OBD-II Code
P0825
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)
$80–$600
From this code's diagnostic notes. Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
P0825 is the circuit fault for the Gear Shift Up and Down Switch — the manual tap-shift, paddle-shift, or sport-mode toggle that lets the driver request manual gear changes.
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 procedureP0825 is the circuit fault for the Gear Shift Up and Down Switch — the manual tap-shift, paddle-shift, or sport-mode toggle that lets the driver requ…
P0825 is the circuit fault for the Gear Shift Up and Down Switch — the manual tap-shift, paddle-shift, or sport-mode toggle that lets the driver request manual gear changes. The TCM monitors two discrete switch inputs (up and down) and flags this code when one or both read open, stuck-closed, or out of the expected resistance band, or when both inputs activate simultaneously (an impossible state).
Cheapest-first
- cycle the switch with a scan tool watching the up/down PIDs live — a clean switch shows binary 0/1 transitions with no bounce.
- Pull the shifter trim or steering-column shroud and inspect for crumb/coffee intrusion (consumer-grade tap-shift switches are notoriously bad at sealing).
- Back-probe at the switch connector and ohm the contacts: most up/down switches spec a simple 0 ohms closed, infinite open, with no current-limiting resistor in line; some BMW/Mercedes designs use a resistor-ladder (300, 1.2k, 3.3k ohms typical) so an out-of-band reading is meaningful.
- Then ohm pin-to-ground on the signal wires — under 100k ohms to ground on a floating logic line means a chafed harness inside the column or under the console.
- Circuit current is logic-level (under 10 mA), so an active-current clamp won't tell you much here; voltage drop across the closed switch (under 0.1 V key-on) is the better test.
- Expensive-misdiagnosis caveat: on Chrysler 545RFE/68RFE with the autostick feature, a stuck or noisy up/down switch can trigger ghost shift requests that look like a solenoid-pack issue — techs chase P0964-P0978 codes that ride along because the TCM is firing solenoids at the wrong moment, when the actual problem is a $40 console switch.
Vehicle-specific patternsany tap-shift-equipped vehicle is fair game here — 2003-2010 Lexus IS/GS/LS with the paddle-shift e-shift throws P0825 from the column-mounted paddle…
any tap-shift-equipped vehicle is fair game here — 2003-2010 Lexus IS/GS/LS with the paddle-shift e-shift throws P0825 from the column-mounted paddle assembly going internally noisy, $150-300 part.
- 2005-2012Mercedes-Benz C/E/S-class with the 7G-Tronic and steering-wheel paddles sets it from the slip-ring contact in the clockspring losing continuity — Mercedes service info points at the clockspring assembly first, $200-500 part plus airbag-safe R&R.
- 2003-2010Range Rover and Range Rover Sport with the JaguarLandRover ZF 6HP tap-shift throws P0825 from the J-gate selector contacts oxidizing — common per RepairPal forum data after 80,000 miles.
- 2002-2008BMW M3/M5/M6 with the SMG-II/III sequential manual gearbox sets it from paddle-contact wear or the steering-column control module losing the CAN signal — BMW SMG paddle assemblies run $400-800 from dealer.
- 2008-2014Dodge Challenger/Charger autostick reads the +/- bumps on the shifter handle and goes microswitch-noisy after 60k.
Estimated repair$80 to $600.
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