P0853: Drive Switch Input Circuit
What to do
If the engine dips or stalls at the moment you select drive, and is fine at all other times, that pattern points here rather than at a general engine problem. Keeping the air conditioning off while selecting drive may avoid it in the meantime.
What this code means
The signal telling the engine module that a drive gear has been selected is missing or implausible. Its main use is anticipation: selecting drive on an automatic loads the engine through the torque converter, and without compensation idle speed sags noticeably at the moment of engagement. The engine module raises idle slightly in advance precisely because it has been told drive is coming.
Lose that signal and the compensation stops. Idle drops when drive is selected, and on an engine already idling marginally — a little carbon, a slightly weak battery, air conditioning running — that drop is enough to stall it. A car that stalls only when you put it in gear, and is otherwise faultless, is describing this.
Likely causes
Start here
- Faulty transmission range sensor · moderate
- Corroded or loose connector · easy
Less common
- Open circuit in switch wiring · moderate
- Faulty park neutral switch · moderate
Symptoms
Components involved
Information, not instruction
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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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