OBD-II trouble code
P2013: Intake Manifold Runner Control Circuit High (Bank 2)
The Bank 2 runner control circuit is reading high. The single most valuable thing about this code is that the identical circuit on Bank 1 is still working, which gives you a known-good reference for every measurement you are about to take.
Quick facts
- System
- Powertrain
- Category
- Air Intake / Manifold Control
- Severity
- Medium severity
- Drivable
- Usually safe to drive short-term
- Repair cost range
- $100 – $800
- DIY difficulty
- Intermediate DIY
Browse every code in P2000–P20EE, or start from the full code library.
What does P2013 mean?
Most electrical diagnosis is a comparison against a specification you have to go and find. This code is the rare case where the specification is sitting under the same hood.
Bank 1 and Bank 2 runner control are the same circuit built twice: same module, same design of driver, same type of actuator, same age, same heat, same battery. When P2013 is stored and Bank 1 is healthy, every measurement you take on the good side becomes the correct answer for the bad side. What voltage should this wire show with the output off? Measure Bank 1. What should it fall to when commanded on? Measure Bank 1. What resistance should the winding read? Measure Bank 1. How much voltage drop is acceptable across the ground path? Measure Bank 1. No service data, no guessing at whether four-tenths of a volt is significant, and no risk of the specification being for a different model year.
Use it, because circuit high is the fault where an absolute reading is least informative on its own. These outputs switch the ground side, so a wire that stays up near battery voltage when it should be pulled down can mean a short to a power source, or a return path that has gone high-resistance, or a driver that has failed off, or a winding that has gone open. The comparison collapses most of that ambiguity in a few minutes.
Where the two banks genuinely differ is in what is physically near them, and that follows the layout rather than the bank number. One branch typically crosses the top of the manifold, where the wires it can short to are the ones you would expect there. The other, on a transverse V engine, runs down and across the back of the engine, and the company it keeps there is heavy: the starter feed, the alternator cable, the injector and coil supply for the rear head, sometimes an accessory or trailer harness that was added later. Those are the candidates for an unwanted power source. Which branch is bank 2 depends on where cylinder 1 sits - on the Toyota GR, Honda J and Nissan VQ families bank 2 is the front bank facing the radiator, while other designs put it against the bulkhead - so read the numbering off the engine before deciding which run to open. The behind-the-engine branch is also, unhelpfully, the wiring a previous repair is most likely to have disturbed while working blind.
The ground side deserves equal attention and is cheaper to rule out. On a transverse V the ground strap or eyelet serving the rear head is typically bolted to the back of the cylinder head or the bellhousing, in the wettest and least-inspected part of the engine bay - and on many of these engines that rear head is bank 1, so identify the ground point that serves the faulted bank rather than assuming it is the buried one. Corrosion there prevents the circuit being pulled down and produces exactly this code with a perfectly good wire and a perfectly good actuator. Undo it, clean both faces to bright metal, re-torque and re-test before you buy anything.
One cost note specific to this bank: whatever the fault turns out to be, the price is mostly access. A wire repair or a connector replacement takes very little material; on a rear-facing bank it can take the removal of the upper intake to reach. Ask how the shop intends to get at it before comparing quotes.
Common causes
- Bank 2 control wire shorted to a powered circuit along its run, most readily where that run passes behind the engine
- Corroded or loose ground strap or eyelet serving the faulted bank or the module
- High-resistance return path caused by moisture and salt at a ground point low down or behind the engine
- Open winding in the Bank 2 actuator or solenoid presenting as no load
- Failed Bank 2 output driver stuck in the off state inside the control module
- Damaged or corroded terminal in the Bank 2 actuator connector
- Aftermarket or previously repaired wiring routed against this bank's loom
Symptoms
- Check engine light on
- Usually accompanied by a Bank 2 stuck-open code such as P2005
- Reduced low-speed pull, with the top end unaffected
- Occasional bank-specific fuel trim codes as the two banks breathe differently
- Other codes referencing the same shared ground point appearing together
- Frequently no change the driver can describe
Diagnostic steps
- 1.Set up the comparison first. Put a meter or scan tool on both banks' control circuits and record the off-state voltage, the commanded-on voltage and the winding resistance for the healthy bank. Those numbers are your specification.
- 2.Command the Bank 2 output on with a scan tool and watch whether the voltage falls at all. A line that does not move is the condition the code describes; one that falls partway suggests resistance rather than a hard short.
- 3.Check the ground strap and eyelets serving the faulted bank, identified from the cylinder numbering rather than assumed to be the rear ones. Remove, clean to bright metal, re-torque and re-test — a corroded bank ground produces this code with no other fault present.
- 4.Unplug the Bank 2 actuator and re-measure at the harness. Voltage still present on the control pin with the output commanded on points at a short to a power source.
- 5.Measure the Bank 2 actuator winding resistance and compare it directly with the Bank 1 winding. A significantly higher or open reading identifies the component without needing a published figure.
- 6.If a short to power is indicated, trace this bank's loom where it passes the heavy wiring - the starter feed, the alternator cable and the rear head's injector and coil supply - which on a transverse V is behind the engine.
- 7.Ask what has been worked on behind the engine. Wiring on the bulkhead side is often disturbed during coil, injector, starter or transmission work performed largely by feel, whichever bank that turns out to be.
- 8.Repair, clear all codes including any stuck-runner code stored alongside, and complete a drive cycle before assessing whether a mechanical fault remains.
Repair cost
$100 – $800
Cleaning and re-torquing a buried ground point can be an hour of labour. A wire repair behind the engine runs $150 to $400 largely because of access. A solenoid is $130 to $320 installed. An electric actuator on the bulkhead-side bank of a transverse V engine typically lands between $350 and $800 once upper intake removal is priced in — the part is a small share of that total. Where bank 2 is the front bank, as it is on the Toyota GR, Honda J and Nissan VQ families, this repair sits well below that figure.
Estimate your repair
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Open the Repair Cost Estimator with wiring harness / circuit repair preselected. Adjust labor rate and vehicle category to fit your situation.
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.