OBD-II Code
P0744
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)
$250–$2,200
From this code's diagnostic notes. Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
P0744 is the intermittent-fault sibling of P0743 — the TCM sees the TCC circuit electrical fault come and go, usually heat-related, and sets the code after enough fail-clear cycles inside a single drive.
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 procedureP0744 is the intermittent-fault sibling of P0743 — the TCM sees the TCC circuit electrical fault come and go, usually heat-related, and sets the code…
P0744 is the intermittent-fault sibling of P0743 — the TCM sees the TCC circuit electrical fault come and go, usually heat-related, and sets the code after enough fail-clear cycles inside a single drive. The diagnostic difficulty is that the fault often won't be present when the truck arrives at the shop on a cold morning, which is why P0744 has a reputation as a tech-headache code.
Cheapest-first ladder
- Live-data the TCC commanded state and TCC slip RPM on a warm drive cycle — a healthy locked converter holds 0-50 RPM slip steady, an intermittent solenoid or worn clutch shows slip spikes >100 RPM that come and go with throttle input.
- Heat-test the solenoid pack — pull the pan once the transmission is at 180+ F operating temp and ohm the TCC solenoid hot; a coil that reads 25 ohms cold and 50+ ohms hot is breaking down with temperature and will set intermittent codes you can't catch cold.
- Inspect the transmission case connector and pin tension on the external harness — a partially backed-out pin causes intermittent open circuits that only appear when the transmission flexes under load.
- Pull the transmission fluid and look at color/smell — burnt fluid (dark brown, varnish smell) means the TCC clutch is shedding friction material into the line pressure circuit, which fouls the solenoid screen and causes intermittent application even with a healthy coil. Expensive-misdiagnosis caveat: chasing a P0744 by replacing the solenoid pack on a transmission with already-burnt fluid is throwing money at a converter that's mechanically dying — pull the converter and inspect before quoting a solenoid job.
Vehicle-specific patternsFord 4R70W and 4R75W see P0744 from the same slow apply-circuit leak as P0743, with the intermittent flavor showing up earlier in the wear cycle befo…
Ford 4R70W and 4R75W see P0744 from the same slow apply-circuit leak as P0743, with the intermittent flavor showing up earlier in the wear cycle before the leak gets bad enough to set hard P0743. Ford 6R80 throws intermittent P0744 from lead-frame cracking that opens and closes the TCC circuit as the transmission heat-cycles. GM 4L60E / 4L65E / 4L70E sets P0744 constantly in the 100k-150k mile window — the TCC PWM solenoid degrades gradually, and intermittent operation precedes hard failure by 5,000-15,000 miles; many shops replace the solenoid on any P0744 over 90k miles as preventive. GM 6L80 / 6L90 (2007-up Silverado, Sierra, Yukon, Escalade) commonly throws P0744 from valve body wear at the TCC regulator bore, not from the solenoid itself — a TransGo or Sonnax sleeve kit is the real fix. Chrysler 545RFE / 68RFE sees P0744 from a slow TCC apply leak at the front pump or converter hub seal.
Estimated repair$250 to $2,200.
Look up another code
More free tools