P0740: Torque Converter Clutch Circuit/Open
What to do
The car will drive normally. You may notice slightly higher revs at a steady cruise and worse economy on long runs. Worth repairing rather than ignoring — the heat that lock-up was preventing is what degrades transmission fluid, so leaving it has a cost beyond the fuel.
What this code means
A fault in the circuit controlling the torque converter's lock-up clutch. A torque converter couples the engine to the transmission through fluid, which is what lets an automatic sit in gear at a standstill — but fluid coupling always slips a little, and that slip is wasted energy and wasted heat. The lock-up clutch mechanically bolts the two halves together once the vehicle is cruising, eliminating it.
So the cost of losing lock-up is continuous rather than dramatic: several percent of fuel economy, engine speed a few hundred revolutions higher at motorway cruise, and fluid running hotter than it should because the slip it was there to remove is back. Nothing feels broken, which is precisely why this fault often goes unrepaired for years while quietly costing money and shortening the transmission's life.
Likely causes
Start here
- Faulty torque converter clutch solenoid · moderate
- Low or degraded transmission fluid · easy
- Damaged transmission wiring harness · moderate
Less common
- Worn valve body · specialist
Rare
- Faulty transmission 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
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