OBD-II trouble code
P0744: Torque Converter Clutch Circuit Intermittent
SAE J2012: torque converter clutch circuit intermittent. The fault is present for some tests and absent for others. A 2015 F-150 example uses the name for an intermittent converter-solenoid circuit. The chart does not rank the connector, the solenoid, the converter, or the module.
Quick facts
- System
- Powertrain
- Category
- Transmission / Torque Converter
- Severity
- Medium severity
- Drivable
- Usually safe to drive short-term
- Repair cost range
- $300 – $900 (simple solenoid replacement)
- DIY difficulty
- Shop recommended
Browse every code in P0700–P0799, or start from the full code library.
What does P0744 mean?
Intermittent means the monitor has seen the fault come and go. Lockup may drop out on a bump, after a heat soak, or for one key cycle and then work again. The driving complaint can look like a slip code on the trip where it happens and like a normal converter on the trip where it does not. Freeze-frame data is the record of which trip it was.
CarParts' P0744 article lists a failing converter, a solenoid, the wiring, and the module, and it says the definition differs by manufacturer. Its 2015 F-150 example names the code 'Torque Converter Solenoid Circuit Intermittent.' It does not put those parts in order of likelihood. Ford's 6F35 pinpoint includes P0744 with the other converter-clutch solenoid codes and includes a wiggle test while the tool commands the solenoid, key on. That is a step in that pinpoint. It does not establish that a loose pin is the cause on every other transmission.
Do not assign a road-speed band to the shudder. A shudder has more than one published description, and none of them is a specification for this code. Capture engine speed, vehicle speed, converter command, and slip in the freeze frame instead.
Common causes
- A connector or harness that loses contact when it is moved or when it is hot
- A solenoid winding that reads in range until the case is tapped or the connector is flexed
- An intermittent short or open in the control wire between the module and the transmission
- The converter clutch, when the electrical tests stay in range and slip still drops out on a recorded drive
- A module driver that drops the command, after the wire and the coil have been checked while the fault is present
- Fluid condition, recorded during the pan inspection if the procedure reaches the pan, not used as the name of the fault
Symptoms
- Check engine light that comes and goes with the code
- Lockup that drops out and then returns on the same drive
- A shudder or a flare on some trips and a normal cruise on others
- Freeze frame captured at a different speed and temperature each time the code sets
- The circuit reading changes when the harness is moved
- Gears that still change when lockup is the only thing dropping out
Diagnostic steps
- 1.Save the freeze frame before clearing anything. Note engine speed, vehicle speed, converter command, slip, and temperature. That record is what you are trying to reproduce.
- 2.Record a drive, or have a passenger watch the command and the slip. The fault has to be present to be measured. Do not read the tool from the driver's seat.
- 3.Ignition off for the resistance check. Measure the coil at the transmission connector against this transmission's specification. Then, with the procedure's wiggle step, key on and the solenoid commanded the way that pinpoint says, move the connector and the harness and watch for the reading or the command to drop. The Ford 6F35 wiggle step belongs to that pinpoint.
- 4.Warm the connector and the harness the way the complaint happens, and repeat the measurement. A value that changes when the harness moves is a wiring fault even if a static reading matched the spec a minute earlier.
- 5.If the electrical readings stay in range while a recorded drive still shows slip collapsing, move to the converter and valve-body checks in this chart. Do not replace the converter because the code says intermittent.
- 6.If the pan has to come off, use a lift or stands and wait until the fluid has cooled. Fresh fluid is part of closing the pan. It is not, by itself, the repair for a circuit that drops out.
- 7.Verify with another recorded drive in the same temperature and speed as the original freeze frame. A code that is merely absent in the bay is not a confirmation.
Repair cost
$300 – $900 (simple solenoid replacement)
The pair is AutoZone's simple solenoid replacement, $300–$900 parts and labor, from 'Bad Torque Converter vs Bad Transmission.' Diagnosis of an intermittent circuit is extra time and was not given a national repair price. YourMechanic prices a mobile check-engine diagnosis near $155–$165 depending on the make. That visit is not this pair. A converter, priced by AutoZone at $600–$1,200 and by CarParts at $600–$1,000, is outside the pair, as are a rebuild at $1,800–$3,500 and a replacement at $4,000–$8,000. A connector repair has no published national total here.
Estimate your repair
Run the numbers for your vehicle
Open the Repair Cost Estimator with transmission shift solenoid replacement preselected. Adjust labor rate and vehicle category to fit your situation.
DIY vs shop
Leave this one to a qualified shop. The barrier here is internal hydraulic and mechanical work, fluid handling at temperature, and an adaptive relearn afterwards without which a correct repair still shifts badly. DIY attempts often produce a more expensive problem than the original code.