P2442
Secondary Air Injection System Switching Valve Stuck Open (Bank 2)
- Severity
- Medium
- Driving
- Drivable — book it in
The secondary air injection switching valve on bank 2 is stuck open. That has two consequences. Air keeps entering the exhaust long after the cold-start period, which makes the upstream oxygen sensor read lean and causes the module to add fuel it does not need. And with the valve open, exhaust gas and moisture can travel back towards the air pump, which is how these pumps usually die.
Possible causes
- CommonCarbon or corrosion holding the valve off its seat
- CommonFailed valve diaphragm or return spring
- CommonControl solenoid stuck energised, holding the valve open
- PossibleVacuum hose mis-routed or leaking on a vacuum-operated valve
- PossibleWiring fault holding the valve energised
What you might notice
- Check engine light on
- Fuel trims running positive - the module adding fuel
- Worse fuel economy
- Failed emissions test
- Rough running at idle in some cases
What to check, in order
- Check the fuel trim values. Air leaking into the exhaust makes the oxygen sensor report lean, and the module compensates by adding fuel - which is where the extra fuel consumption comes from.
- Check whether the valve is being held energised electrically before assuming it is jammed.
- Remove and inspect the valve for carbon and corrosion on the seat.
- Inspect the check valve as well. If exhaust gas has been reaching the pump, the pump may already be damaged.
- Do not put this off indefinitely. It is the fault most likely to turn a cheap valve replacement into a pump replacement as well.
Read this code from your own car
Plug an ELM327 adapter into the OBD-II port under the dashboard. Pin16 reads every stored, pending and permanent code, explains each one like this page does — offline, with no account — and shows what the car recorded when the fault was set.
Where this code sits
P00xxP01xxP02xxP03xxP04xxP05xxP06xxP07xxP08xxP09xxP0AxxP0BxxP0CxxP0DxxP0ExxP0FxxP10xxP11xxP12xxP13xxP14xxP15xxP16xxP17xxP18xxP19xxP1AxxP1BxxP1CxxP1DxxP1ExxP1FxxP20xxP21xxP22xxP23xxP24xxP25xxP26xxP27xxP28xxP29xxP2AxxP2BxxP2CxxP2DxxP2ExxP2FxxP30xxP31xxP32xxP33xxP34xxP35xxP36xxP37xxP38xxP39xxP3AxxP3BxxP3CxxP3DxxP3ExxP3Fxx