the blue & green circles items above are not " actuators", they are " solenoids" - they control the oil flow to the cam " actuators" that are actually bolted to the end of the camshafts. the solenoids are very common failures on 4 cyl gm engines. actuators, also known as " cam phasers" are very common failures on ford v8 engines. the solenoids, also known as " vanos" on bmw's , are also very common failures

 

That explains the controversy I had with a mechanic this morning. He claims that GM website says to replace the phasers (actuators) not the solenoid. I have never looked far enough into it to not use them interchangeably, evidently GM is in the same boat.

He claimed that the GM site says that the actuators (phasers) fail all the time and cause the solenoid to fail.

This guy was getting ready to bankrupt the motorist by estimating upwards of $1000 to fix the p0011.

Thank you for the clarification.

 

The way I remember it from when was explained to me, BMW refers to the the solenoids as 'variators' and the system that controls them as 'vanos'.

 

vanos is bmw speak for VVT - ( variable valve timing ) - the oil control solenoids fail very common on bmw & GM 4 cyl's. BTW - Honda calls it VTEC & the solenoid they call a " spool valve". the " mechanic " on the prior post is incorrect - the cam actuators don't fail on GM cars - - but on ford's the cam actuators ( phasers in ford speak ) are very common, get a ratcheting noise from engine - -but on ford's , the solenoids don't fail. I'd rather have the solenoid fail - only took me 20 min. to change mine - when an actuator ( phaser) fails - you have to deal w/ the timing chain & camshaft - not fun. I got my solenoid from o'reilly auto parts - cheaper than GM & has a lifetime warranty, vs a 1 yr warranty from GM.