P0502
0 owner reports and 8 manufacturer filings across 2 model years from Cadillac.
Where P0502 shows up
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications and complaints| Model year | Filed under | Bulletins | Owner reports | Parts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 Cadillac ATS | Power Train | 4 | — | |
| 2016 Cadillac ATS-V | Power Train | 4 | — |
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.
Affiliate disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you request a quote or buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Nothing on this page changes because of it.
What it gets filed under

8 manufacturer filings name P0502. Start with what the maker wrote down.
A code names the test that failed, not the part. A bulletin that names it is often a diagnosis someone has already written down — quote its number at the service desk.
Manufacturer filings that name it
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communicationsService bulletins and campaigns whose filed summary names P0502.
- PI11489B Service bulletin2015-12-18 · Power Train — Manual Transmission
- ome customers may comment on a malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) illuminated. They may also comment that they intermittently are unable to shift into Reverse. When checking the vehicle for DTCs, the engine control module (ECM) may report P0502 as current or in history. This may be caused by water intrusion into the vehicles manual transmission output speed sensor or could be induced by the custo
- PI1489A Service bulletin2015-12-04 · Power Train — Manual Transmission
- Some customers may comment on a malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) illuminated. They may also comment that they intermittently are unable to shift into Reverse. When checking the vehicle for DTCs, the engine control module (ECM) may report P0502 as current or in history. This may be caused by water intrusion into the vehicles manual transmission output speed sensor or could be induced by the cust
- PI1489A Service bulletin2015-12-01 · Back Over Prevention
- Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) Illuminated, Intermittently Unable to Shift into Reverse, DTC P0502 Set
What P0502 means
Source: SAE J2012 / OBD-IIP0502 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 P0502
Source: NHTSA files and the OBD-II standardCan I keep driving with P0502 stored?
Nobody can answer that from the code alone, and a site that does is guessing. A steady light means a fault was logged and the car should be checked soon; a flashing light means a severe misfire — slow down and get it seen as soon as possible, because severe misfire can quickly damage the catalytic converter. 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.