UPDATE: Issue troubleshooting P0011 code

[Bianc_203]

Hi,

Around 1 month ago, I had received a CEL with P0011. I had reset the light and driven the car for a few days with nothing being shown in pending or confirmed (150 - 200 miles) It came back after that (pending) but wouldn’t throw the CEL light. There would be days where I drive to and from work and wouldn’t get the pending code, and other days where I would get the code on the drive there or from work but then on the next startup (Few hours later) the code would wipe itself. The camshaft and sprockets have all been replaced around 18k-20k miles ago. Along with the Oil and VVT being replaced last week to see if the code would stop appearing.

After some testing, I noticed that the code will only appear if I go on a drive that involves a lot of stop & go traffic (or stop and go in general) , oil temps get to about 200F-215F and if I drive the car and don’t experience that kind of traffic, then the code won’t appear at all(temps also wont go above 200).
Since I’ve replaced the VVT and Oil, I’m starting to wonder if there might be an issue with oil pressure when the oil starts getting above 200F. Another thing I’ve noticed is that if I drive to where the car oil temp is around 200F and then I shut the car off and then start it about 10-15 minutes later when its still hot, when I shift into drive, the oil pressure light will flicker for about 2 seconds, and same goes for reverse. The pending code will also appear and if it had appeared on the drive previously, then the CEL will be thrown. This issue with my oil pressure will NOT occur with oil temps below 180F. I don’t believe the oil pump is much older than the new camshafts either, but I could re-check. Right now, I’m just trying to think of any possibilities to what this could be.

I’ve ran 0w-20 for 2 years (between driving in CT and VT) and within the past 3-4 months have been driving more spiritly ever since I put my catback on. I’ve heard that some people also use 5w-30 when it comes to oil and I’ve been wondering if switching to this might show an improvement.

I appreciate anyone taking the time out of their day to offer advice on what this possibly might be.

[p1l0t]

Maybe the Cam sensor itself?





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[Bianc_203]

Originally Posted by p1l0t

Maybe the Cam sensor itself?





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Are the two intake camshaft position sensors swappable with eachother? if so i could definitely just swap them and see if the code comes back with the error saying that its the other side.

[p1l0t]

Originally Posted by Bianc_203

Are the two intake camshaft position sensors swappable with eachother? if so i could definitely just swap them and see if the code comes back with the error saying that its the other side.

Yeah they are all the same just rotate them around and if the code follows (changes) then you know who the baddy is. Or you could test for resistance but I just try them in a different spot.

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[Bianc_203]

Originally Posted by p1l0t

Yeah they are all the same just rotate them around and if the code follows (changes) then you know who the baddy is. Or you could test for resistance but I just try them in a different spot.

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Alright sounds good, I'll swap them and give an update on what happens.

Thanks for the advice!

[FR-S2GT86]

Originally Posted by Bianc_203

Alright sounds good, I'll swap them and give an update on what happens.

Thanks for the advice!

Just to clarify, when you changed the "VVT", do you mean that you replaced all four of the oil control valve solenoids? Reason I'm asking is that in the first picture above, the parts indicated in red type are NOT the sensors. Those are the control solenoids.

If you did replace the solenoids, did you have oil leakage from any of them? If you did, you should have cleaned all of the plugs with electronic parts cleaner and let them dry before connecting them to the new solenoids.

And actually, it is recommended to replace those connectors of they get oil soaked. There's a Subaru TSB on those. If I can dig it up, I'll post it.

Edit: yeah, here is the thread I started on that:
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142077

And here's the TSB:
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/atta...1&d=1528082990

[Bianc_203]

Originally Posted by FR-S2GT86

Just to clarify, when you changed the "VVT", do you mean that you replaced all four of the oil control valve solenoids? Reason I'm asking is that in the first picture above, the parts indicated in red type are NOT the sensors. Those are the control solenoids.

If you did replace the solenoids, did you have oil leakage from any of them? If you did, you should have cleaned all of the plugs with electronic parts cleaner and let them dry before connecting them to the new solenoids.

And actually, it is recommended to replace those connectors of they get oil soaked. There's a Subaru TSB on those. If I can dig it up, I'll post it.

