P0916 — Gear lever position - low circuit

Causes

• Damaged, chafed or disconnected wiring in the gear lever/selector harness
• Poor or corroded connector(s) at the gear lever position sensor or control module
• Faulty gear lever/selector position sensor (range/selector/PRNDL sensor)
• Short to ground on the sensor signal circuit
• Loss of sensor reference voltage or ground
• Intermittent contact caused by water ingress or debris

Symptoms

• Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) / check engine light illuminated
• Instrument cluster shows incorrect or no gear position (PRNDL) indication
• Vehicle may not start because park/neutral safety input is incorrect
• Transmission stuck in limp/limited mode or refuses to shift correctly
• Intermittent loss of gear selector function or unexpected shifting
• Cruise control or starter interlock functions may be disabled

What to check

• Retrieve all stored DTCs and freeze frame data with a diagnostic scanner
• Visually inspect gear lever/selector connector and wiring for corrosion, damage or water ingress
• Check related fuses and main transmission/PCM power and ground points
• Backprobe the sensor connector to verify reference voltage, signal voltage and ground with ignition ON
• Wiggle the wiring and connectors while monitoring the signal to reproduce intermittent faults
• Compare measured signal to expected values while moving the gear lever through positions

Signal parameters

• Reference voltage (typical): ~5.0 V (may be ignition-switched 5 V or 12 V depending on design)
• Signal voltage: varies with position — expected range typically 0.5–4.5 V for a potentiometer-type sensor; ‘low’ condition = below ~0.5 V
• Short-to-ground indication: signal ≈ 0 V
• Open-circuit/very high resistance: signal may float or be undefined
• Resistance across sensor (if applicable): manufacturer-specific; check wiring diagram/specs — open circuit if infinite ohms

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