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COMMON TROUBLE CODES AND THEIR CAUSES

If your vehicle has a monitored system like OBD II, Diagnostic Trouble Code(DTC) will set in your vehicle's on board computer when ever a fault occurs

Every code number corresponds to a type of fault and can be used to diagnose your car's problem. In 2009, the state of Illinois inspected 1.67 million cars for clean air compliance. Of the vehicles tested, 6.3 percent ( a little over 100,000 vehicles) failed their initial test because of the presence of one or more trouble codes

The following is the list of the 20 most common OBD II trouble codes with the percentage of failures for Illinois vehicles tested in 2009:

P0420 - Catalyst System Low Efficiency - 13.2%
P0171 - Fuel Trim System Lean Bank 1 - 10.4%
P0401 - Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Flow Insufficient - 8.4%
P0174 - Fuel Trim System Lean Bank 2 - 6.8%
P0442 - Evaporative Emission (EVAP) System Small Leak Detected - 6.7%
P0300 - Engine Misfire Detected (random misfire) - 6.4%
P0455 - Evaporative Emission (EVAP) System Leak Detected (large) - 6.2%
P0440 - Evaporative Emission (EVAP) System - 5.5%
P0141 - Oxygen Sensor Heater (H02S) Performance Bank 1 Sensor 2 - 5.1%
P0430 - Catalyst System Low Efficiency Bank 2 - 3.2%
P0135 - Oxygen Sensor (HO2S) Performance Bank 1 Sensor 1 - 3.2%
P0446 - EVAP Vent Solenoid Valve Control System - 3.1%
P0128- Coolant Thermostat - 3.1%
P0301 - Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected - 3.1%
P0411 - EVAP System Control Incorrect Purge Flow - 2.8%
P0133 - Oxygen Sensor Slow Response Bank 1 Sensor 1 - 2.8%
P0303 - Cylinder 3 Misfire Detected - 2.6%
P0304 - Cylinder 4 Misfire Detected - 2.6%
P0302 - Cylinder 2 Misfire Detected - 2.6%
P0325 - PCM Knock Sensor Circuit - 2.1%

The most common reason for the Check Engine Light coming on based on the above data would be a worn out or fouled catalytic converter but if you combine all of the related codes based on systems and components, you get a different picture. This is the outcome you get by looking at it this way

Evaporative Emission System - 24.3%
Engine Misfire - 17.3%
Fuel Trim (lean) - 17.2%
Catalytic converter - 16.4%
Oxygen sensor related - 11.1%
Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) system - 8.4%
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