OBD-II trouble code
P0216: Injector/Injection Timing Control Circuit
SAE J2012 APR2002: injector/injection timing control circuit. It is a circuit row, not a measured timing error by itself. The printed pair is a fuel-filter replacement, and only where this pump's chart puts supply pressure ahead of the solenoid.
Quick facts
- System
- Powertrain
- Category
- Fuel & Air
- Severity
- High severity
- Drivable
- No — stop driving until repaired
- Repair cost range
- $260 – $320 (fuel filter replacement, parts and labor, RepairPal national average updated 3 September 2026; use it only where this chart puts supply pressure ahead of the timing solenoid. A pump and the solenoid are outside this pair)
- DIY difficulty
- Advanced DIY
Browse every code in P0200–P0299, or start from the full code library.
What does P0216 mean?
SAE J2012 APR2002 names P0216 Injector/Injection Timing Control Circuit. The word Malfunction is not in that row. Section 3.1's circuit categories are circuit/open, range/performance, circuit low, and circuit high. This row is the timing-control circuit. It does not, by the title, say the injection event is late or early. A calibration that compares commanded timing with actual timing and stores a different code is that calibration's chart.
Where the service information describes a distributor-type pump whose advance piston is moved by internal transfer pressure and a solenoid that bleeds that pressure, low supply pressure can keep the advance from following the command while every wire is intact. A restricted filter and air in the supply are on that test list because they are how transfer pressure falls on that pump. That mechanism is not SAE J2012, and a common-rail engine does not use a distributor-pump advance piston. Read the chart before a filter is called the fix, and before the pump is replaced because the title says circuit.
The electrical half, when the chart names a timing-control solenoid, is the same three-way split used on other driver circuits. Ignition off, unplug the solenoid, measure the winding against the published spec. Continuity of the control wire uses both ends disconnected. Short to ground and short to voltage are separate tests, module disconnected so the driver is not the short. Do not skip the short-to-voltage check because an unplugged pin sits at the chart's bias.
RepairPal's fuel filter replacement, updated 3 September 2026, averages $258–$322, labor $132–$194 and parts $126–$128. That is the printed pair, and only as the filter job. The same page says the cost varies by car. A pump rebuild is not in the pair. Depressurize, or follow the bleed procedure this engine prints, before a filter bowl or a supply line is opened. Aftermarket timing changes are this calibration's problem only when the chart shows the commanded timing was moved. Returning software to stock is not priced here.
Common causes
- A connector or a control wire on the timing solenoid this chart names
- A short to ground or a short to voltage, tested separately with the module disconnected
- A winding that fails the published resistance check, unplugged, ignition off
- Low supply pressure or a restricted filter, where this chart says the advance is moved by transfer pressure
- Air drawn into the supply on that same pump, after the lines and the bleed procedure are checked
- A common-rail pump replaced because a distributor-pump story was used on an engine that does not have one
- A timing comparison code from another row, treated as this circuit code
Symptoms
- P0216 stored
- Commanded timing and actual timing that disagree, only if this chart displays both and the test is the one that failed
- A hard start or smoke when the chart ties those complaints to timing that is not following the command
- A circuit that passes resistance and still fails, on a pump whose advance needs transfer pressure
- No filter fault at all, on a common-rail engine whose chart points at the solenoid circuit instead
Diagnostic steps
- 1.Read the chart. If this pump is common-rail, do not start with a distributor-pump advance piston. If the chart describes transfer-pressure advance, check supply before the pump housing is condemned.
- 2.Replace or inspect the filter using this engine's procedure when that chart puts supply pressure on the list. Record supply pressure against the published spec. Depressurize or bleed as that procedure says before a line is opened.
- 3.Look for air leaks at the supply fittings the chart names. A bleed that this procedure prints is part of that check.
- 4.Ignition off, unplug the timing solenoid the diagram shows. Measure the winding against the spec. No spec in the book means no invented ohm target.
- 5.Both ends disconnected, ignition off: continuity. Module disconnected: short to ground. Key on, solenoid unplugged, module disconnected: short to voltage, compared with the bias this chart prints.
- 6.Compare commanded and actual timing only with the parameters this chart provides, recorded rather than watched by the driver.
- 7.The pump is the conclusion after the filter, the supply pressure, the air check, and the circuit tests the chart lists. The printed dollars are the filter average, not the pump.
- 8.If the calibration was changed so that commanded timing sits outside the test, restore the calibration this chart expects before the hardware is replaced. That step is not in the filter price.
Repair cost
$260 – $320 (fuel filter replacement, parts and labor, RepairPal national average updated 3 September 2026; use it only where this chart puts supply pressure ahead of the timing solenoid. A pump and the solenoid are outside this pair)
RepairPal's fuel filter replacement, updated 3 September 2026, averages $258–$322 (labor $132–$194, parts $126–$128), rounded to $260–$320. That page says the cost varies by car. Other year lines on it are not this average and were not folded into the pair. A timing solenoid and an injection pump are not in the pair. Check-engine diagnosis is $125–$183 and is separate. Do not read $260–$320 as the circuit repair on a common-rail engine whose chart never sends you to the filter.
Estimate your repair
Run the numbers for your vehicle
Open the Repair Cost Estimator with fuel filter replacement preselected. Adjust labor rate and vehicle category to fit your situation.
DIY vs shop
This is an advanced DIY job. It typically requires specialty tools, scan-tool access, lifting equipment, or careful sequencing to avoid causing new failures. Plan for extended downtime and have a backup vehicle. Most owners are better served by a shop that has done this repair before.