System: Speed & Idle Control · Standard: SAE J2012 generic code · Severity: Repair soon
The car will usually keep running, but continued driving risks secondary damage or an emissions failure. Book the repair.
Cleaning the throttle body resolves a large share of these, followed by an idle relearn procedure.
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.
The idle speed control system cannot maintain the target idle speed. Idle Control System Malfunction is a generic speed & idle control code defined by SAE J2012, so it carries the same meaning on every OBD-II vehicle.
Repair soon. The car will usually keep running, but continued driving risks secondary damage or an emissions failure. Book the repair.
In rough order of how often they turn out to be the problem: Carbon build-up in the throttle body; Failed idle air control valve; Vacuum leak.
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.