Powertrain, generic (extended)

P230E Cylinder 5 Air-Fuel Ratio Imbalance - Adjustment At Limit During Balance

Check engine lightOn

EmissionsRelevant

Drive cycleRequired

Limp modeNo

P230E concerns cylinder 5 and is genuine only on engines with five or more cylinders, such as inline fives, sixes and V8s. The balancing logic has exhausted the individual fuel trim for cylinder 5. Audi documents a special case: on the 2020 A6 with the four-cylinder 2.0 TFSI (EA888 Gen 3) a calibration error stored a cylinder 2 imbalance as P230E, so on that car the code really points at cylinder 2, while the guided tests still diagnose the right cylinder; the bulletin is informational and offers no fix. A P230E on a four-cylinder is therefore a reason to check the software and the bulletins first. VW's 2014 Golf table already includes the plain cylinder 5 code P21A0 for its five-cylinder; P0305 is the misfire counter for the same cylinder.

Likely causes

Injector of cylinder 5 delivering too much or too little (deposits, wear)

Air leak at the intake port or injector seal of cylinder 5

Valve of cylinder 5 not sealing (worn seat or guide), low compression

Calibration error in the cylinder assignment (Audi 2.0 TFSI Gen 3, bulletin 2060348)

Symptoms

Check engine light on
Rough idle, possibly misfire on cylinder 5
Higher fuel consumption or exhaust smell

Repair estimate

DifficultyMediumWorkshop job

Parts and labour€0–1,500

Time0.5–6 h

Typical range across vehicles; the real cost depends on what the testing finds.

Parts involved

fuel injector cyl 5intake manifoldcylinder compression

References: law.cornell.edu, static.nhtsa.gov, static.nhtsa.gov.