OBD-II Code · Ignition
P0355
Ignition Coil E Primary/Secondary Circuit
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)
$80–$300
Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
Coil pack 5 fault.
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 5
- Check engine light
Likely causes
- Failed coil 5Most common
- Wiring
Read the full diagnostic procedureP0355 is the cylinder 5 ignition coil primary/secondary circuit fault — this puts you on a V6, V8, V10, or inline-5/inline-6 engine.
P0355 is the cylinder 5 ignition coil primary/secondary circuit fault — this puts you on a V6, V8, V10, or inline-5/inline-6 engine.
Cylinder 5 location
on Ford Modular V8 it's the front cylinder of bank 2 (driver side), on GM LS V8 it's the front of bank 2 (passenger side), on Chrysler Hemi it's bank 2 front (passenger side), on most V6s (Toyota 2GR, Nissan VQ35, GM 3.6) it's the rear-bank front cylinder, on BMW inline-6 it's the second from the rear, on Audi/VW inline-5 it's the flywheel-end cylinder. Cheapest-first diagnostic: swap the cylinder 5 coil with cylinder 1's (or a known-good cylinder on the same engine — same coil part number required), clear codes, drive cycle. Code follows the coil = $35-$120 coil replacement. Code stays at cylinder 5 = trigger-wire diagnosis: resistance check ECM-to-coil under 0.5 ohms, B+ feed 12.0-12.6V static / 13.5-14.5V running, ground drop under 0.1V. Scope the ECM trigger pulse for clean square-wave (0-5V or 0-12V, 3-6ms dwell at idle). On bank-2 cylinders, also inspect the coil-bank harness for chafing where it crosses the intake or routes along the firewall — chafe-throughs to the engine block are a documented failure on Ford 5.4L and Nissan VQ35 platforms.
Vehicle-specific patterns2004-2010 Ford 5.4L 3V cylinder 5 P0355 (driver-side front) — same TSB 08-7-6 fix, but on the driver bank you also need to check the bank-2 harness r…
- 2004-2010Ford 5.4L 3V cylinder 5 P0355 (driver-side front) — same TSB 08-7-6 fix, but on the driver bank you also need to check the bank-2 harness routing under the cowl drain for water intrusion.
- 2005-2013GM 5.3L LS truck cylinder 5 (passenger bank front) P0355 from D585 failure.
- 2007-2014Nissan VQ35 cylinder 5 (rear bank front under intake plenum) P0355 — this is the hardest VQ35 coil to reach and the most commonly oil-soaked from valve cover gasket leak; budget for plenum gasket as part of the repair.
- 2007-2013BMW N52/N54 cylinder 5 P0355 from Eldor coil batch failure plus harness chafing on the back of the head.
- 2005-2014Toyota Tundra/Sequoia 5.7L 3UR-FE cylinder 5 (driver bank front) P0355 — Denso COP, OE replacement only.
- 2007-2014Mercedes M272 V6 cylinder 5 P0355 — known issue with balance shaft gear wear causing timing variance that triggers coil-circuit codes alongside misfire codes; if you see P0355 with P0016 or P0017, suspect the balance shaft.
Estimated repair$35 (one coil) to $5,200+ (M272 balance shaft repair).
Look up another code
P0355 — frequently asked
What does a P0355 code mean?
Coil pack 5 fault.
What causes a P0355 code?
Common causes: Failed coil 5; Wiring.
What are the symptoms of a P0355 code?
Typical symptoms: Misfire cyl 5; Check engine light.
Is it safe to drive with a P0355 code?
Not for long. Driving on this one risks further damage. Get it to a shop rather than carrying on with it. Estimated repair: $80-$300.
How do I diagnose a P0355 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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