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P3473

Cylinder 9 Deactivation

The engine control module has detected a fault in the cylinder 9 deactivation system. Found on V10/V12 engines with cylinder deactivation — cylinder 9 cannot reliably switch state.

  • Check engine light: Yes
  • Emissions related: Yes
  • Repair difficulty: hard

Common causes

Ordered by how often each turns out to be the cause.

  • Deactivation solenoid failedCommon
  • Lifter stuckPossible

Parts involved

  • Cylinder Deactivation Solenoid
  • Lifter
  • Engine Wiring Harness

P3473 is a generic OBD-II code defined by SAE J2012. Exact wording and diagnostic procedure vary by manufacturer and model. Code definitions are drawn from the public-domain OBDex dataset; the workshop notes are our own.