A gearbox pressure control solenoid has an electrical fault. On a modern automatic the box will usually default to a safe fixed gear.
P2716 — also written P2716, P 2716, 2716 — is the OBD-II code for pressure control solenoid 'd' electrical. Same code, same fix: this page covers every spelling of it.
P2716 is a transmission fault code, typically costing £250–£2200 to put right in a UK garage.
What causes P2716?
- Failed solenoid coil
- Wiring fault inside the gearbox harness
- Mechatronic unit failure
- Fluid contamination
How P2716 is fixed
- Read the transmission module directly
- Test the solenoid resistance through the gearbox plug
- Replace the solenoid or mechatronic unit
- Fluid and filter service
P2716 repair cost in the UK
Most P2716 repairs land between £250–£2200 including parts and labour. The spread is wide because the cheap fix (a sensor, a hose, a leak) and the expensive fix (a major component) throw the same code — which is why a proper diagnosis before parts are bought saves the most money.
Can you drive with P2716?
Limp mode with a fixed gear. Drive gently to a garage rather than continuing normally.
Urgency: high.
What P2716 is telling you
Transmission codes come from the gearbox control unit comparing commanded gear, clutch or solenoid state against the speeds its sensors report. A mismatch triggers a protection strategy, which is what the driver feels as limp mode or a locked gear.
On P2716 specifically — pressure control solenoid 'd' electrical — the stored code records the moment that check failed, not the moment the part gave up. That gap is why two cars with the same code can need completely different repairs.
How P2716 is diagnosed properly
Each of the known causes is ruled in or out in cost order, cheapest and most likely first. On P2716 that means working through them like this:
- Failed solenoid coil — commanded on and off with the diagnostic tool while its current draw and movement are watched, which separates a stuck part from a dead circuit.
- Wiring fault inside the gearbox harness — checked with the loom flexed and the engine warm, because a wiring fault that is intermittent when cold shows itself under heat and vibration.
- Mechatronic unit failure — confirmed with live data before any part is bought.
- Fluid contamination — checked for level and condition first, as the cheapest possible cause and a common one.
An hour of diagnostic time on P2716 routinely saves more than it costs, because the alternative is buying the most expensive part on that list and hoping.
The repairs that actually clear P2716
- Read the transmission module directly
- Test the solenoid resistance through the gearbox plug
- Replace the solenoid or mechatronic unit
- Fluid and filter service
After the repair the code is cleared and the car is driven until the relevant readiness monitor completes, rather than handed back as soon as the light goes out. A code that has only been erased will come straight back on the next drive cycle.
What happens if P2716 is ignored
This is a stop-and-sort fault rather than a wait-for-the-service fault. Ignoring it risks turning a sensor-money repair into a component-money one.
For reference, P2716 typically lands at £250–£2200 all-in at an independent garage in the UK — main-dealer quotes for the same job usually sit above that.
Getting P2716 looked at
Bob's Mechanical Repairs is an independent garage in Birnam, Dunkeld, Perthshire, with 32 years of Bob's experience on the tools. If P2716 is showing on your car, bring the scan results with you — we will read the live data ourselves, tell you which of the causes above it actually is, and price the repair before any work starts.