Im driving to work about 45 minutes ago and getting onto the highway and im in sport mode giving it a little gas, got to about 80 km/h in 3rd gear and the "check emissions system" and "sh-awd" light comes on.

I pull over and turn the car off, turn it back on and the check emissions system light stays on. So my mechanic is around the corner from there and I drive it over there (didnt give it much gas but it felt fine). We read the codes and get P2646 "ROCKER ARM ACTUATOR PERFORMANCE ON STUCK OFF".

Anyways it ran and drove ok so after looking the code in the computer my mechanic says it could be a lot of things. He clears the code so i can get to work without being too late. Its about a 5 minute drive to work and as i pull into the lot "low engine oil" light comes on for a split second and goes away.

Park the car no lights on, turned it off and opened the hood. Heres what i notise;

1) the dip stick is covered in oil, about a quarter way up the enitre cord, wiped it down and going to check the oil level shortly.
2) the engine bay is really hot, hotter than it probably should be, didnt notise engine temp going above normal.
3) unscrew the cap where the engine oil is added and theres some smoke coming out of it.

I should also note that i check the oil level regularly as recently as last friday and it was normal.

Any ideas please?

 

Well the oil level is normal and the code is actually called "Rocker arm actuator system performance / stuck off"

 

It's a VTEC problem. Google is your friend.

https://www.troublecodes.net/p2codes/p2646/

 

I did a little googling (ive been here at work since the problem happened so my googling is somewhat limited) and i got to a similar website that said basically the same. Both sites said common causes are with the oil. But I know the oil level is fine. My current oil must have only about 5500km on it.

That does make sense since the lights came on around when I would have hit vtec in 3rd gear.

 

Article says it can also be a bad electrical connection. Unfortunately it doesn't say exactly where to look.
Electrical Check –

• Check electrical connectors for corrosion, broken or bent pins, and ensure they are fully seated. Check wire harnesses for obvious damage. Repair as needed.

 

Check your battery terminals and make sure they are clean, voltage spikes can cause a lot of issues.

What oil are you using? Filter? If the oil filter is impeding flow or the oil is too thin/thick it can cause VTEC issues. VTEC is activated via oil pressure increase when you mash the gas.