OBD-II trouble code
P2167: Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor 'E' Maximum Stop Performance
The full-travel check failed on the 'E' channel — a fifth position channel that most vehicles simply do not have. Before spending anything, the question worth settling is whether your vehicle has an 'E' channel at all, because on a car that does not, this code is telling you something about the scan tool or the module rather than about a sensor.
Quick facts
- System
- Powertrain
- Category
- Throttle / Idle
- Severity
- High severity
- Drivable
- Usually safe to drive short-term
- Repair cost range
- $0 – $1,600
- DIY difficulty
- Intermediate DIY
Part of a 6-code family
P2167 is one of 6 codes covering throttle/pedal position sensor maximum stop performance. The letter is the slot number your manufacturer assigned — it is not a physical difference, and the same letter means different things on different makes. The diagnosis is the same for every code in the family.
Read the full guide for this family →Browse every code in P2100–P2199, or start from the full code library.
What does P2167 mean?
P2167 sets when the 'E' position channel reports a value at the wide-open mechanical stop that the module will not accept.
Drive-by-wire systems reference two mechanical limits. A hard stop defines fully closed and another defines fully open, and the module learns the sensor reading at each so it can convert raw voltage into a percentage of available travel. This code concerns the open limit.
As with the rest of this family, the fault is latent rather than sudden. The closed reference is checked at every key-on and every return to idle; the open reference is only checked when something actually travels there. So a car that has been driven gently can carry this fault for weeks and only reveal it on the first hard merge or overtake. The light coming on is when the module looked, not when the problem began.
What separates P2167 from the rest of the family is that it names a channel most vehicles do not possess, and that should be settled before a single part is priced. The common arrangement is four channels: two redundant tracks on the accelerator pedal assembly and two on the electronic throttle body. A fifth channel exists only on vehicles built with additional position sensing — a third track on one assembly, a second throttle assembly, or a separate demand input that a driver assistance or adaptive cruise system needs so it can read driver intent independently of the main pair. Those are real configurations, but they are the minority.
So there are three explanations for this code and only one of them is a sensor fault.
The first is straightforward: the vehicle does have an 'E' channel and it failed the full-travel check, in which case everything below applies as written.
The second is a misread. Generic code lists are generic, and a scan tool matching a manufacturer-specific definition against a standard table can report a code the vehicle never set in those terms. If the vehicle has four channels and the tool is reporting a fifth, confirm the raw code with a second tool, ideally one with manufacturer-level coverage, before going further. A code that does not survive a second reading is not worth diagnosing.
The third is a module carrying the wrong configuration. Control modules are enabled by calibration rather than by what is physically plugged in, so a module programmed for a better-equipped variant of the same vehicle will look for a channel your car does not have. An unconfigured replacement module, a used module from a different trim never reprogrammed, a sibling-engine calibration, or an interrupted software update all produce exactly this. The characteristic signature is that the monitor for an input reads as an open circuit or sits at the module's internal pull-up value, because there is nothing at the other end of a wire that was never fitted. This is the expensive wrong turn on this specific code — the natural response to an input that will not read is to replace hardware, and there is no hardware to replace.
Where the channel does exist, the causes are the family's. Something physically limiting travel: a bunched floor mat, a failed mat retaining clip, an object under the pedal, a damaged pedal stop, or a plate obstructed at the open end. A signal path that is fine at rest and fails at the top, because these sensors output a rising voltage and a resistive joint's voltage drop is proportionally largest exactly where the signal is highest. And a stored reference that no longer matches the hardware after a replacement, a reflash, a battery disconnection, or a part with a different output slope.
Carbon in the throttle bore is not among them. Deposits stop a plate closing, not opening, which is why they dominate the minimum-stop codes and are largely irrelevant here.
The usual caution about the letter applies with more force than anywhere else in the family: it is a slot index the manufacturer assigned, there is no cross-industry mapping to a physical sensor, and the wiring diagram for your exact year, make, model and engine is the only authority — including on whether the channel exists.
