OBD-II Code
P0297
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)
$0–$400
From this code's diagnostic notes. Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
$0 (no fault, driver-induced) to $400 (VSS or wheel-speed sensor replacement if actually electrical).
P0297 means the ECM observed the vehicle speed signal exceed the manufacturer's programmed maximum speed threshold — typically 100-150 mph for stock passenger cars, 85-90 mph for stock light trucks, and higher (155-186 mph or fully delimited) for performance vehicles and exotics.
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 procedureP0297 means the ECM observed the vehicle speed signal exceed the manufacturer's programmed maximum speed threshold — typically 100-150 mph for stock…
P0297 means the ECM observed the vehicle speed signal exceed the manufacturer's programmed maximum speed threshold — typically 100-150 mph for stock passenger cars, 85-90 mph for stock light trucks, and higher (155-186 mph or fully delimited) for performance vehicles and exotics. The code stores when speed exceeded the limit AND when the ECM intervened (fuel-cut, ignition-cut, or throttle-close) to bring speed back into range.
Cheapest-first ladder
- this is almost never an electrical fault — read the freeze-frame data first and confirm the actual recorded speed at the time of the code; if freeze-frame shows 110-150 mph, the code is doing its job and there's no diagnostic to perform beyond confirming the driver knows the vehicle hit its limiter.
- If freeze-frame shows an implausibly high speed (say, 250 mph on a Camry), the issue is a VSS (vehicle speed sensor) signal fault, an ABS wheel-speed sensor reading high, or a CAN-bus speed-message corruption — scan all four wheel-speed sensors during a low-speed test drive and confirm they all agree within 1-2 mph of each other and of the dash speedometer.
- Some platforms set P0297 spuriously when one wheel-speed sensor reads high due to a damaged tone ring or a magnetized sensor (metal shavings sticking to the sensor face).
- The expensive misdiagnosis on P0297: shops chase wiring on a code that was simply triggered by a driver hitting the speed limiter on an empty highway or at a track day — verify with the owner whether the vehicle has been driven beyond legal speeds before pulling parts.
- Clear the code, drive normally, and if it doesn't return, it was a one-time event.
Vehicle-specific patternsany vehicle driven beyond its OEM-programmed speed limiter will set P0297 — the code is essentially a tattletale, not a fault.
any vehicle driven beyond its OEM-programmed speed limiter will set P0297 — the code is essentially a tattletale, not a fault. Common platforms: BMW M-cars (M3, M4, M5, M8) ship with a 155 mph limiter that's commonly removed via M Driver's Package or aftermarket coding, and when the limiter is reinstated the code sets aggressively; Mercedes-AMG vehicles share the same 155 mph factory limiter and the same code pattern. Ford Mustang GT/Shelby, Chevrolet Camaro SS/ZL1, and Dodge Challenger Hellcat/SRT see P0297 commonly at track days where customers hit the factory limiter (typically 150-160 mph on stock tires for safety). Exotics with delimited or higher-set limits (Porsche 911 Turbo, Lamborghini Huracan, Ferrari 488) still set P0297 if pushed beyond their programmed ceiling, which on some platforms is keyed to tire-speed-rating data. Modified vehicles with aftermarket tunes that increase the speed limiter while the ECM's secondary safety-check threshold remains stock will set P0297 because the safety threshold is below the new limiter — a tune-recheck at the tuner clears the disagreement.
Estimated repair$0 (no fault, driver-induced) to $400 (VSS or wheel-speed sensor replacement if actually electrical).
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