Ive owned my 2012 Mk2 TT since Oct and I’ve had numerous issues. Back and forth to garage, but they are Vauxhall dealers having sold me the car through someone’s part ex. After another Diagnostic check I now have the above code. On Wednesday I have a meeting with the garage to see how to proceed. I’ve been told this is a big job. A local Audi specialist who was recommended to me said they didn’t want it, it was too big a job for them and I was looking at almost £2,000. What does the above mean, how can you explain it to me. The car has already had £2,500 spent on it under warranty since Oct, but now I’m just out of warranty. I’m so upset and I desperately need advice. Can anyone help this lady that knows nothing about cars, only that when I’m sitting in my TT the joy is immense but the ‘driving it’ is always problematic. Shall I cut my loses? Is this fault a very bad one?
joylynne1
Hi, Welcome to the TTF & sorry to hear the TT is causing you grief.
I will move post to MK2 section, you should get more replies.
Hoggy.
I will move post to MK2 section, you should get more replies.
Hoggy.
We will need to know at minimum what engine you have (assume 2-litre petrol EA888)
The diagnostic code number would help but a reverse search yields this possibility:
Simple cause could be a loose connector or broken wire. Have you had any battery problems recently - flat battery etc?
What symptoms have you noticed - lack of power?
Jez
The diagnostic code number would help but a reverse search yields this possibility:
Simple cause could be a loose connector or broken wire. Have you had any battery problems recently - flat battery etc?
What symptoms have you noticed - lack of power?
Jez
So you didn’t tell us about what symptoms you’ve noticed - which might help. But if you read the link and the case study linked in that page, you’ll see that they traced the problem down to a broken connector. If you aren’t a diy mechanic you need to find an Audi specialist who’s prepared to do a little diagnostic work. Print the RossTech page and the linked case study and it'll help a good mechanic who wants to help. Maybe tell us where you’re located and someone will recommend a good one. I doubt anyone here can guess the cause without getting out some tools and measuring some electrical values :-(
Good luck
Jez
Good luck
Jez
@ joylynne1
I agree with Jezzie. The faults seem to be pointing to a bad connector or failed wiring or a common electrical issue as both faults seem to report similar possible causes. You might want to get a second opinion from Audi Service. Just have them run a fault scan and see what they come up with.
P11A1/004513 - Cam Adjustment Actuator A; Cylinder 1: Elec. Malf. or Open Circuit
16711/P0327 - Knock Sensor 1 (G61): Signal Too Low
Please provide the following information. Specifically the Engine Code since there were a couple versions of the 2.0 engine.
• Year
• Engine - 2.0 TFSI, 2.0 TDI, 3.2 VR6
• Engine code* - EA888, BUB
• Gear Box - DSG or Manual
• Drive Train - FWD or Quattro
• Model - Coupe or Roadster
*Your engine code can be found on the VIN tag either in the boot/trunk or inside the front cover of the Owners Manual or Service Booklet.
I agree with Jezzie. The faults seem to be pointing to a bad connector or failed wiring or a common electrical issue as both faults seem to report similar possible causes. You might want to get a second opinion from Audi Service. Just have them run a fault scan and see what they come up with.
P11A1/004513 - Cam Adjustment Actuator A; Cylinder 1: Elec. Malf. or Open Circuit
Possible Causes
• Wiring and/or connections (short circuit?)
• Voltage supply failure to the Cam Adjustment Actuators
• Faulty Engine Control Module
16711/P0327 - Knock Sensor 1 (G61): Signal Too Low
Possible Causes
• Circuit G61 short to Ground
• Circuit G61 open
• G61 improperly torqued
• G61 damaged
• Control Module damaged
Please provide the following information. Specifically the Engine Code since there were a couple versions of the 2.0 engine.
• Year
• Engine - 2.0 TFSI, 2.0 TDI, 3.2 VR6
• Engine code* - EA888, BUB
• Gear Box - DSG or Manual
• Drive Train - FWD or Quattro
• Model - Coupe or Roadster
*Your engine code can be found on the VIN tag either in the boot/trunk or inside the front cover of the Owners Manual or Service Booklet.
