P0245–P0249 Turbocharger Wastegate Solenoid A low
The ECU has logged a fault on P0245. The definition below is the exact wording the standard uses for this code.
Can you drive it? The engine light will stay on and the car may run in a reduced-power mode. Read the freeze-frame data to see the conditions the fault was logged under.
Which code is which
Same fault, different cylinder or bank — diagnosed the same way. Several set together usually means one shared cause.
| Code | Definition | Severity |
|---|---|---|
P0245 | Turbocharger Wastegate Solenoid A low | Investigate soon |
P0249 | Turbocharger Wastegate Solenoid B Low | Investigate soon |
The definition
P0245: Turbocharger Wastegate Solenoid A low.
P0245 is a powertrain code (the engine or gearbox), defined by the SAE standard - it means the same thing on any make of car, and any generic OBD-II reader will decode it.
What to check first
Cheapest and fastest checks first:
- Read the freeze-frame data stored with the fault - engine speed, load and temperature at the moment it logged tell you whether this happens cold, hot or under load.
- Check the connector at the part for corrosion, and that it is fully seated.
- Clear the code and see whether it returns, and under what conditions.
What actually causes this on a VAG
The solenoid in question is the boost pressure control valve, called N75 in VAG's own naming. It is a small electrically switched valve that meters vacuum or boost pressure to the wastegate actuator, and the ECU pulses it many times a second. "Low" is an electrical complaint: the ECU saw the control wire pulled down towards earth when it should not have been. It says nothing about how much boost the engine is actually making, though the car will usually drop into a reduced-boost limp mode.
Most likely causes, in order
- Chafed or shorted wiring to the valve. The valve usually lives on or close to the turbo, so its wiring lives in a hot, vibrating place. Look for melted or rubbed insulation where the loom passes a bracket, the exhaust or the turbo itself, and wiggle the loom while a scan tool watches the live value.
- Water, oil or corrosion in the connector. Contamination between the pins can bridge the signal to earth and behave exactly like a short in the loom. Unplug the connector and look for green corrosion, oil wicking up the wires, or a pin that has been pushed back in the housing.
- Solenoid failed internally. The winding inside can short down to the valve body. Easy to separate from a wiring fault with the test in the note below, which costs nothing.
- ECU output stage. Genuinely rare and always the last thing to suspect. Only reasonable once the valve and the whole length of wiring have been proved good.
Worth knowing: Because this is a circuit code, buying a valve on spec is a coin toss. Unplug the valve, clear the fault and run the engine briefly. If the stored code changes to the open-circuit or "high" version, the harness is not what is dragging the line down and the valve itself was the short. If the low or short-to-earth code comes back with nothing plugged in, the fault is in the loom or connector and a new valve will not fix it. Some ECUs only log one general circuit fault rather than separate high and low versions - if that is what you see, the fallback is measuring at the connector rather than swapping parts.
Reading the code is the easy part
A code names the circuit that complained. What tells you why is watching the sensor behind it while the engine runs — and that is where a code reader stops and a diagnostic tool starts.
VAGPULSE reads every module in a VW, Audi, Skoda or SEAT — not just the engine — shows the live measuring blocks behind this fault, gives you the freeze-frame conditions it was logged under, and clears it once you have fixed it. It also does what a generic OBD reader cannot on a VAG: service resets, coding, adaptations, and Stage 1–3 flashing with your original file saved first.
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Common questions
What does P0245 mean?
P0245 means Turbocharger Wastegate Solenoid A low. It is logged when the ECU sees this circuit outside its expected operating window.
Can I drive with P0245?
The engine light will stay on and the car may run in a reduced-power mode. Read the freeze-frame data to see the conditions the fault was logged under.