P0297: Vehicle Overspeed Condition
What to do
If the speed was real, no repair is needed — clear the code and observe the limit. If the vehicle has never been driven that fast, the speed signal itself is suspect, and an incorrect wheel or tyre size can also produce a false reading.
What this code means
Road speed has exceeded a limit the module enforces. Unlike engine overspeed, this is usually a policy limit rather than a mechanical one — a manufacturer speed limiter, a tyre-rated maximum, or a fleet restriction. It is one of the few codes that records driver behaviour rather than a fault, so the sensible first question is whether the vehicle was genuinely driven that fast.
Likely causes
Start here
Less common
- Mismatched or incorrectly sized tyres · moderate
- Faulty vehicle speed sensor · moderate
- Aftermarket engine tuning beyond design limits · specialist
Rare
- Failed control module · specialist
Symptoms
Components involved
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.
Community experience
Be the first to write this up
Nothing posted about this yet. Whatever you found is worth writing down — even a dead end saves someone the same afternoon.
What makes one worth reading:
- The car — make, model, year and engine. The same fault behaves differently on each.
- What you measured, not only what you replaced.
- What actually fixed it — or that nothing did, which is worth knowing too.
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