OBD-II trouble code
P0287: Cylinder 9 Contribution/Balance
SAE J2012 APR2002: cylinder 9 contribution/balance. The GM diesel bulletins stop at P0284. The printed pair is diagnosis, because no chart read replaces a part for this code.
Quick facts
- System
- Powertrain
- Category
- Fuel Injectors
- Severity
- Medium severity
- Drivable
- Usually safe to drive short-term
- Repair cost range
- $125 – $183 (check-engine diagnosis and testing, labor, RepairPal national average updated 3 September 2026; an injector replacement is outside this pair because no procedure read orders one for P0287)
- DIY difficulty
- Shop recommended
Browse every code in P0200–P0299, or start from the full code library.
What does P0287 mean?
SAE J2012 APR2002 names P0287 Cylinder 9 Contribution/Balance. It is not P0285, cylinder 9 injector circuit low, and it is not P0286, circuit high. A contribution result can exist with the injector circuit intact, and a circuit fault is diagnosed on its own page.
The VAG-group list that prints quantity-deviation lines for cylinders 2 through 8 has no line between 16670 P0286 and 16672 P0288. The missing number is 16671, where a cylinder 9 quantity line would sit. The list therefore does not define P0287, and this page does not invent a 'deviation of fuel quantity' sentence for it.
GM bulletin 19-NA-232, NHTSA MC-10168238, lists contribution codes through P0284 and then changes subject. P0287 is not in that list. The relative-compression crank, the fuel-pump fuse, and the injector-or-compression causes belong to the codes the bulletin names. Bulletin 17-NA-194, NHTSA MC-10166641, also ends its contribution list at P0284. Its charge-air test is for that LWN list, not for a cylinder 9 code the bulletin omits. SB-10030789 monitors cylinders 1 through 4. LBT-149 records Duramax balance rates for cylinders 1–8. Cylinder 9 is outside every one of those windows. The 2010 M5 page 276F is an electrical short to ground for P0285. It is not a balance rate.
No service manual that was read gives a cylinder 9 contribution limit, a cancellation test, or a command to replace the injector. The repair is the published test for the vehicle in the bay. A spark plug, a 'last injector on the rail,' and a millimetre window are not added.
Common causes
- A cylinder 9 contribution or balance fault, which is the SAE name, with no part named by 19-NA-232, 17-NA-194, SB-10030789, or LBT-149
Symptoms
- P0287 stored
- No balance window and no rpm limit are stated, because none was printed for this code in the documents read
- P0285 or P0286 stored, which moves the job onto the circuit page
Diagnostic steps
- 1.If P0285 or P0286 is stored, diagnose that circuit code. This page does not repeat those tests.
- 2.Do not run the L5P relative-compression procedure, the LWN charge-air test, or the Duramax balance windows as if they named P0287. They stop at cylinder 8 or earlier.
- 3.Do not fill in VAG code 16671. That line is absent from the list that was read.
- 4.Use the contribution or balance test in the service information for this engine, including whatever limit it prints. No limit from another engine is substituted here.
- 5.A parts replacement waits on that test. The printed dollar pair is diagnosis. An injector price exists and is not this pair, because no document read orders the injector for P0287.
Repair cost
$125 – $183 (check-engine diagnosis and testing, labor, RepairPal national average updated 3 September 2026; an injector replacement is outside this pair because no procedure read orders one for P0287)
The printed pair is RepairPal's check-engine-light diagnosis, updated 3 September 2026, $125–$183, which that page prices entirely as labor. It is labeled diagnosis because a search for a cylinder 9 contribution repair did not find a procedure that replaces a part. RepairPal's injector job at $768–$953 and the fuel-filter job at $258–$322 were both found and are not printed as this repair. The 2026 Ranger and 2026 Civic diagnosis lines are $122–$179 and sit outside the national diagnosis pair. 19-NA-232, 17-NA-194, SB-10030789, and LBT-149 were the documents searched, and none names P0287.
Estimate your repair
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DIY vs shop
Leave this one to a qualified shop. The barrier here is high-pressure fuel components, where residual pressure remains after shutdown and escaping fuel can penetrate skin. DIY attempts often produce a more expensive problem than the original code.