Does a P0345 code mean my engine is a V6 or a V8?

It means the engine has two cylinder banks, so it is a V, a flat or a W layout rather than an inline one, because an inline engine has no bank two to report on. It does not tell you the cylinder count, so a V6, a V8 and a flat-four can all set it. Bank two itself is defined as the bank that does not contain cylinder one, and manufacturers place cylinder one differently, so there is no fixed left or right answer. On many transverse V6 installations bank two works out as the rear bank against the bulkhead, but that is a tendency rather than a rule.

Why is a bank 2 camshaft sensor a bigger job than bank 1?

The sensor is usually the identical part on both banks. What changes is access. On a transverse V engine one bank faces forward where everything is reachable, while the other sits against the bulkhead, often beneath the inlet manifold or the wiper scuttle, and reaching it can turn a fifteen-minute job into most of a day. That difference is labour rather than parts, so ask the garage to break the quote down. If the manifold has to come off anyway, ask what else is sensible to do while it is already off.

I have P0340 and P0345 together — does that mean both sensors have failed?

Almost certainly not. Two camshaft sensors on opposite banks failing at the same moment would be an unusual coincidence. What they share is a supply voltage, a reference earth and an input stage in the control unit, and a fault in any of those takes out both signals at once. Have the shared supply and earth checked before buying either sensor.

Will P0345 fail an MOT?

Yes. An illuminated engine management lamp is a major defect for petrol cars first used on or after 1 July 2003 and diesels from 1 July 2008, and it is the biggest warning-lamp defect in the DVSA data behind this site with 371,859 recorded failures. If the fault also makes the engine stall, the emissions check cannot be completed, which is a separate major failure.

Powertrain code · standard

P0345No usable signal from the bank 2 camshaft sensor

Standard definition: Camshaft Position Sensor "A" Circuit (Bank 2)

Last updated 27 July 2026

Quick answer

The same fault as P0340, reported for the second cylinder bank. It only exists on engines with two banks — a V, a flat or a W — so the code itself confirms the layout, and bank two is simply the bank that does not contain cylinder one.

How the car works this out

Identical monitoring to bank one: the control unit looks for camshaft pulses in the expected pattern and stores the circuit code when they are absent or unusable. On a two-bank engine each bank has its own camshaft sensor, so which code is stored is itself a diagnostic. P0345 on its own points at that one sensor, its connector or its wiring. P0340 and P0345 together are unlikely to be two sensors failing at once, and far more likely to be something they share: a common supply, a common reference earth, or the control unit input stage.

What you might notice

Long cranking before the engine catches
Stalling and hesitation, sometimes with a distinct roughness from one side of the engine
Reduced power, as the injection reverts to a cruder mode
The engine management lamp on, often with a reduced power warning

What causes it

Most likely first. A code names the check that failed, not the part that failed it, so more than one of these can produce the same number.

1The bank two camshaft sensor itselfCommon
How to check: Compare live camshaft speed data for both banks while cranking. One bank reading zero while the other reads normally is conclusive.
2Oil or water in the sensor connector, or a connector that has been disturbed during other work on that bankCommon
3Wiring damage on the bank two harness, which on many V engines is the longer run and the one closer to the exhaustPossible
4A damaged trigger wheel or an altered air gap on that camshaftPossible
5A shared supply, earth or control unit input, if the bank one code P0340 is stored alongsidePossible
How to check: Two sensors do not usually fail together. Check the common five-volt supply and the sensor earth before condemning either sensor.
6A timing chain problem on that bank, on V engines that drive each bank through its own secondary chainLess common
How to check: Look for a bank two correlation code stored alongside.

What to do about it

1Work out which bank is bank two on your engine before removing anything. It is the bank without cylinder one, and manufacturers place cylinder one differently.
2Check whether P0340 is stored as well. Both banks together means a shared supply or earth, not two failed sensors.
3Inspect the connector for oil and corrosion before ordering a part, exactly as you would on bank one.
4If bank two is the rear bank on a transverse engine, ask the garage to quote the labour separately. The part is ordinary; the access is what makes the job.

Can you keep driving?

Only to a garage

Most engines keep running on a lost camshaft signal by guessing the stroke and correcting, so the car will usually move, but it may stall without warning and may not restart. The risk is being stranded or stopping unexpectedly in traffic rather than damaging anything. Get it to a garage rather than relying on it.

Will it fail an MOT?

The lamp is a major defect on petrol cars first used from 1 July 2003 and diesels from 1 July 2008, so the failure is automatic. The consideration particular to a bank two fault is timing rather than testing: on a transverse V engine the rear bank sensor can be a genuinely awkward job, so leaving it until the week of the MOT is a poor plan. If the car stalls on the ramp, the emissions check cannot be completed, which is a further major failure on the same certificate.

The light this turns on

Engine management lightThe engine management system has found a fault it cannot correct and has stored a code for it. The car will usually still drive, but an illuminated engine light is an automatic MOT failure on petrol cars first used from 1 July 2003 and diesels from 1 July 2008.

Common questions

Does a P0345 code mean my engine is a V6 or a V8?: It means the engine has two cylinder banks, so it is a V, a flat or a W layout rather than an inline one, because an inline engine has no bank two to report on. It does not tell you the cylinder count, so a V6, a V8 and a flat-four can all set it. Bank two itself is defined as the bank that does not contain cylinder one, and manufacturers place cylinder one differently, so there is no fixed left or right answer. On many transverse V6 installations bank two works out as the rear bank against the bulkhead, but that is a tendency rather than a rule.
Why is a bank 2 camshaft sensor a bigger job than bank 1?: The sensor is usually the identical part on both banks. What changes is access. On a transverse V engine one bank faces forward where everything is reachable, while the other sits against the bulkhead, often beneath the inlet manifold or the wiper scuttle, and reaching it can turn a fifteen-minute job into most of a day. That difference is labour rather than parts, so ask the garage to break the quote down. If the manifold has to come off anyway, ask what else is sensible to do while it is already off.
I have P0340 and P0345 together — does that mean both sensors have failed?: Almost certainly not. Two camshaft sensors on opposite banks failing at the same moment would be an unusual coincidence. What they share is a supply voltage, a reference earth and an input stage in the control unit, and a fault in any of those takes out both signals at once. Have the shared supply and earth checked before buying either sensor.
Will P0345 fail an MOT?: Yes. An illuminated engine management lamp is a major defect for petrol cars first used on or after 1 July 2003 and diesels from 1 July 2008, and it is the biggest warning-lamp defect in the DVSA data behind this site with 371,859 recorded failures. If the fault also makes the engine stall, the emissions check cannot be completed, which is a separate major failure.

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