PULSCAR ANALYSIS — P0011 IN NHTSA OWNER COMPLAINTS: WHAT OWNERS NAME, WHERE THE OIL SHOWS UP, AND HOW OFTEN IT ENDS IN AN ENGINE Pulscar analysis of NHTSA public data, September 2026. License: CC BY 4.0. Attribution: "Pulscar analysis of NHTSA public data, September 2026." Published alongside https://www.pulscar.io/blog/p0011-code ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 0. WHAT THIS FILE ADDS, AND WHAT IT DELIBERATELY DOES NOT REPEAT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Pulscar Check Engine Code Index already counts the MANUFACTURER SIDE of this code and publishes its own method and data: * 70 distinct manufacturer bulletins from 12 manufacturer groups name P0011; at least 18 of them (26 percent) are software updates, and 12 percent once the Stellantis flash bulletins are set aside. Top groups GM 25, Ford 13, Stellantis 11, JLR 7. Zero of the 70 is a warranty extension or emissions campaign. https://www.pulscar.io/blog/check-engine-code-index https://www.pulscar.io/research/check-engine-code-index/code_index.csv Those figures are NOT recomputed here. This file answers the complaint-side questions the index does not: what owners themselves name as the part, how often engine oil appears in the story, how the set behaves on the safety flags, and where the odometer sits when the report is written. Where the index reports a median of 78,000 miles over 57 readings for P0011 and this file reports 76,222 over 60, the two pages are applying different odometer exclusions to the same 107 complaints; this file keeps every reading strictly between 0 and 400,000 miles and averages the two middle values of an even-numbered set. The difference is 1,778 miles and three readings. Neither figure is wrong, and both are stated so a reader comparing the two pages is not left guessing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. SOURCE FILES AND DATE RANGE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ COMPLAINTS NHTSA ODI complaint flat files, product type V (vehicle) https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/ffdd/cmpl/CMPL.txt (field layout) 777,040 distinct vehicle complaints, de-duplicated by ODI report number, received 1 January 2015 to 8 September 2026. TSBs NHTSA manufacturer communications flat files https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/ffdd/tsbs/TSBS.txt (field layout) RECALLS NHTSA recall flat files, plus the live campaign API https://api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/campaignNumber Data pulled 14 September 2026; this analysis run 19 September 2026. No third-party data was used. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. THE COMPLAINT SET ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Query: the narrative field (DESCR) matched CASE-INSENSITIVELY against the whole-word regular expression \bP0011\b. Case-insensitivity is not optional: NHTSA narratives are stored ALL CAPS through 2020 and mixed case afterwards, and a capitals-only pattern silently drops the newer half of the file. SELECT * FROM complaints WHERE descr LIKE '%P0011%'; -- 112 rows then kept only rows matching \bP0011\b -- 107 rows The five rejected rows were read in full. None of them is reporting P0011: they are run-together or extended strings in which the five characters appear inside a longer code -- "P001100" (twice), "P001177", "p00114" and a list that reads "p001100, p001104, p001200". Excluding them keeps this set identical to the one behind the Check Engine Code Index, which uses the same whole-word rule. FINAL SET: 107 complaints. This is the denominator for every percentage below unless another denominator is named. This is a SMALL SET and it is reported as one. Every count here is a floor: an owner who does not use a word is not counted, and an owner whose $180 solenoid fixed the car almost never files a federal complaint at all. Complaints are self-reported and unaudited. They are not failure rates, and there is no denominator in this data -- no sales, registration or fleet figure -- so no model here can be called better or worse than another. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. SAFETY FLAGS AGAINST THE WHOLE FILE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ P0011 set (n=107) all 777,040 complaints crash flag Y 0 0.00% 4.37% fire flag Y 0 0.00% 1.82% towed flag Y 2 1.87% 5.11% injuries 0 deaths 0 Every flag is at or below the baseline and two of them are zero. That is the finding, and it is published with its limit: zero crashes in 107 reports is consistent with a low rate, not with a rate of zero, and the file cannot distinguish the two. The structured towed field says 1.87 percent while the word "tow" appears in 15 narratives (14.02 percent); the two instruments disagree and both numbers are published rather than averaged. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. ODOMETER ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Readings kept only where 0 < miles < 400,000: 60 of the 107 reports state one. n = 60 minimum 10 lower quartile 52,000 MEDIAN 76,222.5 (middle values 75,000 and 77,445) upper quartile 98,000 maximum 204,000 at or under 36,000 miles: 11 of 60 (18.3%) at or under 60,000 miles: 21 of 60 (35.0%) at or under 100,000 miles: 46 of 60 (76.7%) The all-complaints median over the same filter is 70,000 miles (392,935 readings). Published as p0011-outcomes-and-mileage.csv. