OBD-II Code · Sensors
P0124
TPS Intermittent
Severity
medium
Worth booking. It costs fuel, emissions or comfort until it is fixed.
Can you drive it
Only if running normally
A short trip to a shop may be reasonable if the light is steady and the car runs normally. Stop safely for a flashing light, severe shaking, overheating, loss of power, or another urgent warning. The code alone cannot confirm safety.
Indicative cost (USD)
$80–$300
Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
TPS intermittent.
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 work the likely-causes list in the order shown.
That order is what a shop checks first for this code — wiring and connections before the component they run to, because a connector costs nothing to inspect and is a common answer.
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
- CEL comes and goes
- Surging
Likely causes
- Loose connectorMost common
- Chafed wiring
Read the full diagnostic procedureP0124 is the intermittent TPS code, set when the ECM saw an out-of-range TPS signal that came back within range before it could latch a hard P0122 or…
P0124 is the intermittent TPS code, set when the ECM saw an out-of-range TPS signal that came back within range before it could latch a hard P0122 or P0123, and the fault has occurred often enough to trip the diagnostic monitor. These are diagnosis-heavy because the fault is rarely present on the lift.
Cheapest-first ladder
- wiggle-test the TPS connector and the 12 inches of harness behind it with engine running and a scan tool recording TPS voltage; any momentary spike to 4.9V or dropout to 0V confirms the fault zone.
- Inspect the connector for pushed-back terminals (a pin that looks seated but has retracted 1-2mm into the plastic shell is the classic intermittent failure mode), and check for green corrosion in the contacts.
- On cable-actuated TPS, slowly sweep the pedal while watching live voltage; any flat spot, jump, or dropout in the 0.5V-4.5V sweep is a worn potentiometer.
- On ETC, the ECM compares TPS1 to TPS2 across the full pedal sweep, so a glitch on either channel will set P0124 even if the other channel reads cleanly.
- Leave a scan tool recording freeze-frames during the customer's normal drive cycle for 1-3 days if bay testing is clean.
- Don't replace the throttle body for P0124 without a wiggle test first, because the sensor is usually fine and the connector or harness is the actual fault.
Vehicle-specific patterns2002-2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.7L sees P0124 from pushed-back terminals in the TPS connector that lose contact under engine vibration.
- 2002-2008Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.7L sees P0124 from pushed-back terminals in the TPS connector that lose contact under engine vibration.
- 2004-2010Ford F-150 5.4L 3V sees P0124 from harness chafe at the ETC connector where the wiring crosses an intake manifold rib, the signal intermittently grounds against the rib.
- 2007-2013GM Silverado 5.3L sees P0124 from a cracked solder joint inside the ETC throttle body that opens and closes with thermal cycling, and from connector seal failure admitting moisture into the contacts.
- 2008-2014Toyota Tundra 5.7L 3UR-FE sees P0124 from the integrated TPS element aging past 120k miles with intermittent wiper dropout at part throttle.
Estimated repair$50 to $500.
Look up another code
P0124 — frequently asked
What does a P0124 code mean?
TPS intermittent.
What causes a P0124 code?
Common causes: Loose connector; Chafed wiring.
What are the symptoms of a P0124 code?
Typical symptoms: CEL comes and goes; Surging.
Is it safe to drive with a P0124 code?
Only if running normally. A short trip to a shop may be reasonable if the light is steady and the car runs normally. Stop safely for a flashing light, severe shaking, overheating, loss of power, or another urgent warning. The code alone cannot confirm safety. Estimated repair: $80-$300.
How do I diagnose a P0124 code?
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. 1. Note every code that is set, not just this one. 2. Read the freeze frame — the conditions the fault was recorded under. 3. Confirm the fault is current rather than history. 4. Then work the likely-causes list in the order shown.
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