Cause
Faulty torque converter clutch solenoid
The solenoid that applies and modulates the lock-up clutch inside the torque converter.
A torque converter drives through fluid, which always slips slightly — that is what makes an automatic smooth from rest and a permanent efficiency loss once moving. Above a certain speed the converter is locked mechanically to remove it, and this solenoid is what applies that lock: not as a switch, but as a ramp, and often holding a deliberate controlled slip of a few tens of rpm to absorb engine pulses.
The symptom people actually notice is a shudder, at light throttle, most often between about 60 and 80 km/h, described as driving over rumble strips. It is regularly misdiagnosed as tyres, wheel balance or a driveline vibration. The distinguishing test is free: it appears only under gentle acceleration at steady speed and vanishes the instant the throttle is lifted or pressed harder.
And the commonest cause of that shudder is not the solenoid. Controlled slip depends on the fluid's friction modifiers, which degrade with heat and age — so a fluid service is the cheap first move, and it resolves a good proportion of these before anything is replaced.
Stuck applied is the serious version: a lock-up clutch that cannot release stalls the engine when the car comes to a stop, exactly as braking in gear without the clutch would.
Typically specialist work. Needs equipment or training most home workshops do not have.
Some of these codes mean you should stop driving
2 of the 17 codes this can cause indicate a fault where continuing to drive risks damage or is unsafe. Which one you have matters more than the cause does — read the code's own page before deciding.
Codes this can cause (17)
Codes where this is a likely explanation first, rather than merely a possible one.
- P0740 Torque Converter Clutch Circuit/Open Likely for this code Moderate
- P0741 Torque Converter Clutch Circuit Performance/Stuck Off Likely for this code Moderate
- P0742 Torque Converter Clutch Circuit Stuck On Likely for this code High
- P0743 Torque Converter Clutch Circuit Electrical Likely for this code Moderate
- P0744 Torque Converter Clutch Circuit Intermittent Likely for this code Moderate
- P2756 Torque Converter Clutch Pressure Control Solenoid Likely for this code Moderate
- P2757 Torque Converter Clutch Pressure Control Solenoid Control Circuit Performance/Stuck Off Likely for this code Moderate
- P2758 Torque Converter Clutch Pressure Control Solenoid Control Circuit Stuck On Likely for this code Stop driving High
- P2759 Torque Converter Clutch Pressure Control Solenoid Control Circuit Electrical Likely for this code Moderate
- P2760 Torque Converter Clutch Pressure Control Solenoid Control Circuit Intermittent Likely for this code Moderate
- P2761 Torque Converter Clutch Pressure Control Solenoid Control Circuit/Open Likely for this code Moderate
- P2762 Torque Converter Clutch Pressure Control Solenoid Control Circuit Range/Performance Likely for this code Moderate
- P2763 Torque Converter Clutch Pressure Control Solenoid Control Circuit High Likely for this code Moderate
- P2764 Torque Converter Clutch Pressure Control Solenoid Control Circuit Low Likely for this code Moderate
- P2769 Torque Converter Clutch Circuit Low Likely for this code Moderate
- P2770 Torque Converter Clutch Circuit High Likely for this code Moderate
- P2783 Torque Converter Temperature Too High Stop driving High
Information, not instruction
CarGeek is a reference, not a service manual. Its pages are written from public sources and from what other people have found, never from a manufacturer's own service information, so they can be wrong or incomplete for your particular vehicle. Some of what they describe carries real risk: high voltage, fuel under pressure, stored energy, hot and moving parts.
Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
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