P0205

P0205 isolates the cylinder 5 injector circuit, so it only appears on inline-5, inline-6, V6, V8, V10, or V12 engines. On V6 engines this is typically the middle cylinder of the rear bank (bank 2 cylinder 2 on most transverse layouts), and on V8s it sits on the passenger bank. Cheapest-first ladder: noid light at the cylinder 5 connector to confirm PCM driver is firing, resistance check at the injector terminals (port-fuel: 11 to 17 ohms, GDI: 1 to 3 ohms, all cylinders should track within 0.5 ohm at the same temperature), scope the driver waveform for clean ground-side pull-down within 0.5V of ground and pulse-width of 2.5 to 3.2 ms warm-idle. Pay special attention to the constant 12V feed at the injector connector key-on, which should read battery voltage within 0.3V; a drooping voltage points to a corroded splice or fuel-injector relay rather than a bad injector. The expensive misdiagnosis is condemning the injector ($250 to $500 on most V6/V8 GDI applications) when a $30 cleaning of the connector or repair of the harness ground would have resolved the fault.

Vehicle-specific patterns: 2007-2013 BMW N54/N55 335i and 535i throws P0205 with the same piezo-stack failure pattern as the other cylinders, with cylinder 5 being closest to the high-pressure fuel pump on the rear of the head (HPFP failure under SI B13 02 09 commonly triggers P0205 alongside rail-pressure codes); 2004-2008 Ford F-150 5.4L 3V Triton sees P0205 from corroded injector connectors where coolant leaks from the intake manifold (a TSB-documented failure on the plastic intake); 2003-2007 GM 4.2L Atlas inline-6 Trailblazer trips P0205 from melted injector connectors near the exhaust manifold; 2007-2012 Toyota Camry 2GR-FE V6 sees P0205 from clogged port injector on cylinder 5 (rear bank middle) after long ethanol-blend service. Estimated repair: $90 to $1,200.