Originally Posted by robholmes

Hi, this is my first post here, so please go easy on me.

My ST170 2003(52 Plate), suddenly lost some power on Friday, and not sure whether its just me or not but the engine sounds a little louder and more throaty now (not necessarily a bad thing). But on Sunday, my engine management light came on, so i plugged in my diagnostic unit and got the following codes:

P1381 - Variable Cam Timing Overadvanced (Bank #1)
P1518 - Intake Manifold Runner Control (Stuck Open)

Since I've found out about the P1381 code I'm really worried about whether I can drive the car? Can anyone shed some light on what's wrong, and whether the car is ok to drive for a few days until the garage can look at it? Or is there anything I can do myself?

FYI - Since I've had the car (since November) I've noticed a stuttering of power at low revs, like when trying to accelerate hard-ish in second whilst only going very slow. Seems like engine is struggling to get fuel or air, or both?

Also, the loss of power that started on Friday, was only about 10 mins after driving away from a automatic car wash, which included a full wash with steam cleaning of the underbody... Not sure if this could have anything to do with the issue, but just incase.

Many thanks,

Rob