P257E
Engine Hood Switch Circuit Low
The hood switch input reads stuck low — short to ground or stuck-closed switch. The body controller may treat the hood as permanently open and refuse to arm the alarm or close the HV interlock.
- Check engine light: Not always
- Emissions related: No
- Repair difficulty: easy
Common causes
Ordered by how often each turns out to be the cause.
- Switch wire shorted to groundCommon
- Connector pins corroded - high contact resistanceLess likely
- Harness chafing through insulationLess likely
Parts involved
- Hood Switch
P257E 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.