U01BALost Communication With Park Lock/Pawl Control Module
- Generic OBD-II code · Network
- Can trigger limp mode
- How the car detects it
- With park-by-wire, an electric actuator drives the parking pawl into a toothed wheel on the transmission output; no cable links it to the selector, so the park lock module alone decides when the pawl may drop in, normally only at standstill because at speed it would just ratchet over the teeth. U01BA is set when the transmission or vehicle controller loses contact with this module. No manufacturer documents the code publicly. Ford, for one, has no separate unit: its 2024 OBD description monitors park-by-wire through the gear shift module and the transmission range control module, whose implausible data set non-MIL codes, and the transmission controller reads the park position sensors itself (P07B3–P07BD). Ford's 2012 description shows the general rule for such network codes: a message that does not arrive counts as lost communication (U0140), one that arrives with values out of range as invalid data (U0422). U019E differs, as it concerns the module that selects the whole transmission range. Without confirmed pawl position the car may refuse to leave Park, or it tells the driver to set the electric parking brake, and a warning to secure the vehicle appears. U04BD reports invalid data from the same module.
- What you may notice
- Vehicle will not shift out of Park or Park not confirmed
- Warning to secure the vehicle with the parking brake
- Likely causes
- LikelyConnector or wiring fault at the park lock actuator on the transmission
- PossibleLow 12 V supply, e.g. weak battery
- RarePark lock control module faulty
- Repair
- Hard · Usually a job for a workshop.Typical cost: €50 – €1,500
- Related codes
Explanation from obdex (CC0), exactly as the app shows it. Guidance only; confirm with a workshop.