P0340: Camshaft Position Sensor Circuit Malfunction

Short answer: P0340 means “Camshaft Position Sensor Circuit Malfunction”. It is a standard OBD-II code, so the basic meaning is the same on every car. Below is what it means on each of the 8 cars we cover, with a link to the full page for each car.

Standard OBD-II code Same meaning on all cars (SAE J2012).

P0340 on each car

Symptoms

1. Check engine light on
2. Symptoms can include
3. Hard starting or no start
4. Rough running / misfiring
5. Loss of engine power

Likely causes

1. A wire or connector in the circuit could be grounded/shorted/broken
2. The camshaft position sensor may have failed
3. The PCM may have failed
4. There exists an open circuit
5. The crankshaft position sensor may have failed

What to check, in order

1. Read the code and freeze-frame data with an OBD-II scanner
2. Check the connector and wiring of the part named in the code
3. Test the part with scanner live data or a multimeter, using the values in the repair manual
4. Fix the cause, clear the code and test-drive

Causes and checks above are the general meaning. The exact test steps and values differ by car: open your car’s page.

All fault codes