P05A0
2 owner reports and 35 manufacturer filings across 16 model years from BMW, Honda, Mazda, Subaru and others.
Where P05A0 shows up
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications and complaints| Model year | Filed under | Bulletins | Owner reports |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Subaru Legacy/Outback | Electrical System | 6 | — |
| 2016 Subaru Legacy/Outback | Electrical System | 6 | — |
| 2017 Subaru Forester | Electrical System | 3 | — |
| 2017 Subaru WRX | Electrical System | 3 | — |
| 2016 Subaru WRX | Electrical System | 3 | — |
| 2021 Mazda CX-30 | Power Train | 2 | — |
| 2020 Mazda CX-30 | Power Train | 2 | — |
| 2021 Mazda Mazda3 | Power Train | 2 | — |
| 2020 Mazda Mazda3 | Power Train | 2 | — |
| 2019 Mazda Mazda3 | Power Train | 2 | — |
| 2016 BMW 7 Series | Engine | — | 1 |
| 2017 Honda CR-V | Forward Collision Avoidance | — | 1 |
| 2022 Mazda MX-30 | Electrical System | 1 | — |
| 2018 Subaru Forester | Electrical System | 1 | — |
| 2017 Subaru Impreza | Electrical System | 1 | — |
| 2016 Volkswagen Jetta | Engine And Engine Cooling | 1 | — |
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
What owners said
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners’ 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.
The technician's documented complaint states the lights are intermittent and 'stay on about 3-4 days.' Despite this being the stated complaint, the dealership's diagnostic report identified only two unrelated fault codes — P05A0 (Active…
Manufacturer filings that name it
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communicationsService bulletins and campaigns whose filed summary names P05A0. Quoting the document number at a service desk is often the fastest route to a diagnosis someone has already written down.
- 09-048-222022-12-13 · Electrical System
- Some vehicles may exhibit the following symptoms with DTC P05A0:00 (Active air shutter and the opening angle abnormality (sticking)) stored in memory. Symptom 1 [Mazda3 and CX-30]: The active air shutter is working, but DTC P05A0:00 is stored in memory. Cause 1: This is caused by improper control software of the PCM detecting the DTC immediately without performing the failsafe operation. Whe
- 01-009-21-37992021-04-12 · Power Train
- Some vehicles may exhibit that the active air shutter is working, but DTC P05A0:00 (Active air shutter: Opening angle abnormality (sticking)) is stored in memory. This is caused by improper control software of the PCM detecting the DTC immediately without performing the failsafe operation. When the active air shutter detects unusual torque, it is designed to repeat the open/close cycles up to thre
- 11-174-17R2017-10-31 · Electrical System — Software
- This bulletin announces the availability of reprogramming files to optimize the ECM and address the following customer concerns: ? Check Engine light coming on (with DTC P05A0 stored in memory). ? Potential battery discharge (dead battery) after repeated periods of short-trip driving. ? A high (or ?hanging?) engine RPM after depressing the clutch pedal (Forester only).
- 11-174-17R2017-08-08 · Electrical System
- This bulletin announces the availability of reprogramming files to optimize the ECM and address the following customer concerns: * Check Engine light coming on (with DTC P05A0 stored in memory). * Potential battery discharge (dead battery) after repeated periods of short-trip driving. * A high (or "hanging") engine RPM after depressing the clutch pedal (Forester only).
- 11-174-17R2017-06-23 · Electrical System
- This bulletin announces the availability of reprogramming files to optimize the ECM and address the following customer concerns: * Check Engine light coming on (with DTC P05A0 stored in memory). * Potential battery discharge (dead battery) after repeated periods of short-trip driving. * A high (or "hanging") engine RPM after depressing the clutch pedal (Forester only).
- 11172172017-02-23 · Electrical System — Software
- This bulletin announces the availability of reprogramming files to optimize the ECM. The new logic will address isolated customer concerns of a hesitation and / or a stumble felt on light acceleration and in some cases, a possible DTC P05A0 which may set in the ECM memory.
What P05A0 means
Source: SAE J2012 / OBD-IIP05A0 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 P05A0
Source: NHTSA files and the OBD-II standardCan I keep driving with P05A0 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.