Thank you to the members who have replied to my post and tried to help me. I’m sorry but I’m out of my depth on here with all the terminology etc. after diagnostics I was advised to contact my local Audi specialist but once they heard what the codes were they told me it was too big a job for them and they didn’t want it, saying the timing chain might be affected, but with regards to the cam shift actuator the engine would need to be dismantled. I said, you are the Audi specialist recommended to me, where do I go then? They gave me a garage to ring who told me I was looking at £1,800 and they couldn’t fit the car in for weeks. I’m at a loss. I bought the car in Oct for £10,250 from a local Vauxhall dealer who had taken it as a part ex. it has 56,000 miles, but the garage is now offering me £6,000. I’ve never been so miserable. It is a coupe, FWD, manual gearbox 2.0 TFSI 2012 D1002083
If you’ve got intermittent problems and then the next day it drives ok, then nothing is permanently broken. 9 times out of 10 it’s a broken wire or poor contact/connector. Try one of the recommended mechanics, tell him some days it’s 100% but others it judders and show him a print of the Ross-Tech page.
Good luck
Jez
Good luck
Jez
I wouldn’t bother with John in Llay - I’m in Wrexham too and have approached him on a few occasions and he has always quoted higher than Audi and comes across as being completely uninterested in undertaking any work. Supposed to have a good reputation but I wouldn’t touch him with a barge pole.
If I were more mechanically experienced, I’d have more than willingly tried to help, but alas I’m not much of a grease monkey.
What I would recommend though is as they’re not too far away in Manchester, Awesome GTI are highly rated and will work on Audi cars……I’d at least give them a call - they’re probably gonna be a lot more helpful than John or Audi.
I certainly don’t think it’s a hugely expensive fix, not like what you were quoted anyways - as others have said, I’d reckon it’s more the case of a bad connector for the cam actuators which just needs tracking down and sorting….
www.awesomegti.com
If I were more mechanically experienced, I’d have more than willingly tried to help, but alas I’m not much of a grease monkey.
What I would recommend though is as they’re not too far away in Manchester, Awesome GTI are highly rated and will work on Audi cars……I’d at least give them a call - they’re probably gonna be a lot more helpful than John or Audi.
I certainly don’t think it’s a hugely expensive fix, not like what you were quoted anyways - as others have said, I’d reckon it’s more the case of a bad connector for the cam actuators which just needs tracking down and sorting….
Awesome GTI - Volkswagen Audi Group Specialists
Specialist in performance parts for the VW Audi Seat Skoda Group cars. Interest free finance available on all car tuning parts and we have our fully equipped specialist workshop in Manchester.
www.awesomegti.com
You could see if the VW dealer down on Rhosddu industrial estate would run a diagnostic for you? Don’t know if they would actually do any work on the car being an Audi, but they did service my TT a few years ago……could be worth a call?
FWIW, I use R&J motors on the wrexham industrial estate for anything I need doing beyond my remit. They’ve always been decent and well priced. Tell ‘em Steve with the blue TT roadster recommended you, it’d be Mike or Jason ……
Shame to throw in the towel before you’ve had someone with a scrap of intelligence look at it….
FWIW, I use R&J motors on the wrexham industrial estate for anything I need doing beyond my remit. They’ve always been decent and well priced. Tell ‘em Steve with the blue TT roadster recommended you, it’d be Mike or Jason ……
Shame to throw in the towel before you’ve had someone with a scrap of intelligence look at it….
twice it’s has shown the same codes after a diagnostic…I’ve decide to throw on the towel. Thank you Steve.
So the code you have there is for the VL (variable valve lift) system. You must have a CESA/CETA engine--EA888 Gen 2, would be 211hp/258lb*ft rated.
I dunno what kind of thing these guys are smoking with this 2000 pound estimate here, but it must be some expensive stuff if they need to charge that much to support their habit.
I get the feeling that kind of "ballpark quote" is more what we call an "eff off quote" here--i.e. meaning they don't want to deal with you or your issue, and would sooner just send you elsewhere because they know you're not going to pay 2000 to repair it. But I mean they kind of already admitted they don't want to deal with it so the 2k is a nothing number they just randomly gave you for that same purpose.
P11A1 is the OBD-generic code for "cam shift actuator" as you say, though I don't believe VAG calls it that. Essentially "cam shift actuator" is what is changing the lift profiles of the exhaust cam. There's two solenoids per cylinder IIRC, located on the back of the valve cover (or more correctly, cam cradle, on EA888s).
Since the car is behaving rather violently though I would highly recommend not driving it until fixed--you could make one problem a whole lot worse when we're talking about a potential camshaft issue. It's one thing to have the cam profiles not locking in correctly, it's another thing if you lose cam timing or have some valve issue that then causes valves to hit pistons--at that point you're probably going to be looking at "a new engine" (or more correctly a cylinder head rebuild, at a minimum). That kind of thing is not supposed to happen (read below about what happens during an actuator fault), but that doesn't mean it's not possible when we're talking about a camshaft issue.
