P0106MAP / barometric pressure sensor range or performance
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— P0106 rarely leaves you on the shoulder, but bad load metering hurts drivability and emissions readiness. Fix hose and correlation before long trips.
General guidance only — not a substitute for a professional inspection or official roadside / out-of-service criteria (e.g. CVSA OOSC) in your jurisdiction.
Means the manifold absolute pressure (MAP) or barometric reading is not tracking what the ECM expects for throttle angle, rpm, and airflow. On speed-density platforms the MAP is the primary load sensor; on MAF cars it is still a sanity check and baro reference. When the signal is sticky, slow, or fights the throttle and MAF correlation, you get a check-engine light, surge or flat tip-in, and fuel trims that wander. Freeze frame usually catches a tip-in or altitude change where kPa barely moves while the throttle clearly opened.
Shop frequency starts with a clogged or soft vacuum hose to the MAP—cracked rubber, loose barb, or a filter pellet packed with oil mist. Next is a contaminated MAP diaphragm or port after a blow-by event, then an intermittent harness at the sensor connector. Less common: wrong sensor installed after a parts-cannon swap, a shorted or open 5 V reference shared with other sensors, or a rare ECM input fault. Do not confuse range/performance with a hard low-circuit code: P0106 is about believable movement and correlation, not only a wire parked at ground.
Diagnosis: graph MAP kPa against throttle and rpm; a healthy sensor swings quickly from high vacuum at idle toward near-baro on wide-open throttle. Key-on engine-off baro should be close to local weather pressure—wild disagreement means sensor, reference, or calibration trouble. Apply hand vacuum to the MAP and watch voltage/PID follow smoothly; stickiness is a smoking gun. Check the hose and port for oil and cracks before condemning the sensor. Verify 5 V reference and ground integrity with other sensors on the same rail. Replace the MAP when hose and circuit are clean yet the PID still will not track throttle. Dig elsewhere when a new MAP still flatlines with a shared 5 V reference short, when MAF correlation is the real liar, or when boost-side platforms need a different pressure tap. System context: MAP feeds load calculation and baro updates—bad range/performance skews fueling and can pair with misfire or lean history. Prove correlation before ordering injectors.
Parts that may be involved
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MAP vacuum hose and port filter if cracked, soft, or oil-packed
Search for this part on Amazon(affiliate link)OEM-correct MAP / BARO sensor when sweep tests fail
Search for this part on Amazon(affiliate link)Connector repair kit or dielectric grease for fretting pins
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Vehicles often affected
Gasoline speed-density and MAF platforms—especially oil-mist MAP hoses, high-mileage vacuum rubber, and shared 5 V sensor rails.
Typical symptoms
- Check-engine light with P0106 and MAP that barely moves on tip-in
- Surge, flat acceleration, or unstable fuel trims under load
- KOEO baro reading far from local weather pressure
- Hand vacuum applied to MAP does not change the PID smoothly
- Code returns after a sensor swap if the vacuum hose was the real fault
Likely causes
- Most often: cracked, soft, or oil-clogged MAP vacuum hose / port filter
- Very common: contaminated or sticky MAP sensor diaphragm
- Common: intermittent open/high resistance at the MAP connector
- Common: shared 5 V reference fault affecting MAP and sibling sensors
- Less common: wrong MAP sensor installed after a prior repair
- Rare: ECM MAP input failure after hose, sensor, and reference prove good
Recommended checks
- 1
1. Graph MAP kPa vs throttle and rpm; confirm sticky or non-tracking response
- 2
2. Inspect/replace the MAP vacuum hose and clean the port filter pellet
- 3
3. Hand-vacuum test the MAP; watch PID/voltage sweep smoothly
- 4
4. Verify 5 V reference and ground shared with other sensors on the rail
- 5
5. Replace the MAP when hose and circuit are good but correlation still fails
- 6
6. Clear and road-test tip-in; confirm baro KOEO matches local pressure
DIY vs professional
DIY-safe: inspect/replace the MAP hose, clean the port, note altitude vs KOEO baro. Pro: live MAP/throttle correlation, hand-vacuum sweep, and shared 5 V reference diagnosis.
See also
Related terms
Content reviewed by a heavy-duty technician. About our editorial approach