, gritty, or low oil is the cheapest fix you'll ever do on a VVT code — change it before anything else.
3.Locate the bank-2 intake VVT solenoid. On most V6/V8s it's bolted to the front of the cylinder head, near the timing cover.
4.With the connector unplugged, measure resistance across the solenoid terminals. Compare against spec — most read between 6 and 14 ohms. Anything significantly outside that range condemns the solenoid.
5.Backprobe the harness side of the connector with key on, engine off. You should see battery voltage on one pin (the supply) and a PCM-controlled ground on the other.
6.If the solenoid passes resistance and the harness has voltage and ground, scope the PCM's command signal at idle. A dead or noisy signal points to a PCM driver issue.
7.Clear the code, drive the vehicle through a couple of warm-up cycles, and recheck. P0020 should not return if the repair is correct.

Repair cost

$200 – $700

Solenoid itself is usually $40-150; the rest is labor. Bank-2 access on transverse V6s adds 30-50% to the labor estimate vs. bank 1 because the back of the engine is harder to reach. If the actual cam phaser needs replacement (rare on this circuit code), expect a much larger bill — that's a timing-cover-off job.

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DIY vs shop

This is an intermediate DIY job. It usually involves diagnostic steps, specialty parts, and some careful work in tight spaces. If you have the tools and a service manual or trustworthy video for your specific vehicle, it is achievable in a weekend. Otherwise, a competent independent shop will be faster.