OBD-II trouble code
P0245: Turbocharger/Supercharger Wastegate Solenoid "A" Low
SAE J2012 APR2002: wastegate solenoid A low. Circuit low is measured with the solenoid connected. The printed pair is the solenoid, and a wiring repair is outside it.
Quick facts
- System
- Powertrain
- Category
- Fuel & Air
- Severity
- Medium severity
- Drivable
- Usually safe to drive short-term
- Repair cost range
- $206 – $241 (turbocharger boost-pressure solenoid replacement, parts and labor, after the circuit tests isolate the solenoid; wiring and a fuse are outside this pair)
- DIY difficulty
- Intermediate DIY
Browse every code in P0200–P0299, or start from the full code library.
What does P0245 mean?
SAE J2012 APR2002 names P0245 Turbo/Super Charger Wastegate Solenoid "A" Low. The format section says circuit low is measured with the external circuit, component, or system connected. Section 3.3 is a characteristic at the module pin below the normal range. P0246 is the high row. P0244 is range/performance, which can be stored when the electrical reading is still inside range.
GM publication 11OBDGS2 (2011) has a readable P0246 row: control circuit high, device driver, engine running, continuous, two driving cycles. The P0245 cell in the same extract is merged with the turbo bypass-valve rationality row (P0033), including a 1.90 mg/sec MAF figure and a 1.1 kPa boost figure. Those bypass numbers are not repeated here as wastegate limits, because the columns could not be split with confidence. A driver-detected circuit low, engine running, is the pattern the neighboring high row uses. It is not a license to unplug the solenoid and call a floating pin 'low'.
Ford's 2020 tech tip says the pneumatic solenoid it describes is free-flowing when off, applying outlet pressure and limiting boost to about 34 kPa (5.0 psi), and passes no pressure when energized. That is the pneumatic plumbing state. It does not say a circuit-low code means the flapper is stuck shut, and it does not say which side of the coil the driver switches. Ohm the coil only if the chart asks, connector off, ignition off, so the driver is not in the reading. A short to ground on a ground-side driver and a short to ground on a power-side driver are different wires. The diagram decides. Do not jumper 12 V onto the control pin to 'see if it clicks' unless the chart says to; that can damage a driver.
PIP5495B replaces a broken solenoid port as a part, in a paragraph conditioned on P0299, on the listed 1.4L cars. A circuit-low code by itself is not that paragraph.
Common causes
- A short to ground in the wastegate solenoid A control wire
- An open in that control wire
- A failed wastegate solenoid A
- A connector or terminal in the solenoid A circuit
Symptoms
- P0245 stored
- The fault present with the solenoid connected, which is how circuit low is defined
- P0246 absent, so the high row is not the one that stored
- P0299 also stored on a listed 1.4L, which adds the PIP5495B port inspection
- No click test that required a hand-applied battery feed
Diagnostic steps
- 1.Keep the solenoid connected for the measurement the code is defined on. Unplugging is a later isolation step, and a floating control wire is not automatically a short.
- 2.Find out from the diagram whether the driver switches ground or switches power. A short-to-ground check on the wrong wire condemns a normal pull-up or a normal ground.
- 3.Both ends of a continuity or short check are disconnected: solenoid off and module off, ignition off. Do that for a short to ground and, separately, for a short to power. One reading is not the other.
- 4.Coil resistance, if specified, is at the solenoid pins with the connector off and the ignition off.
- 5.Do not quote 1.90 mg/sec or 1.1 kPa as this code's limit. Those figures sat in a merged bypass-valve cell.
- 6.The dollar pair is the solenoid after the circuit tests isolate it. A broken wire or a blown fuse is outside the pair. PIP5495B's port replacement still requires P0299 and that model list.
- 7.Verify with the solenoid connected and the engine running in the state the monitor uses, with belts and fans out of reach.
Repair cost
$206 – $241 (turbocharger boost-pressure solenoid replacement, parts and labor, after the circuit tests isolate the solenoid; wiring and a fuse are outside this pair)
RepairPal's turbocharger boost pressure solenoid replacement, updated 3 September 2026, is $206–$241 (labor $75–$111, parts around $130). The printed pair is that average for the solenoid itself. A shorted wire, a fuse, and a connector repair are outside the pair. Diagnosis is $125–$183 labor and is separate. No separate fuse or pigtail total was found on that estimator.
Estimate your repair
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DIY vs shop
This is an intermediate DIY job. It usually involves diagnostic steps, specialty parts, and some careful work in tight spaces. If you have the tools and a service manual or trustworthy video for your specific vehicle, it is achievable in a weekend. Otherwise, a competent independent shop will be faster.