Solenoids will rarely go bad and cleaning is all they should need, there is also CAMSHAFT position sensors that you should check first.

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This post was auto-generated based upon a question asked on our tech article page here: Pelican Technical Article - Mini R56 - VANOS Solenoid Replacing

I would disagree. The solenoids do fail. Cleaning is a more common remedy though.

- Nick

It's not super common, but I have come across more than a few troubleshooting threads where individuals have run into VANOS related faults that attempted to fix the issue by cleaning them, but are ultimately remedied once they replace them with new units. A test that can be done is to switch the units to see if the fault follows.

Also, MINI does have an updated VANOS unit, which you can see below.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1459544520.jpg

Better picture of the newest version:

2008 Mini Cooper S Hatchback - Cylinder Head & Valvetrain - Page 4