New Eight-Character DTC Format (A12030B)

Publication date: 2012-03-01
Reference number: A12030B

NEW EIGHT-CHARACTER DTC FORMAT

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN

Reference Number(s): A12030B, Date of Issue: March 1, 2012

HONDA:	All Models
APPLIES TO:	All Models

SERVICE INFORMATION

The SAE has come up with a new format for DTCs. Starting with the '12 CR-V, DTCs for the Real Time 4WD system use eight characters (actually it's seven plus a dash), instead of the familiar five. Eventually, this format will apply to all DTCs for all vehicles.

Here's a breakdown of that format:

Area

The first character gives you the general area of the failure: B = Body, C = Chassis, P = Powertrain, and U = Network.

System

The next four characters indicate the particular system where the failure is located, and answer questions like: Is it an ignition problem? Braking system?

Component

The last two characters specify what's failed, right down to the particular component, and how it failed (low voltage, high voltage, out of range, etc.).

The CR-V is only the beginning. This will be the new standard for all models in the future, so it's a good idea to get familiar with them as soon as possible.