Common causes
- Module calibration from a better-equipped variant, so it looks for a channel the vehicle does not physically have
- Replacement or used control module never configured to this vehicle
- Generic scan tool reporting a manufacturer-specific code against a standard definition list
- Worn or drifted 'E' sensor track at the upper end of its range, where the channel does exist
- High resistance in the 'E' signal circuit capping its voltage at full travel but not at rest
- Corroded, spread or backed-out terminal on the 'E' pin of the connector
- Floor mat, failed mat clip or an object under the accelerator pedal limiting travel
- Damaged or displaced pedal stop preventing full travel
- Throttle plate obstructed or mechanically limited at the open end
- Relearn procedure not performed after a sensor, pedal or throttle body replacement
- Adaptations cleared by a battery disconnection or module reflash without a relearn afterwards
- Interrupted or partial software update leaving the module expecting inputs that are absent
Symptoms
- Reduced engine power warning with a capped upper throttle range
- Normal driving up to roughly two-thirds throttle and nothing beyond it
- Check engine light that appeared during hard acceleration rather than at start-up
- Idle and light-throttle behaviour entirely unaffected
- Code present on a vehicle whose specification suggests it has no fifth position channel
- Code that appeared immediately after a control module was replaced or reprogrammed
- Live data showing the channel as an open circuit or fixed at one value
- Limp mode that clears on a restart and returns when full power is requested
- Other throttle or pedal position codes stored alongside
- Cruise control or adaptive cruise unavailable
Diagnostic steps
- 1.Confirm the vehicle actually has an 'E' position channel before anything else. On a four-channel system there is nothing at the other end of that input, and no part will fix it.
- 2.Re-read the code with a second scan tool, preferably one with manufacturer-level coverage. A generic tool matching a manufacturer-specific code against a standard list can report a channel the vehicle never had.
- 3.Check whether any control module has been replaced, reprogrammed or updated recently, and verify its configuration and software level against the manufacturer's specification for the vehicle identification number.
- 4.Look at how the channel reads in live data. A value pinned at the module's internal pull-up or reported as an open circuit, with no response to any movement, points at an input that was never wired rather than at a failed sensor.
- 5.Where the channel does exist, confirm from the wiring diagram which physical sensor it is on this exact year, make, model and engine.
- 6.Check the accelerator pedal area for a bunched floor mat, a failed mat clip or an object limiting travel. It costs nothing and it is a safety issue on its own.
- 7.Test the battery and charging system, since low system voltage limits actuator travel and produces the same failed check as a mechanical fault.
- 8.With the key on and the engine off, graph every position channel while pressing the pedal slowly to the floor, watching for the 'E' trace to stop rising before the others.
- 9.Compare the 'E' value at full travel against the specification in service data rather than against what looks reasonable.
- 10.Perform a voltage drop test on the 'E' signal and its ground with the channel held at full travel, not at rest.
- 11.Run the manufacturer's relearn procedure and retest before condemning a part.
- 12.Do not order a control module in response to an input that will not read. Establish first whether the input exists; if it does not, the fix is configuration or programming, not hardware.
Repair cost
$0 – $1,600
The most important number on this code is the one you can avoid. Diagnosis is $110 to $250 and most of its value is in establishing whether the channel exists at all, because a module replaced in response to an input that was never wired is $600 to $1,600 spent on nothing. Correcting a module's configuration or software level, where that is the cause, is $90 to $300 at a shop with the right access. A trapped floor mat or a missing relearn costs nothing in parts. Connector and wiring repair is $100 to $400. An accelerator pedal assembly is $160 to $500 fitted, and an electronic throttle body $280 to $900 fitted, with bank-specific or performance assemblies higher.
Estimate your repair
Run the numbers for your vehicle
Open the Repair Cost Estimator with control module replacement & programming 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.