OBD-II Code · Fuel & Air
P0265
Cylinder 2 Injector Circuit High
Severity
high
Left alone, this one tends to take other parts with it.
Can you drive it
Not for long
Driving on this one risks further damage. Get it to a shop rather than carrying on with it.
Indicative cost (USD)
$100–$500
Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
Cyl 2 injector high voltage.
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
- Misfire cyl 2
- Check engine light
Likely causes
- Failed injectorMost common
- Wiring short
Read the full diagnostic procedureP0265 indicates the PCM saw the cylinder 2 injector low-side driver circuit stuck at high voltage during the commanded ON pulse, the same failure fam…
P0265 indicates the PCM saw the cylinder 2 injector low-side driver circuit stuck at high voltage during the commanded ON pulse, the same failure family as P0262 but on a different cylinder, root causes are an open injector winding, a broken or corroded signal wire from the PCM to the injector, or a short to battery positive on the driver lead.
Cheapest-first diagnostic ladder
- pull the cylinder 2 injector connector and ohm the injector windings, port-fuel injectors should fall between 11.4 and 18 ohms at room temp and GDI injectors 1.5 to 4 ohms, an open reading or a value more than 2 ohms off the other cylinders is the smoking gun; next verify the 12V supply side at the connector with key-on (battery voltage minus 0.5V is healthy), then back-probe the driver lead with a scope and watch for the inductive flyback spike around 60-80V on the trailing edge of each pulse, no spike means no current flow.
- Wiggle-test the harness at the engine-bay-to-firewall transition and along any clip points where the loom passes near hot exhaust components.
- Expensive misdiagnosis: replacing the injector when the actual fault is a broken pin retainer in the connector body letting the terminal back out under vibration, the injector ohms fine on the bench but the circuit reads open in-vehicle, always inspect the connector terminal tension with a pin-pull test before condemning the injector.
Vehicle-specific patterns2004-2008 Ford F-150 5.4L 3V Triton has a known injector connector heat-fatigue issue where the plastic shell cracks and lets the terminals lose cont…
- 2004-2008Ford F-150 5.4L 3V Triton has a known injector connector heat-fatigue issue where the plastic shell cracks and lets the terminals lose contact, replacement pigtails are a standard repair;
- 2006-2011Honda Civic R18 sees harness chafe against the valve cover bolt boss on cylinder 2's pigtail;
- 2008-2013Cadillac CTS 3.6L direct-injection (LLT/LFX) throws P0265 when a high-pressure injector solenoid winding opens internally, GM bulletin PIP5029 covers the diagnostic flow.
Estimated repair$200 to $900.
Look up another code
P0265 — frequently asked
What does a P0265 code mean?
Cyl 2 injector high voltage.
What causes a P0265 code?
Common causes: Failed injector; Wiring short.
What are the symptoms of a P0265 code?
Typical symptoms: Misfire cyl 2; Check engine light.
Is it safe to drive with a P0265 code?
Not for long. Driving on this one risks further damage. Get it to a shop rather than carrying on with it. Estimated repair: $100-$500.
How do I diagnose a P0265 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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