P0269 Cylinder 3 contribution/balance fault
What P0269 means
The engine computer measures how much each cylinder speeds up the crankshaft when it fires. P0269 means cylinder 3 is out of balance with the others, contributing too much or too little. On diesels this usually points to an injector problem.
P0269 is a generic SAE J2012 code: it means the same on every make. The exact cause still depends on the car, so read the freeze-frame data before replacing parts.
At a glance
- Severity
- Medium
- Typical repair cost
- 100–1500 €
- Workshop time
- 1–6 h
- Repair difficulty
- Hard
- DIY possible
- No
- Check engine light
- Yes
- Affects emissions test
- Yes
Parts and labour at an independent workshop in Europe. Main dealers charge more; the cause decides the bill, not the code.
Symptoms
- Check engine light on
- Rough idle or vibration
- Knocking from one cylinder
- Smoke or loss of power
Common causes
- Faulty, worn or sticking injector on cylinder 3
- Injector correction code not programmed after replacement
- Low compression in cylinder 3
- Wiring fault to injector 3
- Air in the fuel or poor fuel supply
Can I keep driving with P0269?
You can drive, but have it checked within one or two weeks.
What to check first
- Check injector balance or correction values for all cylinders
- Do a leak-off test on diesel injectors
- Check the injector 3 wiring and connector
- Do a compression test on cylinder 3 before replacing the injector
Related codes
- P0267 Cylinder 3 injector A circuit low
- P0264 Cylinder 2 injector A circuit low
- P0270 Cylinder 4 injector A circuit low
- P0261 Cylinder 1 injector A circuit low
- P024E Charge air cooler bypass position sensor A circuit low
- P0243 Turbocharger/supercharger wastegate actuator A
- P0299 Turbocharger/supercharger A underboost
- P0238 Turbocharger/supercharger boost sensor A circuit high
Data: TORKO fault-code catalogue, built on OBDex (CC0-1.0) and reviewed against workshop practice. Informational only — it does not replace a diagnosis by a mechanic.
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