OBD-II trouble code
P0706: Transmission Range Sensor "A" Circuit Range/Performance
SAE J2012 range/performance: the range signal is in a readable span, and this calibration has decided it does not match the condition it is checking. That condition is a frequency window on some Ford units, a crank-time Park/Neutral check on one Allison file, and an open circuit on a 2012 Honda Insight. Read the chart for this transmission before adjusting anything.
Quick facts
- System
- Powertrain
- Category
- Transmission / Shift Control
- Severity
- Medium severity
- Drivable
- Usually safe to drive short-term
- Repair cost range
- $250 – $900 (transmission position sensor replacement)
- DIY difficulty
- Intermediate DIY
Browse every code in P0700–P0799, or start from the full code library.
What does P0706 mean?
Range/performance, in SAE J2012, means the signal sits in a normal span and is still wrong for the conditions the monitor uses. It does not, by itself, say the wire is open, shorted, or telling a road-speed lie.
The monitors that store this number do not agree with each other. In the 2024–2025 Ford PCED, procedure material dated 16 July 2024, the table headed 6R80, 6R140, 10R60, and 10R80 calls P0706 a frequency out of the stated 125 Hz ± 25 Hz window. A different sentence in that same book uses a wider band. Use the table that names the transmission, and do not blend the two. The 2013–2020 Fusion 1.5L EcoBoost 6F35 chart says the duty cycle is off the expected value by 50 Hz or more, and Pinpoint Test J in that section also describes an input that did not change. The 2009 GM Allison certification file for the 6.6L LMM with MW7 or MN8, in the Silverado HD, Sierra HD, Express, and Savana applications in that file, checks at crank that the switch shows a valid Park or Neutral start. It is not a ratio test at road speed. The 2012 Honda Insight CVT manual titles P0706 as an open in the transmission range switch circuit and says the code is an electrical circuit problem.
Where the sensor sits changes the repair. On the 2007 F-150 and Lincoln Mark LT with the 4R70E or 4R75E, section 307 adjusts an external digital range sensor in Neutral with tool 307-351 (T97L-70010-A), cable disconnected and the manual lever removed. Hyundai/Kia TSB 23-AT-008H-1 (September 2023) aligns an external position sensor in Neutral on the 8-speed vehicles that bulletin lists, with its own alignment tool and a 10–12 N·m bolt torque. The Fusion 6F35 pinpoint starts at the selector cable, then the circuits, and the sensor supply check in that test is made after the main control cover is off. Chrysler 45RFE and 545RFE service the transmission range sensor with the solenoid assembly under the pan. Ask which arrangement this transmission uses before planning an alignment or a pan-off job.
Common causes
- Water, corrosion, or an unlatched terminal in the range-sensor connector
- Shift cable or linkage that does not hold the manual shaft in the detent the procedure checks
- External range sensor indexed off the shaft, only on transmissions whose procedure adjusts one — the 2007 F-150 and Mark LT 4R70E/4R75E digital sensor, and the Hyundai/Kia 8-speed position sensor in TSB 23-AT-008H-1
- Internal range sensor or solenoid/range-sensor assembly, where the chart puts the switch under the pan, as on the Chrysler 45RFE/545RFE
- A circuit fault that this calibration stores as P0706, including the open described in the 2012 Honda Insight range-switch procedure
- Metal debris on an internal switch, listed among the causes in the Chrysler 45RFE/545RFE P0706 rationality test
Symptoms
- Check engine light, sometimes with a transmission failsafe gear
- No crank in Park or Neutral, or a crank when the lever is not in Park or Neutral
- Gear indicator blank, wrong, or sitting between positions
- Reverse lamps on in the wrong range, or off in Reverse
- Delayed engagement after a selector movement
- The range PID and the lever detent do not change together
Diagnostic steps
- 1.Record every stored code, including any gear-ratio code. Ratio monitors are separate tests. Hyundai/Kia TSB 19-AT-024H (November 2019) keeps the range/performance name for P0706 on the 6-speed vehicles it lists, and it assigns P0707 and P0708 differently. Read the definition for this VIN before choosing a test.
- 2.Set the parking brake and chock the wheels, with clear space ahead and behind, before anyone moves the lever. Park/Neutral start logic may already be wrong. Have a passenger read the range PID, or record it, while the lever is moved slowly through the detents. A PID that lags a click is a different fault from a PID that never changes or shows two ranges at once.
- 3.Unplug the connector with the ignition off and inspect both halves for water, corrosion, a swollen seal, and terminals that are spread or not latched. Reseat it and compare the PID again before buying a sensor.
- 4.Identify the hardware. An external shaft-mounted sensor, a leadframe under a side cover, and a switch on the valve body are different jobs. Do not plan an alignment until the procedure for this transmission has one.
- 5.On the 2007 F-150 and Mark LT 4R70E/4R75E only, section 307 adjusts the digital range sensor in Neutral with tool 307-351. Disconnecting the shift cable can let the manual shaft leave Park and release the parking pawl, so the chocks and the parking brake have to be set first, engine off. Do not copy that tool, or its bolt torque, onto a 6F35, a 45RFE, or an Allison.
- 6.On the 2013–2020 Fusion 6F35, Pinpoint Test J checks selector-cable adjustment, then the three range circuits for an open, a short to ground, and shorts between circuits, using the ohm limits printed in that pinpoint. Those limits stay in that book. The sensor supply check in that test is made after the main control cover is off.
- 7.On a Chrysler 45RFE/545RFE, run the scan-tool Shift Lever Position test before condemning the internal assembly. If it fails with no error code, the chart sends you to the shifter adjustment. If it fails with an error code, the solenoid/range-sensor assembly is tested with the tool that chart names, and the ignition-feed fuse is pulled so the engine cannot be cranked in gear. The assembly comes out with the pan and the valve body.
- 8.After the repair, compare the PID with each detent and confirm the engine cranks only in the ranges that chart allows. Do not road-test a vehicle that can crank in gear.
Repair cost
$250 – $900 (transmission position sensor replacement)
This pair is transmission position sensor replacement, parts and labor. RepairPal's national average, estimates updated 3 September 2026, is $394–$511 (labor $219–$322, parts $175–$189), taxes and fees excluded. YourMechanic examples retrieved 25 October 2026 are a 2013 Ford Fusion at $269, a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee at $306, a 2014 Ford F-350 at $501, and a 2012 Audi S5 at $852. The printed pair is a round envelope around those figures. YourMechanic describes the switch as on the side of the transmission, so the figures are not a pan-off price. A cable adjustment and a connector repair are not in the pair. An internal valve-body sensor was not priced by these estimators.
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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.