Description of the standard trouble OBD codes by family
Standard or generic fault codes are a list of codes common to all manufacturers.
This list of faults, also called DTC (for Data Trouble Code) has been defined so that any diagnostic device can read and decode them. They have a standard format as shown below :
The first letter indicates the family of DTC.
- P: Powertrain, (i.e. engine and gearbox)
- C: Chassis
- B: Body
- U: User network
The first digit indicates if the code is generic or not (green digit):
- 0: Generic fault
- 1: Manufacturer fault
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As the list of generic OBD codes is not always sufficient, manufacturers can add as many of their own codes as they need.
The last 3 digits correspond to an incremented number (purple digits).
This may be a hexadecimal number (i.e. from 0 to 9 + from A to F). For P family codes, sub-families have been defined using the 1st digit (in this example the "3"):
- 0 , 1 and 2: for the air/fuel mixture
- 3 : for the ignition system
- 4 : for checking auxiliary emissions
- 5 : for engine idling
- 6 : for the onboard computer and ancillary outputs
- 7, 8 and 9: for the transmission (gearbox)
- A, B and C : for hybrid propulsion
These OBD codes were standardized using SAE J2012 and ISO 15031-6 standards which, to our knowledge, contain about 11 000 definitions in the most recent version.
Below you will find a list of the most commonly used codes. Our software contains all of the 11 000 codes. Don't hesitate to download it. It is free and, using an ELM327 or ELM323 interface, can be used to read the fault codes. For more details, go to our EOBD-Facile car diagnostic software page.
Select the OBD fault codes range
DTC from P0400 to P0499 (auxiliary emissions control)
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| P0400 | Exhaust Gas Recirculation Flow Malfunction |
| P0401 | Exhaust Gas Recirculation Flow Insufficient Detected |
| P0402 | Exhaust Gas Recirculation Flow Excessive Detected |
| P0403 | Exhaust Gas Recirculation Circuit Malfunction |
| P0404 | Exhaust Gas Recirculation Circuit Range/Performance |
| P0405 | Exhaust Gas Recirculation Sensor A Circuit Low |
| P0406 | Exhaust Gas Recirculation Sensor A Circuit High |
| P0407 | Exhaust Gas Recirculation Sensor B Circuit Low |
| P0408 | Exhaust Gas Recirculation Sensor B Circuit High |
| P0409 | Exhaust Gas Recirculation Sensor A Circuit |
| P0410 | Secondary Air Injection System Malfunction |
| P0411 | Secondary Air Injection System Incorrect Flow Detected |
| P0412 | Secondary Air Injection System Switching Valve A Circuit Malfunction |
| P0413 | Secondary Air Injection System Switching Valve A Circuit Open |
| P0414 | Secondary Air Injection System Switching Valve A Circuit Shorted |
| P0415 | Secondary Air Injection System Switching Valve B Circuit Malfunction |
| P0416 | Secondary Air Injection System Switching Valve B Circuit Open |
| P0417 | Secondary Air Injection System Switching Valve B Circuit Shorted |
| P0418 | Secondary Air Injection System Relay A circuit Malfunction |
| P0419 | Secondary Air Injection System Relay B Circuit Malfunction |
| P0420 | Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1)More details... |
| P0421 | Warm Up Catalyst Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1) |
| P0422 | Main Catalyst Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1) |
| P0423 | Heated Catalyst Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1) |
| P0424 | Heated Catalyst Temperature Below Threshold (Bank 1) |
| P0425 | Catalyst Temperature Sensor (Bank 1 Sensor 1) |
| P0426 | Catalyst Temperature Sensor Range/Performance (Bank 1 Sensor 1) |
| P0427 | Catalyst Temperature Sensor Low Input (Bank 1 Sensor 1) |
| P0428 | Catalyst Temperature Sensor High Input (Bank 1 Sensor 1) |
| P0429 | Catalyst Heater Control Circuit (Bank 1) |
| P0430 | Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 2) |
| P0431 | Warm Up Catalyst Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 2) |
| P0432 | Main Catalyst Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 2) |
