OBD-II trouble code
P0760: Shift Solenoid "C"
SAE J2012: shift solenoid C. Which gears depend on it is this transmission's solenoid logic, not a rule that C always controls the top of the range. Once the pan is off, compare the price of the failed solenoid with the price of the set, using the parts catalog. The labor is the pan, not a claim that the part is always the small number.
Quick facts
- System
- Powertrain
- Category
- Transmission / Shift Control
- Severity
- High severity
- Drivable
- Usually safe to drive short-term
- Repair cost range
- $300 – $900 (shift solenoid replacement)
- DIY difficulty
- Advanced DIY
Browse every code in P0700–P0799, or start from the full code library.
What does P0760 mean?
Shift solenoids are electro-hydraulic valves the transmission module switches to direct fluid pressure to the clutches and bands that make up each gear, and they work in combination rather than one per gear. Two solenoids give four combinations, three give eight, and that is why a third — solenoid C — appears once a transmission has more ratios than A and B can address between them. SAE J2012 APR2002 Table B8 names P0760 Shift Solenoid "C". The same table splits the fault types rather than folding them into P0760: P0761 is Performance or Stuck Off, P0762 is Stuck On, P0763 is Electrical, and P0764 is Intermittent. APR2002 section 3.1 notes that the word malfunction has, in most cases, been deleted from the DTC description. J2012 DEC2007 prints the same four names, with a slash in Performance/Stuck Off.
Which gears use solenoid C is this transmission's application chart. Where that chart assigns C to the upper ratios, the complaint is a car that will not go into overdrive or top gear, sits at high engine speed on the motorway, and shifts harshly through those ratios while the lower gears feel normal. Where the chart assigns C to a lower-ratio element, the missing or harsh gear is the one the chart names.
There is a second code family that can tell you more than P0760 does on its own, and it is worth pulling before anything is taken apart. Transmissions with three or more shift solenoids also monitor gear ratio directly, by comparing input shaft speed against output shaft speed, and they set incorrect-ratio codes when the ratio achieved does not match the ratio commanded. If P0760 has arrived with a gear ratio code for a gear the application chart assigns to solenoid C, the module commanded that gear and did not get it, which means the command went out and the hydraulics failed to deliver — a valve stuck, a sticking spool, a solenoid that is electrically fine and mechanically lazy. If P0760 is on its own with no ratio complaint, the module never got as far as trying, and the electrical side is what to test. That distinction is free and it changes what you test first.
Now the part that decides what this repair costs. Where the three solenoids sit together on or near the valve body, behind the same pan, getting to any one of them means draining the fluid, dropping the pan, replacing the filter and refilling with the specified fluid. That labour is the same whether one solenoid or the set is changed. Ask for the solenoid price separately from the pan labor. Do not assume A and B have the same duty cycle as C; the command data shows which ones are being cycled.
One more consideration argues for not living with this code. Where the missing gear is the cruising gear, running without it on a motorway keeps engine speed high and keeps the transmission working harder and hotter than it was designed to at that road speed. Transmission fluid degrades at elevated temperature, and degraded fluid is itself a cause of sticking valves — so a solenoid fault left alone can create the conditions for the next one. A few gentle journeys to get it looked at are fine; months of motorway driving in the wrong gear are how a solenoid job becomes a valve body job.
Common causes
- Low fluid level or a clogged filter starving the circuit of pressure — the check that does not require opening the case, and the one this page's first step looks for
- Varnish and debris from degraded fluid holding a valve partially open or closed
- Corroded external case connector, including after fluid or water intrusion
- Failed solenoid C coil, open or shorted
- Sticking valve or spool in the valve body preventing C from delivering its pressure result
- Degraded internal transmission harness where it passes hot components inside the case
- Worn solenoid that still passes an electrical test but no longer regulates properly
- Chafed control wiring between the module and the case connector
Symptoms
- Check engine light with P0760 stored
- The gears this transmission's chart assigns to solenoid C are missing or harsh
- Engine speed noticeably higher than normal at motorway cruise, where this transmission's chart assigns solenoid C to the upper ratios
- Harsh, flared or missing shifts in the gears the chart assigns to solenoid C
- Incorrect gear ratio codes for the gears the chart assigns to solenoid C
- Fallback to a protective gear that limits speed
- Fuel economy down where the missing gear is the one used for cruise
- Transmission fluid temperature running higher than usual on long runs
Diagnostic steps
- 1.Check fluid level and condition before anything else. Burnt smell or dark colour changes the whole plan, and low level alone can produce this.
- 2.Pull every stored code, specifically looking for incorrect gear ratio codes on the gears the application chart assigns to solenoid C.
- 3.Read those together: P0760 with a ratio code for one of those gears means the shift was commanded and not achieved, pointing at hydraulics. P0760 alone points at the electrical side.
- 4.Watch live data through a road test and identify exactly which upshifts are missing or harsh, and confirm they match the combinations that use solenoid C. Have a passenger read the tool or record the session for review afterwards — this fault can drop the car into a protective gear that limits speed with no warning.
- 5.Measure solenoid C coil resistance against specification and compare it against solenoids A and B on the same unit.
- 6.Inspect the external case connector for corrosion and fluid weeping before the pan comes down.
- 7.If the electrical side is sound, plan for fluid and filter service and valve body inspection rather than assuming the solenoid. That work starts with the pan coming down, so let the transmission cool first and support the vehicle on stands or a lift: fluid straight off a run is hot enough to scald and it lands on whoever is underneath.
- 8.Before the pan goes back on, price replacing all three shift solenoids against replacing only C, since the labour is already spent.
- 9.Verify operation on a road test through the full range rather than clearing the code and handing the car back.
Repair cost
$300 – $900 (shift solenoid replacement)
This pair is shift solenoid C replacement. AutoZone's published band for a simple solenoid replacement is $300–$900, parts and labor. RepairPal's transmission fluid change average, updated 3 September 2026, is $294–$356, with vehicle examples from about $162 to about $463. Dropping the pan includes that fluid service. AutoZone's published band for a transmission rebuild is $1,800–$3,500, and for a full replacement $4,000–$8,000. A rebuild or a replacement is not in this pair.
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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.