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P2104

Throttle Actuator Control System — Forced Idle

The ECU has detected a fault severe enough that it forces the throttle actuator to the idle stop. The driver loses pedal authority — only idle is available until the underlying TAC fault clears.

  • Check engine light: Yes
  • Emissions related: Yes
  • Repair difficulty: hard

Symptoms

  • Check engine light on
  • Reduced throttle response, possible limp mode
  • Hesitation or surging
  • Idle too high or too low

Common causes

Ordered by how often each turns out to be the cause.

  • Severe upstream TAC faultCommon
  • Throttle position signal invalidPossible

Parts involved

  • Throttle Actuator Control
  • ECM

P2104 is a generic OBD-II code defined by SAE J2012. Exact wording and diagnostic procedure vary by manufacturer and model. Code definitions are drawn from the public-domain OBDex dataset; the workshop notes are our own.