OBD-II Code
P0965
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)
$300–$1,500
From this code's diagnostic notes. Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
P0965 is the Pressure Control Solenoid B Control Circuit Low — the TCM commands the PCS-B driver and reads circuit voltage below the threshold (typically under 0.5 V with the solenoid commanded off, or near-zero current when current was expected), which means a short to ground in the wiring, a shorted solenoid winding, or a stuck-on TCM driver.
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 procedureP0965 is the Pressure Control Solenoid B Control Circuit Low — the TCM commands the PCS-B driver and reads circuit voltage below the threshold (typic…
P0965 is the Pressure Control Solenoid B Control Circuit Low — the TCM commands the PCS-B driver and reads circuit voltage below the threshold (typically under 0.5 V with the solenoid commanded off, or near-zero current when current was expected), which means a short to ground in the wiring, a shorted solenoid winding, or a stuck-on TCM driver.
Cheapest-first
- unplug the case connector and clear the code; if the fault clears with the solenoid unplugged but the TCM still reads circuit-low, the short is between TCM and case connector (harness or chafe point) and the solenoid is innocent.
- If the code stays with the connector unplugged, the TCM driver itself is shorted — rare but real.
- With the connector plugged back in, ohm the PCS-B pin pair: healthy spec is 8-30 ohms cold (3-7 ohms GM force-motor; 4-6 ohms Toyota/Chrysler PWM linear; 5-12 ohms Aisin).
- Less than 3 ohms pin-to-pin = shorted solenoid winding, replace.
- In-spec resistance with the code still setting = ohm pin-to-ground on each leg and look for under 100k ohms — that's ATF migration up the harness shorting the wire to case (extremely common on high-mileage units that have seen overheated fluid).
- Active current at full command should be 0.5-1.5 A; if you read 2-3 A or the TCM trips into protection, that's the short.
- Expensive-misdiagnosis caveat: on Chrysler 545RFE/68RFE the solenoid-pack pigtail and the pack itself are sealed together as one assembly — a P0965 short-to-ground inside the pack body cannot be repaired wire-by-wire, you replace the whole pack ($500-900 parts plus labor per AAMCO survey data on the platform), and chasing a single circuit on this trans is a known time-sink that costs customers more than the right repair.
Vehicle-specific patterns1996-2007 GM 4L60E in the Silverado/Tahoe/Trailblazer line throws P0965 from internal harness chafe at the case-rib pass-through (the harness ribs ri…
- 1996-2007GM 4L60E in the Silverado/Tahoe/Trailblazer line throws P0965 from internal harness chafe at the case-rib pass-through (the harness ribs ride on a sharp aluminum edge under load and wear through after 100k+), repaired with internal harness kit $80-150 plus pan-drop labor.
- 2003-2010Dodge Ram 1500/2500 with the 545RFE and 2007-up 68RFE see P0965 frequently in the 70,000-150,000 mile window — the solenoid-pack TCM-side connector is a documented failure point and the pack is replaced as an assembly ($500-900 parts plus labor per RepairPal/AAMCO data).
- 2007-2013Ram HD with the Aisin AS69RC throws P0965 from PCS-B winding insulation breakdown after a hot-fluid event, valve-body R&R required.
- 2001-2010GM HD with the Allison 1000 sets the LCT1000 equivalent from PCS-2 or PCS-3 wire chafing at the case-flange ridge — Allison TSB-style guidance from Allison Transmission directs technicians to repair the chafe before condemning the solenoid.
Estimated repair$300 to $1,500.
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