U04BD Invalid Data Received From Park Lock/Pawl Control Module

With park-by-wire, an electronic unit drives an actuator that pushes the parking pawl into the toothed park wheel on the gearbox output and pulls it out again; there is no mechanical link to the selector. Software holds back engagement until the vehicle has stopped, since the pawl would otherwise ratchet over the teeth. U04BD is stored when the park lock module keeps sending messages but their content, such as the reported pawl position, is implausible. It differs from U049F, which covers the module that moves the whole transmission range. No manufacturer documents this code publicly. How a maker checks such data is shown by Ford's 2024 OBD description: on park-by-wire vehicles the engine module rejects implausible monitoring data from the gear shift module and the transmission range control module as non-MIL faults, and the two park position sensor inputs are compared with each other (P07B5). Per Ford's 2012 description, it is a value that arrives but lies outside its valid range that makes a network fault an invalid-data code rather than a lost-communication one (U0422 instead of U0140). U01BA marks a module that has gone quiet. Expect a warning to secure the vehicle, a car that refuses to leave Park, or a Park state that the display does not confirm.

Likely causes

Symptoms

• Warning to secure the vehicle or apply the parking brake
• Vehicle will not shift out of Park
• Park not confirmed on the display

Repair estimate

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

Parts involved

Related codes

References: fordservicecontent.com, newtonnet.co.uk, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org.