You may have a look at this thread for someone that had an A4 with this problem:
This is on a longitudinal car (TT is transverse) and a 1.8T (apparently in South Africa they had a VL 1.8T??), but it talks about the same code. However some of it may be more technical than helps you out, which I understand.
Indeed you may not exactly want to "become your own mechanic", I still suggest giving this a read since I'm sure you're capable of reading through and at least getting a gist how this system works in general--pages 5-13 of this document (below) outline the workings of the AVS (Audi ValveLift System) which is where your problem is:
Don't let "solenoids" scare you, they are just electromagnetic switches which are either in one position or another, controlled by electricity.
IIRC during most failures of the system, the engine should still run relatively well, though not correctly, and you will get the MIL (Check Engine Light) coming on. As we can see here:
Likely, either the solenoids themselves are the issue or the wiring/fuses/circuits related to them. A quick(er) check of the solenoids is to swap the ones indicated as problematic (presuming "A" is cylinder 1?) with the ones on another cylinder and then see if the code follows the solenoid(s) when it reappears (presumably B, C or whatever they've been moved to). If it doesn't, and remains there (on "A") you know the problem is either electrical/wiring on that cylinder or it's something mechanical at that cam lobe.
The latter (mechanical situation) may indeed cost a lot of money to fix (e.g. a new cam); but something related to the electricals here should cost nowhere near that kind of money. Verifying that stuff electrically does not requre any kind of "special samurai wrench". I suspect this is not "too big a job" for any of the places you've taken it to, it's just out of their expertise diagnositcally--IMO that means they shouldn't be in the business of fixing cars, but that's another story.
First thing's first you need a proper diagnosis and estimate after someone has actually dug into it and told you what's needed to fix it, not this "oh it's too big a job" or "it's 2000 pounds, go away now", etc. type of thing that you seem to be getting.
I mean how "big" a job is it, if you even needed a new exhaust cam, say? If that's what they call a "big job", I think these guys should close up shop and call it a day. I only see this being 2k+ pounds if you needed a new/rebuilt cylinder head (small possibility but I doubt it), and perhaps they'd call that a "big job" but diagnosis on the VL system and telling you what needs to be done from there, that's just standard work. After that, then you'll know whether you're into simple things like electrical repair, new solenoids; or something more costly like a cam or entire head.
I dunno what kind of thing these guys are smoking with this 2000 pound estimate here, but it must be some expensive stuff if they need to charge that much to support their habit.
I get the feeling that kind of "ballpark quote" is more what we call an "eff off quote" here--i.e. meaning they don't want to deal with you or your issue, and would sooner just send you elsewhere because they know you're not going to pay 2000 to repair it. But I mean they kind of already admitted they don't want to deal with it so the 2k is a nothing number they just randomly gave you for that same purpose.
P11A1 is the OBD-generic code for "cam shift actuator" as you say, though I don't believe VAG calls it that. Essentially "cam shift actuator" is what is changing the lift profiles of the exhaust cam. There's two solenoids per cylinder IIRC, located on the back of the valve cover (or more correctly, cam cradle, on EA888s).
Since the car is behaving rather violently though I would highly recommend not driving it until fixed--you could make one problem a whole lot worse when we're talking about a potential camshaft issue. It's one thing to have the cam profiles not locking in correctly, it's another thing if you lose cam timing or have some valve issue that then causes valves to hit pistons--at that point you're probably going to be looking at "a new engine" (or more correctly a cylinder head rebuild, at a minimum). That kind of thing is not supposed to happen (read below about what happens during an actuator fault), but that doesn't mean it's not possible when we're talking about a camshaft issue.
You may have a look at this thread for someone that had an A4 with this problem:
Help with Engine Code P11A100.. - AudiWorld Forums
A4 (B8 Platform) Discussion - Help with Engine Code P11A100.. - Hello, Below are the details Make: Audi Model: Year: 2013 VIN: WAUZZZ8K5DA160377 ODO: 127040 km The car is showing open circuits on all the cam actuators.. Please help with the specs: 1. Ignition on : I am getting 2.5V on the...
www.audiworld.com
This is on a longitudinal car (TT is transverse) and a 1.8T (apparently in South Africa they had a VL 1.8T??), but it talks about the same code. However some of it may be more technical than helps you out, which I understand.
