P0008: Engine Position System Performance (Bank 1)
P0008 is a powertrain diagnostic trouble code in the fuel and air metering and auxiliary emission controls group. Our vehicle database stores it against 4 models.
How serious is P0008?
We rate P0008 as High — address promptly, the top of our three-level scale. That rating comes from the severity recorded in our database for this code, not from how alarming the name sounds.
A high-severity code means the fault can damage expensive components if it is ignored. Continuing to drive is a judgement call that depends on how the vehicle behaves: if it is misfiring badly, losing power, overheating, or flashing the check-engine light, stop driving and have it recovered. A flashing check-engine light specifically indicates an active misfire that can destroy a catalytic converter within a short distance.
What P0008 actually means
P0008 is worth reading before the next drive. It is a powertrain code in the fuel and air metering and auxiliary emission controls group, and our database rates its severity as high. 4 models in our database log it.
The stored definition for P0008 is “Engine Position System Performance (Bank 1)”. The first character of the code identifies the system — Powertrain in this case. The second character tells you who defined the code: this one is a generic code defined by SAE J2012 and shared by every manufacturer. Reading the code that way matters: a generic code tests the same underlying condition on almost every vehicle, so the causes below apply broadly across makes.
Within that system, P0008 sits in the fuel and air metering and auxiliary emission controls group. That is the part of the vehicle the control module was watching when it set the code — the engine’s fuel delivery and air metering hardware — pumps, injectors, rail pressure, and cam/crank timing — and it narrows down enormously where a technician will start looking. Diagnosis runs on live fuel trims and timing data, with the physical pump and injector circuits checked before any component is condemned.
Most likely causes of P0008
Our database records a single cause for P0008, reported by the 4 models that log it.
Stretched timing chain — recorded on every model that logs this code.
Causes are listed as recorded in the database. The same code can have different root causes on different vehicles, so the ranking is a starting order for diagnosis rather than a diagnosis in itself.
How a technician diagnoses P0008
Diagnosis for P0008 follows the same logic as any stored powertrain code: confirm the code is active rather than historic, then work through the ranked causes from cheapest and most likely to most intrusive. In practice that means:
How a technician works P0008 — decision path
Powertrain codes respond to data. Capture the freeze frame, then work through the ranked causes from cheapest and most likely to most intrusive.
- Confirm the code is active and capture freeze-frame dataThe snapshot recorded when the code set holds the engine speed, load, coolant temperature and fuel trims at that moment — often the single most useful piece of evidence for separating one candidate cause from another.
- Compare live data against the freeze frameRe-create the conditions from the snapshot and watch the relevant sensors live. A value that cannot reach the expected range narrows the search immediately.
- Work the ranked causes from cheapest and most likelyThe list on this page is ordered by how many of the recorded vehicles show each cause. Start at the top: an intake leak, a dirty sensor or a worn cap is far more common than a failed assembly.
- Repair the confirmed cause, then re-check the monitorsFix what the evidence actually points at rather than replacing parts speculatively — a misfire or lean code will re-set if the real cause is still present.
- Clear the code and complete a full drive cycleClearing alone proves nothing. The code must stay clear through a drive cycle that reproduces the original conditions, and the readiness monitors must run again.
If a workshop replaces a component for P0008 without showing you the measurement that condemned it, ask for the data. On a fuel and air metering and auxiliary emission controls code, the recorded causes are usually testable, so a diagnosis should be demonstrable rather than asserted.
What drives the cost of fixing P0008
We deliberately do not print a single repair price for P0008. On this group the parts bill ranges from an inexpensive sensor to a high-pressure pump, so the spread between the first and last cause on the list is unusually wide. The honest answer is that the cost is set by which cause is actually present, and that range is wide — a repair for the first cause listed above and the last can differ by more than an order of magnitude in parts alone: a failed sensor and a failed pump are not the same job. Add regional labour rates and the spread becomes wider still.
The factors that actually move the number, in rough order of impact:
- Upstream or downstream. This group spans air and fuel metering hardware and the emissions hardware behind it, and the two sit at different price points.
- Sensor or high-pressure pump. A failed sensor and a failed high-pressure pump both live here, and the gap between them is the widest in the group.
- Live-data verification. Causes in this group are settled against live sensor data, which is scan-tool time rather than parts time.
- Diagnosis billed separately. Confirming which side of the group failed is the diagnostic step that decides everything downstream.
The practical approach: get the cause confirmed first, then collect two or three written quotes for that specific repair. To judge whether the repair is worth doing against the value of the vehicle, use our repair-or-replace decision guide.
Vehicles in our database that log P0008
Only 4 models in our database record P0008, so the list below is short but specific. The makes appearing most often are Chevrolet (2), Buick (1), GMC (1). Each model links to its own guide, where this code appears alongside that vehicle's full fault list and running costs.
Frequently asked questions about P0008
What does the P0008 code mean?
P0008 is a powertrain trouble code meaning "Engine Position System Performance (Bank 1)". It belongs to the fuel and air metering and auxiliary emission controls group of the SAE J2012 numbering scheme, and it is a generic code defined by SAE J2012 and shared by every manufacturer. The code is set by the powertrain control module when the monitored system reports a value outside its expected range.
Is it safe to drive with P0008?
Severity for P0008 is rated high in our database. A high-severity code means the fault can damage expensive components if it is ignored. Continuing to drive is a judgement call that depends on how the vehicle behaves: if it is misfiring badly, losing power, overheating, or flashing the check-engine light, stop driving and have it recovered. A flashing check-engine light specifically indicates an active misfire that can destroy a catalytic converter within a short distance.
What are the most common causes of P0008?
In our vehicle database, the causes recorded for P0008 are: Stretched timing chain. They are ranked on the page by how many of the 4 vehicles that log this code list each cause.
How much does it cost to fix P0008?
We do not publish a single figure for P0008 because the real cost depends entirely on which cause is present — a repair for the cheapest cause on the list and the most expensive one differ by an order of magnitude, and labour rates vary by region. The page explains which factors drive the cost and recommends collecting written quotes before authorising work.
Which vehicles commonly report P0008?
Our database stores P0008 against 4 vehicles, most frequently from Chevrolet (2), Buick (1), GMC (1). The full list is shown on this page and each model links to its own cost and fault guide.
Related codes and next steps
Codes that share the same system group often appear together, because a single fault can set more than one:
For the full list, see the OBD-II fault code cross-reference. If the repair cost is what you are weighing, model the total with our total cost of ownership calculator before deciding, and check whether an open safety recall covers the fault with the recall lookup.
Sources and scope
Code definitions follow SAE J2012 / ISO 15031-6 naming. The descriptions, listed causes, and severity ratings on this page are the values stored in the VehCalc vehicle database (snapshot 2026-08-20) for the models listed above. Codes and causes vary by model year and engine.
Diagnostic reference only — not repair advice. This page is provided for educational and planning purposes and does not replace an inspection by a qualified technician or the manufacturer's service information. Before repairing a vehicle you depend on, confirm the diagnosis with an ASE-certified mechanic.