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. WHAT OWNERS NAME, AND HOW THE COUNTS WERE CHECKED ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Each category is a regular expression run case-insensitively over the narrative. A complaint can fall into several categories; the columns do not sum to 107. These measure WHAT OWNERS WROTE DOWN, not what a wrench eventually found. VVT hardware (solenoid, oil control valve, VVT/CVVT/VTC assembly) 24 22.43% engine oil: level, consumption or overfill 23 21.50% engine oil: service, viscosity, sludge or filter 20 18.69% camshaft or crankshaft position sensor 17 15.89% timing chain, guide or tensioner 16 14.95% cam phaser, actuator, sprocket or reluctor 9 8.41% engine oil pressure 9 8.41% an engine replacement or rebuild (performed, quoted or required) 10 9.35% ANY of the three oil categories, de-duplicated 36 33.64% SAMPLE READING, VVT hardware. The narrow pattern (oil control valve, OCV, VVT solenoid, camshaft position actuator solenoid, the bare word solenoid) returned 19. ALL NINETEEN were read in full, not sampled. All nineteen are genuinely about a variable-valve-timing solenoid or oil control valve; in two of them the owner is listing possible causes found online rather than reporting a diagnosis, which is noted rather than removed. Widening the pattern to include the bare abbreviations VVT, CVVT and VTC added 6 more, all read: four name the part, one names "VVT issues" caused by oil sludge, and one describes "the Variable Valve Timing (VVT) system" in general. The published category is therefore labelled as VVT HARDWARE OR SYSTEM, not as "the solenoid", and the count is 24. SAMPLE READING, oil. The three oil categories together return 36 complaints. A random sample of 30 drawn from the 46 rows that contain the bare word "oil" (random.seed(7)) was read in context. Zero of the 30 were false matches for engine oil -- but the MEANING varied widely (service history, consumption, oil pressure, sludge, and the part name "oil control valve"), which is exactly why the categories are published split rather than as one 43 percent figure. SAMPLE READING, engine replacement. The pattern deliberately catches replacement that was PERFORMED, QUOTED or STATED AS REQUIRED, because a complaint often stops at the quote. All 10 matches were read. Ten is a very small number and no rate is claimed from it; its only use on the page is the contrast with the same measure on P0016 (37 of 162, 22.84 percent), computed with the identical pattern. A narrower pattern that requires the replacement to have HAPPENED ("engine was replaced", "replaced the engine") returns 3 of 107. Both numbers are published because they answer different questions. Published as p0011-what-owners-name.csv. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6. WHO REPORTS IT, AND WHEN ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ By make and model: published in full as p0011-complaints-by-make-and-model.csv, with a manufacturer_group column and a per-model median mileage where at least one reading exists. Raw counts across vastly different sales volumes. NOT a reliability ranking. GM brands combined 58 of 107 (54.2%) Chevrolet 34, GMC 10, Buick 8, Cadillac 3, Saturn 2, Oldsmobile 1 largest single model: Chevrolet Equinox 15 Hyundai and Kia combined 28 (26.2%) largest: Sonata 8 Ford and Lincoln 5 Nissan and Infiniti 7 Volkswagen Group 4 Model year and year of receipt: published as p0011-model-year-and-report-year.csv. Model years 2011-2018 account for 77 of the 107. Reports by calendar year of receipt: 2, 6, 4, 15, 21, 9, 7, 7, 7, 5, 17, 7 for 2015 through 2026, the last a partial year to 8 September. Do not read that line as a failure trend: it measures attention, and the complaint file itself has grown across the decade. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7. WHAT THE RECALL FILE DOES NOT CONTAIN (A PUBLISHED NEGATIVE) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Query: every recall row whose defect, remedy or notes text contains "P0011", case-insensitive, across the whole recall flat file. RESULT: ZERO campaigns. The same query for "timing chain" anywhere in a recall defect description returns TWO campaigns in the whole file, neither on a US passenger car (a Ducati motorcycle and a Mitsubishi Fuso truck). The Check Engine Code Index independently reports zero warranty extensions or emissions campaigns among the 70 P0011 bulletins. This is published as an honest negative: for this code there is no free-repair document to look up, and the page says so instead of implying one might exist. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8. PRIMARY DOCUMENTS OPENED FOR THIS PAGE (19 September 2026) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Every document below was downloaded from static.nhtsa.gov and read as text on 19 September 2026; every date, model list, labor time and quoted phrase comes from the document itself. Ford SSM 49583, 3 March 2021, NHTSA document 10187998. 2019-2020 F-150 with the 5.0L engine, MIL with P0011, P0012, P0021 and/or P0022 plus noise from the intake VCT phasers: "To resolve this condition, verify the engine oil is at the proper level. Adjust the engine oil level as necessary. If the condition persists, replace only the VCT solenoid(s) associated with the DTCs present." Causal part 6M280. Its predecessor SSM 48894 (10176942, 7 July 2020) has the identical text WITHOUT the oil-level step; the step was added in the 2021 revision. