P0714–P2744 Transmission Fluid Temperature Sensor A Circuit Intermittent
The fault comes and goes, which points at a connection that only breaks under vibration, heat or load.
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 |
|---|---|---|
P0714 | Transmission Fluid Temperature Sensor A Circuit Intermittent | Investigate soon |
P2744 | Transmission Fluid Temperature Sensor B Circuit Intermittent | Investigate soon |
The definition
P0714: Transmission Fluid Temperature Sensor A Circuit Intermittent.
P0714 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
Your gearbox measures the temperature of its own oil so it knows how much line pressure to use for each shift, when it is safe to lock up the torque converter on converter automatics, and when to back off to protect itself from overheating. On VAG automatics and DSGs that sensor is not a bolt-on part you can swap on the driveway - it lives inside the gearbox, built into the valve body or the mechatronic wiring harness. "Intermittent" means the signal briefly vanished or jumped rather than failing outright, so you may notice nothing at all, or the odd harsh shift, or a brief drop into limp home mode that clears itself. Read with a VAG-specific tool the fault also carries a fault type - wording such as "implausible signal", "open circuit" or "short circuit to ground" - and that narrows the search far more than the P-code on its own.
Most likely causes, in order
- Oil or damp in the gearbox connector. Where the outside loom plugs into the gearbox is the classic weak point on these cars. Gearbox oil can wick along the wires and into the plug, and corroded or spread pins produce exactly the momentary dropouts this code describes. With the ignition off, unplug it and look for oily residue, green corrosion, or a pin that has pushed back in its housing.
- A one-off low-voltage event. A single stored intermittent code with no symptoms often dates from a flat battery, a jump start or a battery disconnect, when control units briefly see nonsense on every circuit. It costs nothing to rule out: clear it, drive normally for a week or two, and see whether it comes back before spending anything.
- Chafed or stretched wiring to the gearbox. The loom runs through a hot area that moves with the engine. Look for rubbed insulation where it passes the bellhousing or a bracket, and for damage anywhere the car has recently had work done underneath - a trapped or stretched wire after a clutch, subframe or gearbox job is a common trigger.
- Failing sensor or mechatronic unit. Only reasonable once the plug and loom are proven good. Because the sensor is internal, confirming it means watching live data show the temperature reading drop out or jump while the wiring is undisturbed - not assuming it from the code.
Worth knowing: Watch the reading live before spending anything. From a genuinely cold start, after the car has stood overnight, it should sit close to the outside air and to the coolant temperature, then climb steadily as you drive. If it looks sensible and only glitches, you are chasing a connection, not a sensor - which matters, because on most of these gearboxes the sensor is not sold separately. One more reason not to leave it: the oil level on these boxes is set with the fluid held at a specified temperature, so a sensor that lies can also spoil the fill during a service.
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 P0714 mean?
P0714 means Transmission Fluid Temperature Sensor A Circuit Intermittent. The fault comes and goes, which points at a connection that only breaks under vibration, heat or load.
Can I drive with P0714?
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.