P0700: the gearbox computer has asked the engine light to come on
Many automatic gearboxes have their own computer, separate from the engine control unit, that watches its own sensors and solenoids. This code means that gearbox computer has found a fault of its own and asked the engine control unit to turn the warning light on, without saying what the underlying fault actually is. The specific fault is recorded as a separate code from the gearbox computer itself.
You might notice
- The engine warning light comes on
- The gearbox may behave differently, such as changing gear harshly or holding a gear longer than it should
- gearbox computer
- — the separate computer, distinct from the engine control unit, that runs an automatic gearbox
What this code means for driving
Short local trips only
The gearbox has logged a fault that can affect which gear the car selects or whether it holds in park.
Pull over as soon as it's safe if the car will not change gear or jumps out of gear or the car rolls when left in park.
This is what P0700 means taken alone, and that part won't change no matter what else your scan turns up. What's actually causing it can still depend on the rest of your codes. Read it with your other codes.
What the code itself says
P0700 is a powertrain (engine, gearbox and drive system) code, and the 0 after the letter means it is a generic code with a standard meaning.
Grouped here as: Gearbox control — Gear selection, shift quality, fluid condition and the sensors and solenoids the gearbox's own control module reads. That grouping is ours, to help explain the code. The code's official family is the letter at the start.
This page is generic. Your car isn't.
A code on its own only tells you what the sensor saw, not what's actually wrong — and that changes next to your other codes. Read this one together with the rest of your scan and we'll work out what's really going on.
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