OBD-II Code
U0293
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–$5,500+
From this code's diagnostic notes. Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
$300 (HPCM reflash/recode at dealer or hybrid specialist) to $1,800 (HPCM replacement with programming) to $5,500+ (HPCM + adjacent component work).
U0293 means another module on the CAN bus (typically the engine ECM, BCM, or instrument cluster) sent a request to the Hybrid Powertrain Control Module (HPCM/HCU/MG-ECU depending on OEM) and got no reply within the expected timeout.
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 procedureU0293 means another module on the CAN bus (typically the engine ECM, BCM, or instrument cluster) sent a request to the Hybrid Powertrain Control Modu…
U0293 means another module on the CAN bus (typically the engine ECM, BCM, or instrument cluster) sent a request to the Hybrid Powertrain Control Module (HPCM/HCU/MG-ECU depending on OEM) and got no reply within the expected timeout. The HPCM is the brain of the hybrid system — it orchestrates engine, traction motor(s), generator, transaxle, and the BECM, and almost every other module on the vehicle expects it on the bus.
The cheapest-first ladder
- scan all modules and check if the HPCM responds.
- If it's absent from the module list entirely, verify power and ground at the HPCM connector — the module typically needs both KOEO 12V and a wake-up signal from the start-stop logic.
- If the HPCM responds but the engine ECM still flags U0293, check the gateway module that bridges the powertrain CAN segment to the body/comfort segment — gateway failures present as one-sided comm losses where module A can see module B but module C cannot.
- CAN bus dominant 2.5V/3.5V; bus resistance OBD-II ~60 ohms key-off.
- DO NOT probe HV orange-wire circuits with a standard multimeter — HPCMs sit close to inverter HV connections on most platforms.
Vehicle-specific patterns2004-2015 Toyota Prius (Gen2/Gen3) throws U0293 after a hybrid transaxle service or HV component swap when the HV ECU/Motor ECU wasn't re-paired via…
- 2004-2015Toyota Prius (Gen2/Gen3) throws U0293 after a hybrid transaxle service or HV component swap when the HV ECU/Motor ECU wasn't re-paired via Techstream — same procedural-gap pattern as U0292.
- 2003-2011Honda Civic Hybrid throws U0293 after an IMA service when the MCM (Motor Control Module) reflash is skipped.
- 2011-2015Chevy Volt Gen1 throws U0293 after a Voltec drive-unit service if the TCM/HPCM wasn't reflashed to match the new component tune file — GM's procedure includes a specific reflash sequence that frequently gets skipped at independent shops.
- 2017-2019Bolt EV throws U0293 from gateway module failures after firmware updates that didn't complete cleanly.
- 2014-2018BMW i3 throws U0293 from EME (Electric Machine Electronics) comm-loss when the EME is replaced without coding via ISTA.
- 2010-2015Lexus hybrids (CT200h, RX450h, HS250h, ES300h) follow the Prius pattern.
Estimated repair$300 (HPCM reflash/recode at dealer or hybrid specialist) to $1,800 (HPCM replacement with programming) to $5,500+ (HPCM + adjacent component work).
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