P2230: Barometric Pressure Sensor A Circuit Intermittent/Erratic
What to do
Symptoms come and go — occasional hesitation, economy that varies for no clear reason. Ask for the connector to be checked and, if a sampling hose is fitted, for it to be inspected for moisture or oil, before the sensor is replaced. An intermittently blocked hose reads exactly like an erratic sensor.
What this code means
The barometric reading jumps or drops out rather than changing smoothly. Atmospheric pressure changes slowly — weather over hours, altitude over minutes of driving — so any step the module sees is electrical rather than meteorological, which is what makes this detectable at all.
Connections account for most of these. Where the value comes from the manifold pressure sensor, its connector sits in the engine bay amid heat and vibration; where a separate sensor is fitted, it is often mounted on or near the module, and a poorly seated plug there produces the same result.
One cause is specific to this measurement and easily missed: a hose that is intermittently blocked rather than permanently so. Moisture in a sampling line, or a small amount of oil, moves as the vehicle does and can obstruct the port on some journeys and not others — which reads as an erratic sensor and is not one.
Likely causes
Start here
- Corroded or loose connector · easy
- Intermittent wiring fault · moderate
- Blocked or leaking vacuum hose to the sensor · easy
Less common
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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