I had the same thing with my 2008, but it happened at about 4000 miles. The dealer replaced the cam, and sensors. It was about a 10k repair bill, as others have said thank god for warranty... The car has about 8000 miles now and haven't had any recurring problems.

Variocam adjusts the variable cam timing via oil pressure, and a press-fit sleeve inside the cam had rotated slightly - not enough to completely cut off the oil flow, but enough to prevent the system from reaching the target angle. The code actually refers to an overshoot (or undershoot) of the desired cam angle.

Don't panic though, this oil flow isn't used for lubrication - it's basically being used as hydraulic fluid to adjust the cam angle. It's not entirely catastrophic, but I wouldn't risk it and continue to drive the car. I'm not sure what the adjustment range and valve to piston clearance specs are for the 997.1 engine but there's a possibility you could have piston to valve contact if you let it go for any length of time. That could easily require a new head, a few pistons, the works.

The troubleshooting steps are to swap the cam angle sensors between bank 1 and bank 2 and see if the problem follows it - if not then open up the suspect head and inspect the camshafts. Hope it works out for you, I was really bummed when mine had this problem but something about driving the car after it was fixed just made me not care anymore. I forgave it

edit: It's definitely not caused by modding - there is a press-fit sleeve that wasn't installed correctly from the factory. It's probably not even Porsche's fault directly - whomever they sourced the cams from would be to blame. The 2009's curiously don't have this problem, so it appears the problem has been fixed in the current revision on of the cam. If a dealer tried to deny the claim due to modifications I would take it to another dealer, and never do business with them again.

 

rix- rep points to you.

I dropped it off at my tech this afternoon- I havent started the car since friday when it blew a CEL 4 diff times- after clearing it within a short amount of miles. This afternoon when I fired it up to get it over to my tech (8 mile drive) there was no CEL light and the car drove normal with no noise.

 

Keep us updated!

 

Had same cel on mine before any mods it just the sensor 6000 miles

 

Hope that's all it is in my case as well.. bit dissapointed after just purchasing this car 2 weeks ago But got me some Easy care warranty and some peace of mind along with it

 

Fellas, Car is still at my local tech and he told me that the cam timing is definitely off on Bank 2 (cyl#4-6) but I also got misfire codes on bank 1 (cyl#1 and 3). He has not gotten back to me with wether it is only the sensor or the gear that drives the cams .

 

Good luck I'm dealing with the same issue on Bank 2. My local tech found the timing was off. He adjusted timing, inspected cam which was okay. Car is going back again nexted week. This has been a on going issue.

 

Crank gear seems to be tight on the engine. I ordered a cam sensor to try. They are very inexpensive and a quick install. I'd rather start with that. Sensor should be here this afternoon.

 

Good luck, both Sensors where changed on mine. Cam was inspected and I just threw check engine for the same thing. Now I'm being told that they have to check the oil because it might be dirty. Wow the oil gets changed every 3k would be shock it that the problem. This has been a issue from day one. When the dealer clears the code sometime is doesn't thrown for 3 to 6 months. Tip Transmission also blew up so they inspected the cam while the motor was out.

 

Fellas, I think we have a solution. After changing the sensor the CEL came back on while driving. I took note that M3 S3R mentioned that a possibility is dirty oil. But before I change the oil we are going to try a new cam shaft Actuator. I have heard that the actuators tend to stick, and get clogged because of dirty oil. I will try to post a picture of the actuator and show how the little the holes are that oil gets pushed through. All in all should be done tomorrow afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed.

 

Referring to #41-

 

They replaced my actuators as part of the fix, as well as the sensors I believe. Haven't had any issues in a few months. Hopefully that's the end of that...

 

dose engine come out to change #41 ?

 

bumper off- intercoolers off, might have to lower the engine slightly my Mastermind Tech said- but he said it is simple and quick. I will check in with any more additional info hopefully tomorrow afternoon.

 

fingers crossed!