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2021/MC-10187998-0001.pdf Ford SSM 54366, 19 November 2025, NHTSA document 11025611. 2015-2021 Ford and Lincoln vehicles, the same twelve-code family, 128 model-and-year rows in the flat file: pinpoint test HK "has been updated to address this concern." The earlier members of the same family (SSM 46450, 47170, 48423, 49821, 50067) all give the cause as "small debris causing the VCT solenoid to stick" and instruct the technician to cycle the solenoid ten times through pinpoint test HK11 BEFORE replacing it. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2025/MC-11025611-0001.pdf Acura service bulletin 24-026, 16 April 2024, NHTSA document 10253575. 2024 Integra Type S, all VINs. Symptom: "MIL comes on and sets DTC P0011". Possible cause: "The lack of oil control by the PCM causes the VTC to overshoot its target." Corrective action, in order: "Check oil level. Update PGM-FI Software. Complete CMP Learn. Clear and Complete IN-VTC Learn Procedure." Flat rate 0.2 hour plus 0.2 hour, normal warranty. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2024/MC-10253575-0001.pdf GM PIP5600, published 12 October 2018, NHTSA document 10147378. 2019 Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500, 5.3L and 6.2L (L84, L87). Condition: "A vehicle may come in with a DTC P0011 set". Cause: "A sticking oil control solenoid for the cam actuator." Labor operation 4064250, Camshaft Position Actuator Solenoid Valve Replacement. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2018/MC-10147378-9999.pdf GM PIP5855, published 18 May 2022, NHTSA document 10213800. 2021-2022 Cadillac CT4 and CT4-V, Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500 with the 2.7L L3B. Cause: "Failed Camshaft Position Actuator Magnet" for any combination of P0011, P0014, P0016, P0017 -- but the correction begins with the wiring: "check for and correct any related wiring, terminal tension, crimp, or lock issues as needed" before the magnet is replaced. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2022/MC-10213800-9999.pdf Mazda SA-033/25, 1 July 2025, NHTSA document 11019996. 2024-2025 CX-90 MHEV and 2025 CX-70 MHEV with the H3T inline six, built before 26 August 2024. P0012, P0011 and possibly P0010 from a malfunctioning intake EVVT motor. The repair replaces the EVVT motor and its O-ring and carries a capitalised instruction: "DO NOT replace the cam actuator #9." https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2025/MC-11019996-0001.pdf Kia PS731, May 2022, NHTSA document 10212199. 2010-2013 Soul (AM), 2014-2019 Soul (PS) and 2020-on Soul (SK3). P0011, P0014, P0016 or P0017 set AFTER AN ENGINE REPLACEMENT because the camshaft reluctor wheel -- "also called pulse wheel" -- is not correctly clocked at top dead center. Two wheel types are illustrated, "Two-Flank (or Half Moon)" and "Four-Flank (or Castle)". https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2022/MC-10212199-0001.pdf NHTSA recall 25V-274, Part 573 report submitted 24 April 2025, GM number N252494000. Read for its OIL remedy: 597,630 potentially involved vehicles, 2021-2024 Escalade/Escalade ESV/Silverado 1500/Suburban/Tahoe/Sierra 1500/Yukon/Yukon XL with the 6.2L L87, built 1 March 2021 to 31 May 2024, estimated 3 percent with the defect. Vehicles that pass the inspection "will be provided a higher viscosity oil, which will also require a new oil fill cap, an oil filter replacement, and an owner's manual insert." The dealer bulletin names the oil: dexos R 0W-40, part 19432866. NOTE ON TWO INSTRUMENTS: the Part 573 report as submitted says 597,630 potentially involved; NHTSA's live campaign API returns 597,571 for the same campaign. Other Pulscar pages quote the API figure, so the pages stay consistent on 597,571 and record the 59-vehicle difference here rather than silently picking one. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2025/RCLRPT-25V274-1598.PDF https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2025/RCRIT-25V274-6343.pdf ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9. FILES IN THIS FOLDER ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ p0011-complaints-by-make-and-model.csv make, model, group, count, share, median miles, mileage readings p0011-what-owners-name.csv parts and contexts named, with counts p0011-model-year-and-report-year.csv model year and year of report p0011-outcomes-and-mileage.csv safety flags vs baseline, odometer bands method.txt this file ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10. LIMITATIONS IN ONE PLACE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * 107 complaints is a small set. Single-model counts in single digits are noise. * Complaints are self-reported and unaudited. They are not failure rates. * There is no denominator: no sales, registration or fleet figure is in the data. * The odometer is missing for 47 of the 107 reports. * Categorisation is one reader's judgement. The raw category definitions are printed above so any specific call can be disputed. * Keyword sets under-count. Every count here is a floor. * Selection bias runs one way: cheap outcomes do not reach this file. Nothing here can be read as "how often P0011 is a solenoid".