Cause
Damaged wiring under the centre console
Wiring damaged where it runs beneath the centre console — the harness serving the selector, switches and often the transmission's own connections. It is a specific location rather than a component, and it earns an entry because the damage is invisible and the location is not obvious from any code.
Three things happen there. Drinks are spilled and run down into the loom; items stored in the console shift and abrade the wiring; and trim removed for another job traps or pinches a cable on refitting. A fault appearing after work on the console, an audio installation or a spillage is this until ruled out.
Liquid damage is the worst because it acts slowly. Sugary drinks leave a residue that corrodes conductors inside intact insulation, so the wire looks perfect and reads high resistance, and the fault appears weeks later and worsens. Open the console and inspect rather than testing from the ends — the evidence is usually visible as staining or green corrosion at a connector, and it explains a set of unrelated-looking faults at once.
Typically a moderate job.
Codes this can cause (3)
Codes where this is a likely explanation first, rather than merely a possible one.
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