# P0011 fault in Chevy Cruze 2017



## Cruzebrown (Nov 15, 2021)

I recently had the engine oil cooler replaced in my Chevy Cruze 1.8L Gasoline automatic transmission, South Korea. The coolant and the engine oil got mixed up together. I flushed the coolant system from oil and I made sure there's no traces of coolant in the engine oil.

Before I had the engine oil cooler replaced, I had a check engine light on with the fault P0011. After changing the engine cooler, I changed the oil using a temporary oil which I flushed and replaced with a better quality oil (5w-30) after taking several short rides with the car just to let the water to evaporate.

I cleared the fault and started using the car and after several drives I got the P0011 error again. I thought the VVT intake solenoid malfunctioned because of the coolant which got mixed with the engine oil so I replaced it and cleared the fault code again. The next day I got again the same fault P0011. I checked the intake solenoid and the data shows it's working.

What could be another possible cause for this problem? Cam sprockets? Bad timing?

Or should I wait before changing the sprockets?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Check the timing.

Any weird rattling sounds on cold startup? The VVT cam gears on the 1.6/1.8 engine designs occasionally wear out of spec and make some noise until oil pressure builds up.


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## Cruzebrown (Nov 15, 2021)

jblackburn said:


> Check the timing.
> 
> Any weird rattling sounds on cold startup? The VVT cam gears on the 1.6/1.8 engine designs occasionally wear out of spec and make some noise until oil pressure builds up.


Yes, there's a rattling noise on cold startup. Is it ok if I ignore this problem for the meantime and fix it in the future? Every two cold startups I make, the engine check light will come on.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Cruzebrown said:


> Yes, there's a rattling noise on cold startup. Is it ok if I ignore this problem for the meantime and fix it in the future? Every two cold startups I make, the engine check light will come on.


Probably fine to ignore for a few months, but if that rattle gets a lot longer in duration, I'd plan on replacing that cam gear soon.


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## Cruzebrown (Nov 15, 2021)

jblackburn said:


> Probably fine to ignore for a few months, but if that rattle gets a lot longer in duration, I'd plan on replacing that cam gear soon.


Indeed the intake camshaft gear is not aligned properly. 










As you can tell from the photo the previous owner apparently relied on a completely insane individual to maintain the car. The tool that was used to open the camshaft gears wasn't the right tool. I'm quite sure they used a hammer 🤦


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