Misfire · Diagnostic trouble code

P0301

Cylinder 1 misfire detected

What it means

In plain terms

The ECM isolated the misfire to cylinder 1 specifically. That is a much narrower problem than P0300. The fault is almost always in that cylinder’s own ignition, fuel, or mechanical path.

What sets it

The trigger condition

Crankshaft acceleration drops on cylinder 1’s power stroke often enough to cross the misfire threshold.

Generic SAE definition. Manufacturers extend and sometimes override these, so the enhanced code on the vehicle in front of you may be narrower than what is written here.

Common causes

6 things that set P0301.

This is the list every other P0301 page will give you. Read it, then read the part underneath it.

What P0301 gives you
  • Ignition coil for cylinder 1
  • Spark plug: worn, fouled, or wrong gap
  • Fuel injector for cylinder 1, clogged or electrically failed
  • Compression loss: burned valve, worn ring, head gasket
  • Wiring or connector fault on that coil or injector circuit
  • