OBD-II Code
P0512
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–$750
From this code's diagnostic notes. Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
$90 (ignition switch DIY) to $750 (BCM/WIN module replacement + programming).
P0512 means the ECM saw the starter request input go active when conditions don't allow a crank event (transmission not in Park/Neutral, brake not pressed on push-button systems, key-position mismatch, or the request line stuck logically high).
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 procedureP0512 means the ECM saw the starter request input go active when conditions don't allow a crank event (transmission not in Park/Neutral, brake not pr…
P0512 means the ECM saw the starter request input go active when conditions don't allow a crank event (transmission not in Park/Neutral, brake not pressed on push-button systems, key-position mismatch, or the request line stuck logically high). The starter request circuit is a discrete input to the PCM/BCM, typically pulled low at rest and driven to battery voltage when the START position is commanded — so a scan-tool live data PID of 'Starter Request Input' should read 0V key-on engine-off and snap to 10-12V only during the brief crank command.
Shop-floor ladder, cheapest first
- scope the start signal at the PCM input pin during a crank attempt — if it sits above ~1V at rest, you've got a shorted-to-power wire or a stuck ignition switch contact (GM tilt-column passive-key vehicles in particular wear the START contacts and bridge them intermittently).
- Next check is the ignition switch / push-button assembly itself — ohm the START position contacts cold and after a 20-minute heat soak, because the failure is almost always thermal.
- Wiggle-test the harness between the column and the BCM with the scan tool watching the PID; intermittent transitions while flexing the harness are a chafed wire.
- Expensive-misdiagnosis caveat: don't replace the BCM or PCM on P0512 until you've physically disconnected the ignition switch and confirmed the start-request input drops to 0V at the module pin — a stuck switch will frame the module as faulty and burn a $400-700 part for a $90 switch problem.
Vehicle-specific patterns2005-2010 GM passive-key vehicles (Cobalt, HHR, Malibu, Equinox, G6) running the recall-era column ignition switch frequently throw P0512 from the do…
- 2005-2010GM passive-key vehicles (Cobalt, HHR, Malibu, Equinox, G6) running the recall-era column ignition switch frequently throw P0512 from the documented ignition-switch wear that GM addressed in the 2014 recall — the start contacts bridge to RUN as the cylinder ages, sending the start request to the BCM even after the key snaps back.
- 2010-2017Ford Mustang and F-150 with push-button start commonly throws P0512 from a failing brake-pedal position switch or from the push-button assembly itself bouncing the request line — Ford service info covers both diagnostics.
- 2008-2013Cadillac CTS / SRX with keyless ignition throws P0512 from BCM software that misinterprets a key-FOB authentication retry as a duplicate start request — a TIS2WEB reflash from the dealer clears it.
- 2011-2016Chrysler 300 / Charger / Durango with the WIN module (wireless ignition node) commonly throws P0512 from WIN-module solder-joint cracks that intermittently float the start line.
Estimated repair$90 (ignition switch DIY) to $750 (BCM/WIN module replacement + programming).
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