OBD-II Code
B1602
Severity
Not yet reviewed
Nobody on our side has assessed this code yet, so we are not going to guess at how serious it is.
Can you drive it
We cannot say
Treat it as unknown until a shop reads it with live data. If the check-engine light is FLASHING, stop driving as soon as it is safe to — that means an active misfire, whatever the code.
Indicative cost (USD)
$90–$1,200
From this code's diagnostic notes. Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
$90 (FORScan license + As-Built reprogram DIY) to $1,200 (dealer PCM replacement and PATS reprogram).
B1602 is a Ford module-programming code that means the receiving module (PCM, BCM, IPC, or ABS) is reporting either a missing/invalid VIN in its memory or a checksum failure on its programming data.
How a shop works this
Work from evidence to part, not the other way round. A code names a circuit or a symptom; it does not name the part that failed.
Note every code that is set, not just this one.
Codes that appear together usually narrow the cause faster than any one of them read alone.
Read the freeze frame — the conditions the fault was recorded under.
Cold or warm, idle or load, road speed and engine speed. A fault that only appears cold is a different fault from one that only appears under load, even with the same code on the scanner.
Confirm the fault is current rather than history.
Clear the code and see whether it returns under those same conditions. A code that does not come back may have been logged during a repair, a flat battery, or a bad connection that has since been disturbed.
Then follow the diagnostic notes further down this page, in the order they are written.
They are written in the order a shop works this code, cheapest checks first. Where they name a component, inspect its wiring and connector before replacing it.
If the code comes back after a repair, the underlying fault is still there. That is the point to bring in a scanner with live data and freeze-frame, or a shop that has one.
Common symptoms
- Check engine light
Read the full diagnostic procedureB1602 is a Ford module-programming code that means the receiving module (PCM, BCM, IPC, or ABS) is reporting either a missing/invalid VIN in its memo…
B1602 is a Ford module-programming code that means the receiving module (PCM, BCM, IPC, or ABS) is reporting either a missing/invalid VIN in its memory or a checksum failure on its programming data. The module powered up, asked the network for its expected VIN, and either got no response, got a VIN that didn't match what it expected, or detected internal data corruption.
Cheapest-first ladder
- Confirm the VIN matches across all modules using FORScan or IDS — if one module reports the wrong VIN, it's been swapped in from another vehicle or its memory has corrupted.
- Check network communication on the HS-CAN and MS-CAN buses with a scope — if the PCM can't reach the BCM to confirm VIN handshake at key-on, B1602 sets even on a perfectly good module.
- Re-flash / re-program the module with the correct As-Built data using FORScan (free for read, paid license for write) or Ford IDS at the dealer.
- Verify the security access (key/PATS) is properly paired — a swapped PCM that hasn't been PATS-married to the body will throw B1602 alongside a no-start condition. Expensive-misdiagnosis caveat: B-codes for module programming/configuration almost never mean a bad module — they mean a missing or corrupted As-Built / FORScan / GM Tech-2 config file; before condemning a $400-$1000 module, attempt re-configuration with dealer scan tool first. A used PCM/BCM from a junkyard is a $50-$150 part that becomes a $0 fix once you load the correct As-Built data into it.
Vehicle-specific patterns2007-2014 Lincoln Navigator and Ford Expedition are the most common B1602 platform — used PCM swaps to address timing-chain-tensioner failures on the…
- 2007-2014Lincoln Navigator and Ford Expedition are the most common B1602 platform — used PCM swaps to address timing-chain-tensioner failures on the 5.4L 3V routinely throw B1602 because the donor PCM carries the donor vehicle's VIN, and without an As-Built reprogram the new PCM never matches the rest of the network.
- 2008-2012Ford F-150 with the 5.4L or 6.2L throws B1602 after any module replacement that wasn't accompanied by a proper As-Built download — FORScan with a paid license is the independent-shop fix, IDS at the dealer is the OE fix.
- 2010-2014Ford Edge/Flex/Taurus with EATC HVAC modules throws B1602 after a used-HVAC-head swap from a different VIN.
- 2005-2010Mustang GT/Shelby with PCM tuning chips occasionally throws B1602 when the tune's checksum doesn't validate against the factory As-Built.
Estimated repair$90 (FORScan license + As-Built reprogram DIY) to $1,200 (dealer PCM replacement and PATS reprogram).
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