P0A0A
3 owner reports and 2 manufacturer filings across 3 model years from Chrysler, Ford.
Where P0A0A shows up
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications and complaints| Model year | Filed under | Bulletins | Owner reports |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Chrysler Pacifica | Electrical System | — | 2 |
| 2016 Ford C-MAX | Electrical System | 2 | — |
| 2025 Chrysler Pacifica | Electrical System | — | 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.
• Mid-February 2025: Check engine light code P0A0A appeared and cleared itself shortly thereafter
Manufacturer filings that name it
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communicationsService bulletins and campaigns whose filed summary names P0A0A. Quoting the document number at a service desk is often the fastest route to a diagnosis someone has already written down.
- TSB 17-00152017-02-17 · Electrical System — Starter Assembly
- SOME 2013-2016 C-MAX ENERGI VEHICLES MAY EXHIBIT AN INTERMITTENT STALL/NO CRANK WITH A STOP SAFELY NOW WARNING MESSAGE IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL CLUSTER (IPC), ILLUMINATED MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP (MIL) WITH BATTERY ENERGY CONTROL MODULE (BECM) DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES (DTCS) U3012, P0B37 AND/OR SECONDARY ON-BOARD DIAGNOSTIC MODULE-C (SOBDM-C) P0A0A. FOLLOW THE SERVICE PROCEDURE STEPS TO CORRECT T
- SSM 461082016-10-05 · Electrical System — Starter Assembly
- SOME 2013-2016 C-MAX PHEV VEHICLES MAY EXHIBIT AN INTERMITTENT STALL/NO CRANK WITH A STOP SAFELY NOW WARNING MESSAGE IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL CLUSTER (IPC) WITH BATTERY ENERGY CONTROL MODULE (BECM) DTCS U3012,P0B37, AND/OR SECONDARY ON-BOARD DIAGNOSTIC MODULE C(SOBDMC) P0A0A. INSPECT LOW VOLTAGE INTERLOCK CIRCUITS, CYB03 AND CYB04 FOR AN INTERMITTENT SHORT TO GROUND. INSPECT THE CIRCUITS FOR WIRE
What P0A0A means
Source: SAE J2012 / OBD-IIP0A0A 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 P0A0A
Source: NHTSA files and the OBD-II standardCan I keep driving with P0A0A 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.