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P0120 — Throttle Position Sensor Circuit Malfunction

P0120 means: The throttle position sensor circuit is not returning a plausible signal.

System: Fuel & Air Metering · Standard: SAE J2012 generic code · Severity: Repair soon

01Can you keep driving?

Repair soon

The car will usually keep running, but continued driving risks secondary damage or an emissions failure. Book the repair.

02What you will notice

03Likely causes, most common first

  1. Failed throttle position sensor
  2. Wiring fault
  3. Contaminated throttle body

04How this code is diagnosed

On drive-by-wire vehicles a throttle position fault often puts the engine into a limited-power mode.

Start by reading every stored and pending code, not just this one. A single fault frequently sets three or four codes at once, and the first one in the freeze-frame data is usually the cause while the rest are consequences.

Common questions

What does P0120 mean?

The throttle position sensor circuit is not returning a plausible signal. Throttle Position Sensor Circuit Malfunction is a generic fuel & air metering code defined by SAE J2012, so it carries the same meaning on every OBD-II vehicle.

Is it safe to drive with P0120?

Repair soon. The car will usually keep running, but continued driving risks secondary damage or an emissions failure. Book the repair.

What are the most likely causes of P0120?

In rough order of how often they turn out to be the problem: Failed throttle position sensor; Wiring fault; Contaminated throttle body.

Other fuel & air metering codes

Sourcing

Code number, system and definition follow the SAE J2012 / ISO 15031-6 generic diagnostic trouble code standard. Symptoms, causes and severity are the standard generic diagnostic logic for that fault. This page does not contain manufacturer-specific procedures, part numbers or pricing.