OBD-II trouble code
P0293: Cylinder 11 Contribution/Balance
SAE J2012 APR2002: cylinder 11 contribution/balance. It sits in a gap in the VAG quantity list, and the GM bulletins never reach it. The printed pair is diagnosis.
Quick facts
- System
- Powertrain
- Category
- Fuel Injectors
- Severity
- Medium severity
- Drivable
- Usually safe to drive short-term
- Repair cost range
- $125 – $183 (check-engine diagnosis and testing, labor, RepairPal national average updated 3 September 2026; the injector job was searched and is outside this pair)
- DIY difficulty
- Shop recommended
Browse every code in P0200–P0299, or start from the full code library.
What does P0293 mean?
SAE J2012 APR2002 names P0293 Cylinder 11 Contribution/Balance. The electrical codes beside it are P0291, circuit low, and P0292, circuit high. A contribution code is the quantity or cylinder-balance monitor, and it can be stored with the circuit intact.
The VAG-group list prints 16675 P0291 and 16676 P0292, then jumps to 16678 P0294. Entry 16677 is absent. There is no quantity-deviation sentence for cylinder 11 in that list, unlike cylinders 2 through 8, which do have one. This page does not write the missing sentence.
None of the balance procedures that were read include a cylinder 11. 19-NA-232's additional codes stop at P0284. 17-NA-194's LWN list stops at P0284. SB-10030789 monitors cylinders 1 through 4 and forbids replacing a part on the rate alone, for the cylinders it measures. LBT-149's Duramax rates cover cylinders 1–8, at +4 mm³ to −4 mm³ in Park or Neutral and +6 mm³ to −6 mm³ in Drive. A V12 cylinder is outside that recording. No M5 electrical page that was read is a contribution test, and none of them names cylinder 11.
The search for a repair total looked at RepairPal's injector job and fuel-filter job, and at those four balance documents. No document connects either job, or a published millimetre limit, to P0293. Diagnosis is what can be priced. The engine's own published balance test is the work.
Common causes
- A cylinder 11 contribution or balance fault, which is the SAE name, and no balance document read names cylinder 11
Symptoms
- P0293 stored
- No balance limit and no speed limit are stated for this code
- P0291 or P0292 stored, which are the circuit pages
Diagnostic steps
- 1.Send P0291 and P0292 to their circuit pages. Contribution remains only if it is the code that is actually stored.
- 2.Do not run the L5P crank, the LWN charge-air test, the four-cylinder balance step, or the Duramax gear windows for P0293.
- 3.Leave VAG entry 16677 blank. It was not on the list.
- 4.Use the contribution procedure and the numeric limit published for this engine. If that publication has no limit, do not borrow one.
- 5.The printed pair is the diagnosis labor. The injector figure was found and is excluded until a procedure names the injector for this code.
Repair cost
$125 – $183 (check-engine diagnosis and testing, labor, RepairPal national average updated 3 September 2026; the injector job was searched and is outside this pair)
Diagnosis on RepairPal, updated 3 September 2026, is $125–$183 and the page prices it as labor. That is the printed pair, and it is labeled diagnosis. Searched: 19-NA-232, 17-NA-194, SB-10030789, LBT-149, and the M5 electrical pages. None names P0293. Also searched: RepairPal injector replacement at $768–$953 and fuel-filter replacement at $258–$322. Both exist and neither is tied to this code by those documents, so neither is the pair. The 2026 Ranger diagnosis line at $122–$179 is outside the national diagnosis pair.
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DIY vs shop
Leave this one to a qualified shop. The barrier here is high-pressure fuel components, where residual pressure remains after shutdown and escaping fuel can penetrate skin. DIY attempts often produce a more expensive problem than the original code.