Indeed you may not exactly want to "become your own mechanic", I still suggest giving this a read since I'm sure you're capable of reading through and at least getting a gist how this system works in general--pages 5-13 of this document (below) outline the workings of the AVS (Audi ValveLift System) which is where your problem is:
Don't let "solenoids" scare you, they are just electromagnetic switches which are either in one position or another, controlled by electricity.
IIRC during most failures of the system, the engine should still run relatively well, though not correctly, and you will get the MIL (Check Engine Light) coming on. As we can see here:
The long and the short is, it has to do with the actuator solenoids on the VL system. I don't think this is a 2000 GBP problem TBH. It could be, but it doesn't seem like anyone has actually diagnosed the problem to know--you've just been getting eff off "quotes" from places instead of an actual diagnosis, which is unforutnate.Audi SSP 922903 said:
Likely, either the solenoids themselves are the issue or the wiring/fuses/circuits related to them. A quick(er) check of the solenoids is to swap the ones indicated as problematic (presuming "A" is cylinder 1?) with the ones on another cylinder and then see if the code follows the solenoid(s) when it reappears (presumably B, C or whatever they've been moved to). If it doesn't, and remains there (on "A") you know the problem is either electrical/wiring on that cylinder or it's something mechanical at that cam lobe.
The latter (mechanical situation) may indeed cost a lot of money to fix (e.g. a new cam); but something related to the electricals here should cost nowhere near that kind of money. Verifying that stuff electrically does not requre any kind of "special samurai wrench". I suspect this is not "too big a job" for any of the places you've taken it to, it's just out of their expertise diagnositcally--IMO that means they shouldn't be in the business of fixing cars, but that's another story.
First thing's first you need a proper diagnosis and estimate after someone has actually dug into it and told you what's needed to fix it, not this "oh it's too big a job" or "it's 2000 pounds, go away now", etc. type of thing that you seem to be getting.
I mean how "big" a job is it, if you even needed a new exhaust cam, say? If that's what they call a "big job", I think these guys should close up shop and call it a day. I only see this being 2k+ pounds if you needed a new/rebuilt cylinder head (small possibility but I doubt it), and perhaps they'd call that a "big job" but diagnosis on the VL system and telling you what needs to be done from there, that's just standard work. After that, then you'll know whether you're into simple things like electrical repair, new solenoids; or something more costly like a cam or entire head.
@joylynne1 - listen to this guy - TT’sRevenge - he absolutely knows what he’s talking about. Don’t give up on the TT just because some random ass garage decided to quote you stupid prices just because they didn’t (or couldn’t be arsed) want to help……plenty of garages around that do that - price high because they’re not interested.
Again, awesome GTI are a highly reputable garage/shop who are focused on VW/Audi cars and have a fabulous reputation. At least call them first, explain the codes found and see what they say…….nothing to lose but a phone call.
Again, awesome GTI are a highly reputable garage/shop who are focused on VW/Audi cars and have a fabulous reputation. At least call them first, explain the codes found and see what they say…….nothing to lose but a phone call.
Yeah for sure. It's quite sad reading this knowing someone might ditch and entire car for what might be something as simple as a bad solenoid or a broken wire. We don't know that's all it is, but it could be. Just as is could be bad as a new cylinder head operation. But either way, one should definitely know first. I mean it's all well and dandy when someone buys a car for peanuts "as is" and fixes it for $30 or something, lol, but not so nice for the person that sold the car not knowing it was an "easy fix".
Also to clarify what I was thinking here, I looked back at the codes in the picture of the Snap On scanner.
So basically yes there are two solenoids per cylinder but it's the solenoids that are A and B, not the cylinders.
So P11A1 or A100 means Solenoid A on Cylinder 1. P11A300 (possibly shown as P11A3 on a given scanner) would be indicating Solenoid B on Cylinder 1. Seems like the value after P11A is based on hex or something since P11AB00 is Solenoid B on Cylinder 3, but regardless the scan tool is spitting out the English description anyway.
In this case we know there's just one cylinder and one solenoid being pointed to in codes--the A solenoid on Cylinder 1. Basically need to test that solenoid to see if it's good, swapping is a good way as mentioned--switch it with solenoid A on Cylinder 2 or something. A static test of the solenoid may not reveal a problem so swapping is usually better, these things are switched on/off at a very high speed so even if it works on the bench it may not be reacting fast enough for the ECM to consider it good (as an example).
If code changes to P11A500 then it's almost a guarantee you just need a new solenoid. If code stays as P11A100, then time to check the wiring, connector, etc. to that #1-A solenoid. If that checks out okay, then we might be into something a bit worse, that requires the cradle to come off to inspect the cam.
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