OBD-II Code
P0248
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)
$150–$4,500
From this code's diagnostic notes. Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
P0248 means the ECM commanded the turbocharger B wastegate solenoid to a duty cycle the boost-pressure sensor never confirmed — on a sequential or twin-turbo setup, turbo B is typically the secondary or high-pressure stage, and on a VGT (variable geometry) application the 'wastegate' nomenclature can also cover the vane-actuator solenoid.
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 procedureP0248 means the ECM commanded the turbocharger B wastegate solenoid to a duty cycle the boost-pressure sensor never confirmed — on a sequential or tw…
P0248 means the ECM commanded the turbocharger B wastegate solenoid to a duty cycle the boost-pressure sensor never confirmed — on a sequential or twin-turbo setup, turbo B is typically the secondary or high-pressure stage, and on a VGT (variable geometry) application the 'wastegate' nomenclature can also cover the vane-actuator solenoid. The ECU monitors commanded duty (0-100%, where 0% is fully closed/full boost and 100% is fully open/no boost on most platforms) against actual manifold pressure delta, and sets P0248 when the two diverge by more than the calibration's MAP-vs-commanded-duty map allows.
Cheapest-first diagnostic ladder
- unplug the solenoid connector, key-on, and confirm 12V reference and a clean PWM signal from the ECM with a scope (most wastegate solenoids run at 30-250Hz PWM); a missing reference points at a blown turbo fuse or harness fault, not the solenoid.
- Bench-test the solenoid by applying 12V and listening/feeling for the click — measure coil resistance, which should land around 10-30 ohm on most Bosch and Denso wastegate solenoids; open or shorted confirms the solenoid is dead, $40-150 part.
- Apply regulated shop air (10-15 psi) to the wastegate actuator with the solenoid removed and watch the actuator rod travel — sticky or seized actuators read 0-2mm where 8-12mm of travel is expected.
- Live-data the commanded vs. actual boost during a load drive: a healthy system holds within 1-2 psi of target boost (typically 15-35 psi on light-duty diesel, 25-45 psi on heavy-duty); deviation greater than 3-4 psi at steady cruise confirms a control fault. Expensive-misdiagnosis caveat: don't condemn the turbocharger itself on a P0248 alone — the turbo can be mechanically perfect with a stuck solenoid or carbon-seized actuator rod, and a $4,000-7,000 turbo replacement to fix a $120 solenoid is the most common P0248 mistake in independent shops.
Vehicle-specific patterns2008-2010 Ford 6.4L Powerstroke with the compound sequential turbo (high-pressure + low-pressure) throws P0248 on the high-pressure turbo solenoid wh…
- 2008-2010Ford 6.4L Powerstroke with the compound sequential turbo (high-pressure + low-pressure) throws P0248 on the high-pressure turbo solenoid when soot and oil contaminate the actuator — Ford issued multiple service bulletins for VGT cleaning, and the compound turbo design means the high-pressure unit fails first because it sees the hottest exhaust.
- 2011-2016Ford 6.7L Powerstroke (single VGT) throws P0248 less often because it's a single turbo, but the VGT solenoid in the valley fails similarly.
- 2011-2016GM Duramax LML with the variable-geometry Garrett turbo throws P0248 from the position sensor on the VGT actuator drifting out of calibration — a relearn procedure with GDS2 often clears it without parts. 2007.5-2018 RAM Cummins 6.7L throws P0248 from carbon-seized VGT vanes on the Holset HE351VE turbo — the vanes physically stick from soot accumulation, and the actuator force exceeds the calibration window; a turbo R&R and vane cleaning is the typical fix.
- 2009-2014VW TDI 2.0L CR with the variable-geometry KP39 / BV43 turbo throws P0248 from a stuck actuator rod or a failed electronic actuator (G-518).
- 2007-2018Mercedes Sprinter OM642 3.0L V6 with the dual-turbo arrangement throws P0248 on the secondary turbo wastegate from EGR-soot lacquering the actuator pivot.
Estimated repair$150 to $4,500.
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