U0238
0 owner reports and 29 manufacturer filings across 10 model years from Ford, Lincoln.
Where U0238 shows up
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications and complaints| Model year | Filed under | Bulletins | Owner reports | Parts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Lincoln Navigator | Electrical System | 4 | — | Battery → |
| 2025 Lincoln Navigator | Electrical System | 4 | — | Battery → |
| 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E | Equipment | 3 | — | |
| 2026 Lincoln Aviator | Electrical System | 3 | — | Battery → |
| 2025 Lincoln Aviator | Electrical System | 3 | — | Battery → |
| 2026 Lincoln Nautilus | Not specified | 3 | — | |
| 2025 Lincoln Nautilus | Electrical System | 3 | — | Battery → |
| 2024 Lincoln Nautilus | Electrical System | 3 | — | Battery → |
| 2021 Ford Bronco Sport | Electrical System | 2 | — | Battery → |
| 2022 Ford Edge | Equipment | 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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U0238 by make
The same record, one make at a time: the model years, bulletins and owner reports that name U0238 on that maker’s vehicles.
What it gets filed under
29 manufacturer filings name U0238. 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 U0238.
- SSM 54878 Service bulletin2026-05-27 · Electrical System
- Some 2024-2026 Nautilus non-hybrid and 2025-2026 Aviator vehicles equipped with 28 radio speakers (minor feature code IDBBN) and 2025-2026 Navigator vehicles may exhibit a no audio/sound condition with no communication with the audio digital signal processing module (DSP) with U0238 stored in the audio control module (ACM). This may be due to the DSP. To determine if the DSP is the root cause, rem
- SSM 54810 Service bulletin2026-05-08 · Electrical System
- Some 2024-2026 Nautilus non-hybrid and 2025-2026 Aviator vehicles equipped with 28 radio speakers (minor feature code IDBBN) and 2025-2026 Navigator vehicles may exhibit a no audio/sound condition with no communication with the audio digital signal processing module (DSP) with U0238 stored in the audio control module (ACM). This may be due to the DSP. To determine if the DSP is the root cause, rem
- SSM 54751 Service bulletin2026-04-17 · Electrical System
- Some 2024-2026 Nautilus non-hybrid vehicles equipped with 28 radio speakers (minor feature code IDBBN) and 2025-2026 Navigator vehicles may exhibit a no audio/sound condition with no communication with the audio digital signal processing (DSP) module and diagnostic trouble code (DTC) U0238 stored in the audio control module (ACM). Remove the DSP fuse from the battery junction box (BCMC) F138 for N
- SSM 54752 Service bulletin2026-04-17 · Electrical System
- Some 2025-2026 Aviator vehicles equipped with 28 radio speakers (minor feature code IDBBN) may exhibit a no audio/sound condition with no communication with the audio digital signal processing (DSP) module with U0238 stored in the audio control module (ACM). This may be due to the DSP. To determine if the DSP is the root cause, remove the DSP fuse from the battery junction box (BCMB fuse F40). Ins
- SSM 51778 Service bulletin2023-07-07 · Back Over Prevention — Software
- Some 2020-2021 Escape built on/before 23-Nov-2021, 2021 F-150 built on/before 08-Oct-2021, 2021 Mustang Mach-E built on/before 29-Mar-2021, 2021 Expedition built on/before 05-Aug-2021, 2021 Explorer built on/before 27-Sep-2021 and 2020-2022 Edge may exhibit a concern of the audio system does not power on, no sound from audio speakers, chimes default to coming through the instrument cluster, no com
- SSM 50739 Service bulletin2022-05-03 · Electrical System
- Some 2020-2021 Escape vehicles and 2021 F-150/Mustang Mach-E/Expedition/Explorer vehicles built on or before 22-Nov-2021 may exhibit a concern of the audio inoperative, no sound from audio speakers, chimes default to coming through the Instrument cluster, no communication with audio control module (ACM) or digital signal processor (DSP) module, and/or DTC U1084, U0237 and/or U0238. This may be due
What U0238 means
Source: SAE J2012 / OBD-IIU0238 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 U0238
Source: NHTSA files and the OBD-II standardCan I keep driving with U0238 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.