Hi everyone. This is my first post but it wont be the last! Maybe one day I can help someone else but for now I need your advice about a persistent P0012 code on X5 N52 ("camshaft position sensor a overretarded on intake bank 1").

What it does :

-weird idle on start up, goes up to about 1.5k then just under 500, then up again and settles at 600

-also does this when arriving at a red light

-when i erase it it comes back on the next drive.

-does not affect driveability in the least

How it happened :

-changed my OFHG which caused spillage of coolant in the oil passage and a oil level malfunction light, which turned off after getting up to temp and letting the steam out. In the process I may have yanked a tiny bit on the camshaft position sensor wire, and I definitely sprayed a lot of brake cleaner on the front of the engine where the camshaft position sensor is.

two days later I got a p0012 code. Changed the oil twice after that, the first time with seafoam.

I then cleaned both VANOS solenoids, removed the camshaft position sensor and cleaned it (it had a bit of peanut butter like mix of coolant and oil on it), removed my oil filter to see if the cage was secured inside the cap, and the code stayed

-swapped camshaft position sensor a with camshaft position sensor b, the code stayed and still comes from sensor a

-what next?

Thank you!