P0961: Pressure Control Solenoid A Control Circuit Range/Performance
What to do
Note whether the problem appears only after the car has been driven for a while. A fault that arrives with heat and is gone the next morning usually points at the solenoid winding rather than the wiring to it.
What this code means
The control circuit is functioning but the current the module measures does not match what it commanded. Because these are current-controlled solenoids, the module compares demand against actual continuously — which makes this one of the few faults that can catch a winding partly failed rather than only one that has failed completely.
A winding whose insulation has begun to break down draws more current than it should for the same command, and does so more as it heats. That produces a fault which appears after a period of driving and clears overnight, which is worth reporting because it points at the solenoid rather than the harness.
Likely causes
Start here
- Faulty pressure control solenoid · moderate
- High resistance in solenoid wiring · moderate
- Corroded transmission connector · moderate
Less common
- 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
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.
Sign in or create an account to add what you found about P0961.