Code P2015: intake flaps (swirl flaps): inconsistent position

You can normally get to the workshop: according to Rick, the fault rarely causes serious damage and many cars carry on running normally, although with the warning light on. But other sources cite loss of power and limp-home mode, and the check should not be put off: on some diesel engines, such as the BMW M47, cases have been described in which the flap screws come loose, end up in the cylinder and cause significant damage.^[2][4][5][8]

Not necessarily. Pierburg warns that the fault is often not in the actuator module, but in worn or stiff flaps that it can no longer move. On some set-ups the sensor is built into the actuator and measures its angle, not the real position of the flaps, so a mechanical problem is recorded as a sensor or actuator fault. Ross-Tech adds that in some cases it is only resolved by replacing the whole manifold.^[4][5]

They are small butterfly valves that partially close one of the intake ports of each cylinder to create turbulence at low revs. Wikipedia points out that their main drawback is fouling by the EGR, which leaves sticky deposits on the flaps and in the manifold, and Pierburg adds that very oily intake air, dirty combustion, frequent short trips and crankcase breather faults have an influence.^[3][4]

It depends on the cause. On the VW 2.0 TDI, where a plastic stop in the manifold wears, Rick describes as a fix a small metal part that limits the actuator's travel; if the flaps are broken, the shaft is seized or there is a lot of carbon build-up, he recommends replacing the manifold. Pierburg warns that if only the actuator is replaced with the manifold in poor condition, the error comes straight back, and febi, for Audi and VW V6 TDI engines, offers a kit with the manifold, gasket and flap motor with its linkage, which requires a subsequent learning procedure with the scan tool.^[2][4][7]

TAT groups them in the same system: the P2014 refers to the manifold position sensor or switch circuit and the P2016, to that circuit with a low signal. The P2015 is the 'range/performance' one: the signal exists and is within the electrical range, but the reported position does not match the one commanded by the control unit.^[1]

The generic definition does, because P2 codes in the P category are also defined by the SAE standard, but each manufacturer writes it in its own way: Ross-Tech records it on VW as 'implausible signal from the manifold flap position sensor (bank 1)' and febi, as 'improbable manifold flap position or signal'. Opel, in addition, uses its own code P1109 on its 1.9 CDTi engines, 'swirl actuator fault', according to Pierburg.^[4][5][6][7]

If the code has switched on the engine warning light, no: with that light on, the inspection records a serious defect, and on Euro 5 and Euro 6 cars the ITV (Spain's roadworthiness inspection, similar to the MOT) also reads the OBD diagnostic system. Repair the fault before you go; clearing the code just before the inspection does not help either, because it counts as a serious defect.^[9]