2011 3.6 with 170k miles. I'm at my wit's end with this problem. Left intake cam advance is stuck around 13-14 degrees under all conditions. Right is stuck at 0, but I assume that's a product of the left not going back to 0 so AVCS can't initialize properly. I got a P0021 code a few days ago while cruising at about 45mph, it has not come back since I reset the ECU but the problem persists. Only noticeable symptoms are loss of performance in the mid-top end, and of course lots of pinging (IAM 0). My engine runs smooth as silk at idle and under load. So smooth I can't even tell the engine is on at stoplights. I think this combined with the fact that I have no noises and the general unlikelihood of this occurrence probably rules out a jumped timing chain in my mind.
Swapped and cleaned oil control valves to see if the problem followed the solenoid. It did not. Did an oil flush today and that did not help either. I've always been pretty religious with the oil changes so I'd be surprised if it's an oil/sludge related issue - fwiw, my OCVs looked perfectly clean when I pulled them. No varnish or sludge whatsoever... Dry off the oil and you would think it was a brand new part.
From what I've seen, the cam gear seizing up is usually after an engine rebuild where it wasn't properly installed. This engine has never been touched. But that's what I'm thinking this might be. Has anyone seen this happen on an unopened motor? Maybe a camshaft position sensor, but wouldn't my car throw a separate code if it was malfunctioning? Seems like a stretch. I'd appreciate if anyone has any insight as to what this problem could be. Thanks in advance for any help.
