OBD-II Code
P0310
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)
$90–$2,800
From this code's diagnostic notes. Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
P0310 indicates cylinder 10 misfire detection — the ECM saw enough crankshaft speed variation at the cylinder 10 firing event to flag it.
How a shop works this
The ECU has already told you which cylinder. That makes the fastest honest test a swap: move one part to another cylinder and see whether the fault moves with it. It identifies the fault instead of guessing at it, and it costs nothing.
Photograph the coils before you touch anything, and note which is which.
Cylinder numbering is not the same across manufacturers, and V6 and V8 bank layouts differ by maker — look up the firing order and bank layout for your engine before you move parts, or you can spend an hour swapping coils on the wrong bank.
Move the cylinder 10 ignition coil to a cylinder that is not misfiring, put that cylinder's coil on 10, clear the code, and run it until the misfire returns.
On a modern coil-on-plug engine the coil is the most common single answer to a cylinder-specific misfire, which is why it is the first thing to move — not because it is the cheapest part. A misfire that is there even at idle is the classic dead-coil pattern.
- The misfire follows the coil to its new cylinderThe coil is the fault. Replace it. If the engine has real mileage on it, the other coils are on the same clock.
- The misfire stays on cylinder 10The coil is fine. Look at the coil connector and the harness around it next — chafed and rodent-damaged connections at that plug are a common second answer — then pull the plug.
Read the plug you pulled, and check the boot for carbon tracking.
Black and sooty means it has been running rich. White or blistered means lean or too hot. Oil-wet points at valve seals or rings. Fuel-wet points at an injector holding open. A carbon-tracked boot arcs to the head and imitates a dead coil for the price of a new boot. On an older engine with a distributor, the cap, rotor and plug wires belong in this step too.
If spark is accounted for, go to fuelling, then to compression.
An injector balance or flow test comes first because it is quicker. Compression test second: a cylinder more than about 15% below its neighbours is mechanical, and no ignition part will fix it. A vacuum leak on this one runner sits alongside these — a leak big enough to affect every cylinder would be setting P0300 instead.
A flashing check-engine light means the misfire is putting raw fuel into the catalytic converter, which can destroy it quickly. Stop driving as soon as it is safe to. A steady light with a mild misfire is less urgent, but stop anyway if it shakes hard, loses power, overheats, or makes a noise it was not making before.
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
Likely causes
- Failed ignition coil (cylinder 10)Most common
- Damaged coil connector or harness at cylinder 10
- Worn spark plug or carbon-tracked boot (cylinder 10)
- Clogged or leaking fuel injector (cylinder 10)
- Low compression on cylinder 10
- Vacuum leak at the cylinder 10 intake runner
Read the full diagnostic procedureP0310 indicates cylinder 10 misfire detection — the ECM saw enough crankshaft speed variation at the cylinder 10 firing event to flag it.
P0310 indicates cylinder 10 misfire detection — the ECM saw enough crankshaft speed variation at the cylinder 10 firing event to flag it. On a V10 (cylinder 10 = rear passenger on Ford modular, rear driver on some VW/Audi), and on a V12 (one of the rear cylinders), the diagnostic order is identical: swap the coil-on-plug to a known-good cylinder, swap the plug to inspect for fouling pattern, then swap the injector if the misfire follows. Compression and leak-down come next — on V10/V12 platforms the rear-most cylinders cool slower and run hotter, so valve seat recession and exhaust valve burn appear there first.
Check the fuel-trim data
if long-term fuel trim on bank 2 is +15% or more while bank 1 is normal, you have a bank-specific vacuum leak rather than a cylinder 10 component failure. Caveat: aftermarket tunes that aggressively lean out cruise AFR will trip P0310 on any cylinder that has marginal compression, especially under light load downhill coast; back to stock tune before chasing parts.
Vehicle-specific patternsFord 6.8L V10 (1999-2010) — cylinder 10 spark plug blowout, same root cause as P0309 (insufficient aluminum head thread engagement on pre-2008 castin…
- 1999-2010Ford 6.8L V10 — cylinder 10 spark plug blowout, same root cause as P0309 (insufficient aluminum head thread engagement on pre-2008 castings), fixed with Time-Sert thread inserts; on E-Series vans the doghouse must come out and HVAC plenum loosened to reach the rear plug.
- 2014-2020Audi R8/Huracan 5.2L V10 — direct-injection injector tip carbon buildup on cylinder 10 creates a localized lean misfire. BMW S85 V10 (E60 M5, 2006-2010) — VANOS solenoid stuck open on bank 2 floods cylinder 10 at idle; the solenoids are $200 each and BMW SI B11 12 09 covers the inspection procedure.
- 2008-2017Dodge Viper 8.4L V10 Gen 4-5 — cracked exhaust manifold on the right bank causes false-lean misfire reading on cylinder 10.
Estimated repair$90 to $2,800.
Look up another code
P0310 — frequently asked
What does a P0310 code mean?
See deep dive below for full diagnostic context.
What causes a P0310 code?
Common causes: Failed ignition coil (cylinder 10); Damaged coil connector or harness at cylinder 10; Worn spark plug or carbon-tracked boot (cylinder 10); Clogged or leaking fuel injector (cylinder 10); Low compression on cylinder 10; Vacuum leak at the cylinder 10 intake runner.
What are the symptoms of a P0310 code?
Typical symptoms: Check engine light.
Is it safe to drive with a P0310 code?
Depends on the light. Flashing: stop as soon as it is safe to — raw fuel is reaching the catalytic converter. Steady, and it only feels rough: a short drive to a shop is usually fine. Either way, stop if it shakes hard, loses power, overheats or makes a new noise. Estimated repair: $50-$2,000.
How do I diagnose a P0310 code?
The ECU has already told you which cylinder. That makes the fastest honest test a swap: move one part to another cylinder and see whether the fault moves with it. It identifies the fault instead of guessing at it, and it costs nothing. 1. Photograph the coils before you touch anything, and note which is which. 2. Move the cylinder 10 ignition coil to a cylinder that is not misfiring, put that cylinder's coil on 10, clear the code, and run it until the misfire returns. 3. Read the plug you pulled, and check the boot for carbon tracking. 4. If spark is accounted for, go to fuelling, then to compression.
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