P16E5
1 owner report and 10 manufacturer filings across 3 model years from Acura, Honda.
Where P16E5 shows up
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications and complaints| Model year | Filed under | Bulletins | Owner reports | Parts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Acura TLX | Electrical System | 5 | — | Battery → |
| 2016 Acura TLX | Electrical System | 5 | — | Battery → |
| 2019 Honda Odyssey | Forward Collision Avoidance | — | 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.
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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 vehicle is showing persistent electrical and communication fault codes involving the ECM, ABS, and EPS systems, including P16E2, P16E5, P16E7, P16E8, U0401, and U0416
10 manufacturer filings name P16E5. 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 P16E5.
- BPAS03022017901 Service bulletin2017-03-02 · Equipment
- DEALER MESSAGE - AMERICAN HONDA (AHM) IS INVESTIGATING CERTAIN 2015-2017 TLXS WITH A CLIENT COMPLAINT OF THE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP (MIL) ON WITH THE DTC P16E5 (LIN COMMUNICATION ERROR [PCM-DC-DC CONVERTER]), P0A11 (DC-DC CONVERTER ACTIVATION CIRCUIT MALFUNCTION) AND/OR P0A94 (DC-DC CONVERTER PERFORMANCE PROBLEM) STORED. TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE CAUSE OF THIS CONDITION, AHM WOULD LIKE TO COLLEC
- BER17010A Service bulletin2017-02-28 · Equipment — Electrical
- "ENGINEERING REQUEST FOR INVESTIGATION - AMERICAN HONDA (AHM) IS INVESTIGATING CERTAIN 2015-2017 TLXS WITH A CLIENT COMPLAINT OF THE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP (MIL) ON WITH THE DTC P16E5 (LIN COMMUNICATION ERROR [PCM-DC-DC CONVERTER]), P0A11 (DC-DC CONVERTER ACTIVATION CIRCUIT MALFUNCTION) AND/OR P0A94 (DC-DC CONVERTER PERFORMANCE PROBLEM) STORED. TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE CAUSE OF THIS CONDITION,
- BPAS01232017902 Service bulletin2017-01-23 · Electrical System — Instrument Cluster/Panel
- DEALER MESSAGE - AMERICAN HONDA (AHM) IS INVESTIGATING CERTAIN 2015-2017 TLXS WITH A CLIENT COMPLAINT OF THE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP (MIL) ON WITH THE DTC P16E5 (LIN COMMUNICATION ERROR [PCM-DC-DC CONVERTER]), P0A11 (DC-DC CONVERTER ACTIVATION CIRCUIT MALFUNCTION) AND/OR P0A94 (DC-DC CONVERTER PERFORMANCE PROBLEM) STORED. TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE CAUSE OF THIS CONDITION, AHM WOULD LIKE TO COLLEC
What P16E5 means
Source: SAE J2012 / OBD-IIP16E5 is a manufacturer-specific code: the second character is a 1, which under the OBD-II standard hands the definition to whoever built the vehicle. The same code can mean one thing on a Ford and something unrelated on a Hyundai. Any site that prints a single definition for it is guessing.
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 P16E5
Source: NHTSA files and the OBD-II standardWhy does this page not define P16E5?
Because it cannot be defined honestly. The second character of a trouble code says who owns its meaning, and a 1 or a 3 hands that to the manufacturer. Sites that print one definition for a manufacturer-specific code are showing you one automaker's meaning and hoping it is yours.
Can I keep driving with P16E5 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.