| P0433 | Heated Catalyst Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 2) |
| P0434 | Heated Catalyst Temperature Below Threshold (Bank 2) |
| P0435 | Catalyst Temperature Sensor (Bank 2 Sensor 1) |
| P0436 | Catalyst Temperature Sensor Range/Performance (Bank 2 Sensor 1) |
| P0437 | Catalyst Temperature Sensor Low Input (Bank 2 Sensor 1) |
| P0438 | Catalyst Temperature Sensor High Input (Bank 2 Sensor 1) |
| P0439 | Catalyst Heater Control Circuit (Bank 2) |
| P0440 | Evaporative Emission Control System Malfunction |
| P0441 | Evaporative Emission Control System Incorrect Purge flow |
| P0442 | Evaporative Emission Control System leak Detected (small leak) |
| P0443 | Evaporative Emission Control System Purge Control Valve circuit Malfunction |
| P0444 | Evaporative Emission Control System Purge Control Valve Circuit Open |
| P0445 | Evaporative Emission Control System Purge Control Valve Circuit Shorted |
| P0446 | Evaporative Emission Control System Vent Control Circuit Malfunction |
| P0447 | Evaporative Emission Control System Vent Control Circuit Open |
| P0448 | Evaporative Emission Control System Vent Control Circuit Shorted |
| P0449 | Evaporative Emission Control System Vent Valve/Solenoid Circuit Malfunction |
| P0460 | Evaporative Emission Control System Pressure Sensor Malfunction |
| P0461 | Evaporative Emission Control System Pressure Sensor Range/Performance |
| P0462 | Evaporative Emission Control System Pressure Sensor Low Input |
| P0463 | Evaporative Emission Control System Pressure Sensor High Input |
| P0464 | Evaporative Emission Control System Pressure Sensor Intermittent |
| P0465 | Evaporative Emission Control System Tank Detected (gross leak) |
| P0466 | Evaporative Emission System Leak Detected (very small leak) |
| P0467 | Evaporative Emission System Leak Detected (fuel cap loose/off) |
| P0468 | Evaporative Emission System Purge Control Valve Circuit Low |
| P0469 | Evaporative Emission System Purge Control Valve Circuit High |
| P0460 | Fuel Level Sensor Circuit Malfunction |
| P0461 | Fuel Level Sensor Circuit Range/Performance |
| P0462 | Fuel Level Sensor Circuit Low Input |
| P0463 | Fuel Level Sensor Circuit High Input |
| P0464 | Fuel Level Sensor Circuit Intermittent |
| P0465 | Purge Flow Sensor Circuit Malfunction |
| P0466 | Purge Flow Sensor Circuit Range/Performance |
| P0467 | Purge Flow Sensor Circuit Low Input |
| P0468 | Purge Flow Sensor Circuit High Input |
| P0469 | Purge Flow Sensor Circuit Intermittent |
| P0470 | Exhaust Pressure Sensor Malfunction |
| P0471 | Exhaust Pressure Sensor Range/Performance |
| P0472 | Exhaust Pressure Sensor Low |
| P0473 | Exhaust Pressure Sensor High |
| P0474 | Exhaust Pressure Sensor Intermittent |
| P0475 | Exhaust Pressure Control Valve Malfunction |
| P0476 | Exhaust Pressure Control Valve Range/Performance |
| P0477 | Exhaust Pressure Control Valve Low |
| P0478 | Exhaust Pressure Control Valve High |
| P0479 | Exhaust Pressure Control Valve Intermittent |
| P0480 | Cooling Fan 1 Control Circuit Malfunction |
| P0481 | Cooling Fan 2 Control Circuit Malfunction |
| P0482 | Cooling Fan 3 Control Circuit Malfunction |
| P0483 | Cooling Fan Rationality Check Malfunction |
| P0484 | Cooling Fan Circuit Over Current |
| P0485 | Cooling Fan Power/Ground Circuit Malfunction |
| P0486 | Exhaust Gas Recirculation Sensor B Circuit |
| P0487 | Exhaust Gas Recirculation Throttle Position Control Circuit |
| P0488 | Exhaust Gas Recirculation Throttle Position Control Range/Performance |
| P0489 | Exhaust Gas Recirculation Control Circuit Low |
| P0490 | Exhaust Gas Recirculation Control Circuit Low |
| P0491 | Secondary Air Injection System (Bank 2) |
| P0492 | Secondary Air Injection System (Bank 2) |
| P0493 | Fan Overspeed (clutch locked) |
| P0494 | Fan Speed Low |
| P0495 | Fan Speed High |
| P0496 | Evaporative Emission System High Purge Flow |
| P0497 | Evaporative Emission System Low Purge Flow |
| P0498 | Evaporative Emission System Vent Control Circuit Low |
| P0499 | Evaporative Emission System Vent Control Circuit High |