OBD-II Code
U0163
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)
$0–$2,500
From this code's diagnostic notes. Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
$0 (aftermarket removal) to $2,500 (OEM nav unit plus programming).
U0163 means the master module (typically the BCM or radio gateway) has lost communication with the navigation display unit on the CAN/MOST bus.
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 procedureU0163 means the master module (typically the BCM or radio gateway) has lost communication with the navigation display unit on the CAN/MOST bus.
U0163 means the master module (typically the BCM or radio gateway) has lost communication with the navigation display unit on the CAN/MOST bus.
The diagnostic order is connectivity-first, not nav-unit-first
- Pull all U-codes from every module — if U0163 sets alongside U0164, U0184, U0140, etc., the failure is bus-wide and the nav unit is just one symptom; chase the bus fault, not the nav module.
- If U0163 is standalone, key-on and check power and ground at the nav unit harness — most factory nav heads pull 12V switched ignition, 12V constant for memory, and at least two chassis grounds; a missing memory feed will make the unit boot-loop and drop off the bus.
- Scope the CAN/MOST signal at the nav unit connector — high-speed CAN should still show 2.5V/3.5V dominant pulses at the head-unit pins; MOST optical bus (BMW, Mercedes, Audi) is an entirely different animal that needs a MOST loop-back tester and a check that no module in the ring has dropped offline (any single MOST module that fails kills the entire ring). Misdiagnosis caveat: an aftermarket head unit, backup camera, or amplifier wired into the factory bus is the #1 cause of phantom U01XX comm-loss codes — disconnect the aftermarket gear before condemning the OEM nav unit, because OEM nav screens routinely run $800-$2,500 reman.
Vehicle-specific patterns2007-2014 GMC/Cadillac/Chevy with the early MyLink/CUE/IntelliLink head units commonly throw U0163 from solder-joint failure on the head-unit mainboa…
- 2007-2014GMC/Cadillac/Chevy with the early MyLink/CUE/IntelliLink head units commonly throw U0163 from solder-joint failure on the head-unit mainboard — there's a known repair-shop niche that reballs the touchscreen controller chip for $150-$300 instead of a $1,800 OEM replacement.
- 2010-2016Mercedes-Benz with COMAND APS NTG4/4.5 throws U0163 from MOST fiber-optic ring breaks at the headliner-to-trunk transition; the fix is finding which module in the ring has failed (often the rear amplifier or trunk-mounted DVD changer) and replacing or bypassing it.
- 2009-2014Ford/Lincoln MyFord Touch (Sync 2) frequently throws U0163 from APIM (Accessory Protocol Interface Module) failure — Ford issued a software-update campaign and many APIMs were warranty-replaced.
- 2008-2013BMW E90/E60/E70 with CIC navigation throws U0163 from MOST ring failure caused by an aftermarket Bluetooth or Sirius module spliced into the bus.
Estimated repair$0 (aftermarket removal) to $2,500 (OEM nav unit plus programming).
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