P05AE
2 owner reports and 18 manufacturer filings across 11 model years from BMW, Buick, Chevrolet, GMC and others.
Where P05AE shows up
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications and complaints| Model year | Filed under | Bulletins | Owner reports |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee | Electrical System | 3 | — |
| 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee | Electrical System | 3 | — |
| 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee | Electrical System | 3 | — |
| 2016 BMW 7 Series | Engine | — | 2 |
| 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee | Electrical System | 2 | — |
| 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee | Electrical System | 2 | — |
| 2025 Buick Enclave | Unknown Or Other | 1 | — |
| 2025 Chevrolet Traverse | Unknown Or Other | 1 | — |
| 2024 Chevrolet Traverse | Unknown Or Other | 1 | — |
| 2025 GMC Acadia | Unknown Or Other | 1 | — |
| 2024 GMC Acadia | Unknown Or Other | 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.
Upon diagnosis, DTC code P05AE was found to be the reason for the check engine light which indicates an active grille issue
Manufacturer filings that name it
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communicationsService bulletins and campaigns whose filed summary names P05AE. Quoting the document number at a service desk is often the fastest route to a diagnosis someone has already written down.
- PIT6345A2025-12-11 · Unknown Or Other
- This Preliminary information communicates that a vehicle may be encountered with an SES light on and code P059F and P05AE DTCs Set in Snowy or Icing Conditions. The technician is instructed that If no issue is found after completing the diagnostics in SI for both DTCs, do not replace the shutter assembly. Engineering is currently investigating.
- S25230000462025-05-07 · Electrical System
- "Check Engine Lamp On. Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) P1D73 And Or P05AE For Active Grill Shutter (AGS)."
What P05AE means
Source: SAE J2012 / OBD-IIP05AE 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 P05AE
Source: NHTSA files and the OBD-II standardCan I keep driving with P05AE 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.