Edit: yeah, here is the thread I started on that:
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142077

And here's the TSB:
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/atta...1&d=1528082990

Hi, Yes i've replaced all 4 oil control valve solenoids. I dont recall any of them have excessive amounts of oil inside the connectors but I could definitely check out the connector to see if its covered and give it a good spray if i notice that its covered in oil.
Will update with what i find, thank you for the advice and TSB

EDIT: Ill send a picture of what the inside of the connector looks like when i get a chance, most likely when i go to swap the position sensors

[FR-S2GT86]

Originally Posted by Bianc_203

Hi, Yes i've replaced all 4 oil control valve solenoids. I dont recall any of them have excessive amounts of oil inside the connectors but I could definitely check out the connector to see if its covered and give it a good spray if i notice that its covered in oil.
Will update with what i find, thank you for the advice and TSB

EDIT: Ill send a picture of what the inside of the connector looks like when i get a chance, most likely when i go to swap the position sensors

By any chance are you running E-85 or a turbo on your car? If so you may want to look at this article:
https://motoiq.com/the-dreaded-subar...ck-your-turbo/

The "Italian tune-up" may be beneficial for you in either of those cases, but first make sure you have enough oil in the crankcase. Your flashing oil light is a suspect along with the P0011 code.

You never mentioned if you purchased your FR-S used or if you've been the original owner since it was new. You never know what was done (or not done) to the engine prior to you being the second owner. Perhaps the oil changes weren't completed at the proper intervals? Good oil is EXTREMELY important for these engines to survive. Any gunk running through the oil passages can clog something up and cause catastrophic engine failure.

[Bianc_203]

Originally Posted by FR-S2GT86

By any chance are you running E-85 or a turbo on your car? If so you may want to look at this article:
https://motoiq.com/the-dreaded-subar...ck-your-turbo/

The "Italian tune-up" may be beneficial for you in either of those cases, but first make sure you have enough oil in the crankcase. Your flashing oil light is a suspect along with the P0011 code.

You never mentioned if you purchased your FR-S used or if you've been the original owner since it was new. You never know what was done (or not done) to the engine prior to you being the second owner. Perhaps the oil changes weren't completed at the proper intervals? Good oil is EXTREMELY important for these engines to survive. Any gunk running through the oil passages can clog something up and cause catastrophic engine failure.

Car is neither turbo'd or running E-85. The car was purchased by me around 2 years ago at 58k miles and is currently sitting at 74k. The car did have a big engine job done before the previous owner sold it. Ill attach what was done in this thread. The J02 recall was also done with the engine job.

[FR-S2GT86]

Originally Posted by Bianc_203

Car is neither turbo'd or running E-85. The car was purchased by me around 2 years ago at 58k miles and is currently sitting at 74k. The car did have a big engine job done before the previous owner sold it. Ill attach what was done in this thread. The J02 recall was also done with the engine job.

I'm willing to bet that there is old sealant from a poor recall repair partially clogging up one or more of your oil passageways, especially since your oil light is flickering.

[Bianc_203]

Originally Posted by FR-S2GT86

I'm willing to bet that there is old sealant from a poor recall repair partially clogging up one or more of your oil passageways, especially since your oil light is flickering.

Wouldn't surprise me honestly, not enough blockage for total engine failure but enough blockage to cause a flickering light for 2 years lol.

I cleaned the sludge off the position sensors and swapped both and ill be going on a few test drives to see if the codes swap or just dont appear at all, if they swap or dont show up then cool, if it comes back I may just have to sell it

[Bianc_203]

Unfortunately, the same code came back yesterday

Oil and coolant temps were both above 200F. The next day with the code still pending in my system, i drove around 25 miles both backroad and highway ending my trip with an oil temp of 193F. I turned the car off and immediately turned the key to the on position and saw that the code was once again gone from pending.

Not sure if running a thicker oil will help, it doesn't make sense (at least to me) why 0w-20 would work for so long and now all of a sudden cause me issues.

Going to a shop this weekend to change my front tires and ill mention this to him to see if he can offer any advice as well.

[p1l0t]

Originally Posted by Bianc_203

Unfortunately, the same code came back yesterday

Oil and coolant temps were both above 200F. The next day with the code still pending in my system, i drove around 25 miles both backroad and highway ending my trip with an oil temp of 193F. I turned the car off and immediately turned the key to the on position and saw that the code was once again gone from pending.

Not sure if running a thicker oil will help, it doesn't make sense (at least to me) why 0w-20 would work for so long and now all of a sudden cause me issues.

Going to a shop this weekend to change my front tires and ill mention this to him to see if he can offer any advice as well.

So same code even after moving the sensor?

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[Bianc_203]

Originally Posted by p1l0t

So same code even after moving the sensor?

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yea, P0011. Still doing more tests to see when and what could cause the code to pop up though