P0713–P2743 Transmission Fluid Temperature Sensor A Circuit High
The voltage on this circuit is sitting near battery voltage. Typically a short to a positive feed, or a disconnected sensor floating high.
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 |
|---|---|---|
P0713 | Transmission Fluid Temperature Sensor A Circuit High | Investigate soon |
P2743 | Transmission Fluid Temperature Sensor B Circuit High | Investigate soon |
The definition
P0713: Transmission Fluid Temperature Sensor A Circuit High.
P0713 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:
- Unplug the sensor and check whether the signal falls. If it stays high, suspect the wiring rather than the sensor.
- Check the earth path - a missing earth makes a sensor read high.
What actually causes this on a VAG
The gearbox control unit sees the oil temperature signal at the high end of its range, beyond anything real. The sensors used here work the other way round to how you might expect: their resistance rises as they get colder, so a high signal voltage means the circuit looks impossibly cold. That points at a break in the circuit, or occasionally a signal wire shorted to a supply - not at an overheating gearbox. The confirmation is on the scan tool: the gearbox oil temperature will usually be pinned at the extreme cold end of the scale, often reading well below the outside air on a warm day. Expect firmer shifts, no torque converter lock-up and possibly a safe gear, because the control unit will not risk normal behaviour with no temperature reference.
Most likely causes, in order
- Connector at the gearbox open, corroded or oily. A plug not fully latched after work, a pin pushed back, corroded contacts, or oil that has crept along inside the wires all break the circuit. Unplug it and check the pins, the seal and the latch. This is the most common cause and the cheapest to put right, so start here - and note whether the fault appeared soon after any work under the car.
- Broken wire in the loom. The wires break where the loom flexes between body and gearbox, or where it has rubbed against a bracket or heat shield, often with the insulation still looking intact. Flex the loom in sections with the ignition on and watch whether the live temperature value jumps off its stuck reading. Repairing a short section is a routine job.
- Signal wire shorted to a supply. Less common than a break, but a wire chafed through against a live feed will hold the signal high just the same, and produces the identical stuck-cold reading. Look for damage where the loom crosses other harnesses or passes a heat source, and for any previous repair or aftermarket wiring in the area.
- Open circuit in the sensor or internal harness. The sensor or the harness inside the gearbox can go open. Because reaching either means opening the gearbox or replacing a mechatronic assembly on most of these boxes, this must be proved by measuring at the external connector rather than assumed. Ask to see that measurement before authorising internal work.
Worth knowing: Read this code as 'the circuit is broken', not 'the gearbox is overheating'. People occasionally panic at the word 'high' and change fluid or fit coolers, when the temperature reading is actually stuck at the cold extreme and nothing is hot at all. One genuine consequence to be aware of: the fluid level on these gearboxes is set within a temperature window judged by this same sensor, so get the circuit repaired before any fluid service. Filling it while this code is stored means the level gets set wrong, and that does real damage.
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 P0713 mean?
P0713 means Transmission Fluid Temperature Sensor A Circuit High. The voltage on this circuit is sitting near battery voltage. Typically a short to a positive feed, or a disconnected sensor floating high.
Can I drive with P0713?
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.