OBD-II Code
P1516
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–$480
From this code's diagnostic notes. Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
P1516 sets when the Throttle Actuator Control Module (the PCM's internal ETC monitor) detects that the throttle blade position does not agree with the commanded position within tolerance — typically the actual TPS reading differs from commanded by more than 8-10% for longer than 200 ms, or the rate-of-change doesn't match the commanded slew rate.
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 procedureP1516 sets when the Throttle Actuator Control Module (the PCM's internal ETC monitor) detects that the throttle blade position does not agree with th…
P1516 sets when the Throttle Actuator Control Module (the PCM's internal ETC monitor) detects that the throttle blade position does not agree with the commanded position within tolerance — typically the actual TPS reading differs from commanded by more than 8-10% for longer than 200 ms, or the rate-of-change doesn't match the commanded slew rate.
This is a safety-critical code
most platforms force Reduced Power Mode and limit RPM to 1500-2000 once P1516 sets. Diagnose with the engine off, key on: scan-tool both TPS sensors (modern GM ETC bodies have two redundant 5V Hall sensors reading 0.5V/4.5V and 4.5V/0.5V counter-rotating) and verify they sweep smoothly and oppositely as you blip the throttle body manually with a clean finger. If both sensors track correctly but the blade won't move to commanded position under PCM control, the throttle body motor is failing or the gear train has carbon buildup binding the blade — remove the intake duct and inspect the bore for the brown carbon ring that prevents full closure. The expensive misdiagnosis: throwing a $350 throttle body at the car when a 20-minute throttle-body cleaning with the blade held open would have restored normal sweep.
Vehicle-specific patterns2005-2010 Cobalt/HHR/Malibu 2.2L/2.4L Ecotec is the leading P1516 platform — the throttle body motor brushes wear and the blade sticks during cold-st…
- 2005-2010Cobalt/HHR/Malibu 2.2L/2.4L Ecotec is the leading P1516 platform — the throttle body motor brushes wear and the blade sticks during cold-start commanded sweeps.
- 2007-2010Tahoe/Yukon/Silverado 5.3L sees P1516 from carbon buildup on the blade documented in PIP4569 — clean before replace.
- 2004-2008Grand Prix 3.8L Series III throws P1516 when the throttle-body 5V reference shares with a failing MAP sensor and pulls the reference low.
- 2008-2012Acadia/Traverse/Enclave 3.6L LY7 gets P1516 from internal throttle body motor failure (a known wear item by 100K).
Estimated repair$90 to $480.
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