This lets the ECM know what’s actually happening to optimize the fuel-to-air ratio for optimal performance. That’s where the boost pressure sensor comes in. While the ECM requests a specific amount of boost, it needs to measure the result of its request.
Your vehicle’s boost pressure sensor tells the ECM how much boost the turbocharger or supercharger is actually producing. If you see that the pressure is lower or higher than usual on higher loads, it can absolutely be caused by a bad boost pressure sensor. Some car models do actually have a turbo pressure gauge which you can read the current turbo pressure. This is caused by an increased or decreased turbo pressure. Lack or Increase of BoostĪs we discussed in the previous symptoms section, a faulty boost pressure sensor can cause the engine performance to increase or decrease. This can be fatal for your engine so you do absolutely want to address this issue as fast as possible. In some rare cases, it can also increase the turbo pressure which can cause the performance to increase. However, with a turbocharged engine, it might cut the turbo off completely, which will cause a significant drop in engine performance. That’s because even with a supercharged engine, the ECM doesn’t know how the supercharger is performing, so it can’t optimize performance. This will cause an overall decrease or increase in engine performance.Ī faulty boost pressure sensor will cause more noticeable drops in performance in a turbocharged engine than a supercharged one but drops in engine performance can happen in both. Your boost pressure sensor tells your ECM the actual output of your turbo or supercharger, so if it’s not reporting accurate numbers, the ECM will adjust to faulty readings. Decreased or Increased Engine Performance If there is an underlying issue, your boost pressure sensor is doing precisely what it’s supposed to, alerting you of an underlying problem.
You’ll still need to rule out an underlying electrical issue, and you’ll need to verify that there’s nothing wrong with your turbo or supercharger. If you have this engine code, there’s a good chance that you have a faulty boost pressure sensor, but it’s not the only thing that could be causing it.
More specifically, you’re going to have a code P0236. If you have a faulty boost pressure sensor, you’re going to have a check engine light. Can You Drive With a Faulty Boost Pressure Sensor? Bad Boost Pressure Sensor Symptoms 1.