P0011 code talk/advice thread

If the car is running fine then I would be inclined not to run a flush as it can dislodge sludge which then clogs elsewhere. I'm pretty sure thats what caused the demise of engine #3 in mine. Hopefully in your case it's been a historical code and given the engine light hasn't come on then hopefully it's a blip

I'd second the idea of going for a drive and giving the car the beans a few times to get the engine up to its maximum revs. I've always felt that the cam phaser problems arise because if you drive the car sensibly, the revs rarely get much above 3,500 which means the camshafts don't get adjusted much and the phasers clog up.

When I bought my W8, there was a P0011 warning marked as "intermittent" (ie. the fault had occurred some time in the past but wasn't present at the time of the scan). Since then, I haven't had any problems with the engine over 11,000 miles.

PS. Whereabouts in London are you? I've got a vag-com if you want to check codes etc...

Hello all. I am a newbie to this forum, but a long-time VW owner. I've had my '03 W8 Sport for a little over 4 years now, and just recently had my ABS and engine lights come on simultaneously. The ABS light is from a Wheel Speed Sensor fault, which is a non-issue because I can repair that myself...

But, the VAG shows the P0011 - 35-10 code on the engine. I've been reading through this forum regarding the codes and I am not afraid to say that I am a bit freaked at the possibility of having to get major work done on the car. It is no longer under warranty with just 71,000 miles on it.

I'm looking for some personal advice, and most importantly, real-world costs on having the repairs done.

Thanks to all who reply.

Just going to leave this here as I got my first official code today.

I've recently become afflicted with P0011. 2003 Wagon bought with 59k miles a few years ago. A week ago the code showed up at 102k miles. Rough idle and herky-jerky off-idle, but smooth cruising otherwise. If left unchecked, more codes will pile on associated with misfires, sometimes making the MIL blink.

Synthetic oil used since I've owned it. Oil is fairly fresh and appears clean. Added Seafoam and performed electroshock therapy on all solenoids. The offending solenoid (bank 1 intake side) definitely sounds different than the others do when performing the procedure - it sounds like it's not traveling as far and doesn't have as satisfying a "click" when voltage is applied (both when fully extending and retracting).

This is not proving to be a quick fix in my case. I've done electroshock therapy + code clearing twice so far, a couple days apart. Afterwards the problem will go away for a bit and return intermittently, but eventually come back and persist. I plan to do it a few more times over the next week to see if whatever's in the solenoid can be dislodged over time, assuming the solenoid itself is not failing (does that happen?).

Failing that, I take it the only option is to pull the motor and swap the solenoids. I am a competent mechanic and am confident in my ability to do it, my only concern is the amount of time it will take (this car is our only family hauler) and whether or not I'll need additional special tools - still need to research that in the Bentley manual. Is it true that the solenoids themselves cannot be pulled or tweaked in any way simply by removing the valve covers?