OBD-II code · Powertrain (generic)
P03C5 Cylinder 5 Pressure Variation High
Cylinder-to-cylinder pressure variation on cylinder 5 is above the calibrated maximum — combustion is unstable cycle-to-cycle, typical of partial misfire or injector seat erosion.
Is it safe to drive with P03C5?
Usually safe for short trips, but don’t ignore it: the underlying fault can get more expensive over time.
Common causes
- Most likelyPartial misfire
Repair at a glance
- Difficulty
- Hard
- DIY friendly
- Best left to a mechanic
- Typical labour
- 1–6 h
- Emissions test
- Likely to fail
- Parts involved
- Cylinder Pressure Sensor
Related codes
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- P03A7Cylinder 2 Pressure Variation High
- P03B1Cylinder 3 Pressure Variation High
- P03BBCylinder 4 Pressure Variation High
- P03BDCylinder 5 Pressure Sensor Circuit
- P03CFCylinder 6 Pressure Variation High
- P03D9Cylinder 7 Pressure Variation High
- P03E3Cylinder 8 Pressure Variation High
- P2350Cylinder 9 Pressure Variation High
- P235ACylinder 10 Pressure Variation High
- P2364Cylinder 11 Pressure Variation High
- P236ECylinder 12 Pressure Variation High
- P03C2Cylinder 5 Pressure Too Low
- P03C3Cylinder 5 Pressure Too High
- P03C4Cylinder 5 Pressure Variation Low
- P03C6Cylinder 5 Combustion Performance
- P03C7Cylinder 6 Pressure Sensor Circuit
- P03C8Cylinder 6 Pressure Sensor Circuit Range/Performance
Code data: OBDex open dataset (CC0). Labour times are typical ranges, not a quote.