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Diagnostic trouble code

C0800

4 owner reports and 6 manufacturer filings across 8 model years from Chevrolet, GMC.

ChassisGeneric OBD-II code6 manufacturer filings4 owner reports

Where C0800 shows up

Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications and complaints
Model yearFiled underBulletinsOwner reports
2016 Chevrolet EquinoxEquipment2
2016 GMC TerrainEquipment2
2017 Chevrolet EquinoxPower Train1
2020 Chevrolet SparkElectrical System1
2023 Chevrolet TraverseService Brakes1
2022 GMC CanyonElectrical System1
2022 GMC TerrainSteering1
2017 GMC TerrainSteering1

A model year appears here because the code is named in its record, not because every one of these vehicles sets it. Counts are mentions in the federal files, not failure rates — nobody publishes the denominator.

What it gets filed under

Steering 3Equipment 2Electrical System 2Power Train 1Electronic Stability Control 1Service Brakes 1
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What owners said

Source: NHTSA complaint database

Owners’ own words, one per nameplate, scrubbed of anything identifying. These are unverified reports filed with NHTSA — they are what was said, not a finding that it was true.

During that incident we ran OBD scanner, C0800 code was showing for Power Steering Control Module, recommended repair was the replace battery, even though the battery was good
2022 GMC CanyonJun 30, 2024NHTSA owner report
I connected a code reader and received the following codes: U0422, U0151, and C0800
2020 Chevrolet SparkOct 8, 2021NHTSA owner report

Manufacturer filings that name it

Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications

Service bulletins and campaigns whose filed summary names C0800. Quoting the document number at a service desk is often the fastest route to a diagnosis someone has already written down.

What C0800 means

Source: SAE J2012 / OBD-II

C0800 sits in the generic range of the OBD-II standard, so it means the same thing on every vehicle sold in the United States — but WhichTrim does not carry a definition for it and will not invent one. What is on this page is the record: who named it and on what.

A stored code names the test that failed, never the part that caused it. It is the starting point of a diagnosis, not its conclusion — the same code has several possible causes and the cheap one is not always right.

Common questions about C0800

Source: NHTSA files and the OBD-II standard

Can I keep driving with C0800 stored?

Nobody can answer that from the code alone, and a site that does is guessing. A steady light generally means the fault was logged and the vehicle is in a reduced-risk mode; a flashing light means stop soon, because a misfiring engine can destroy a catalytic converter in minutes. The safe read of this page is the mileage and the components, not permission.

Does a code mean the car is recalled?

No. Recalls are filed by campaign and matched by VIN, and none of them are triggered by a scan tool. If you want to know whether an open recall applies to one specific vehicle, check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls — that is the only source that settles it.

Why do the counts here differ from other sites?

Because these are not estimates. Every number on this page is a count of documents in NHTSA's own files: manufacturer communications that name the code in their filed summary, and owner complaints that name it in the narrative. We do not model, weight or extrapolate them.

Will clearing the code fix it?

Clearing turns the light off and erases the freeze-frame data a technician would have used to work out what happened. If the condition is still there the code returns, usually within a few drive cycles, and the diagnosis now starts from less information than before.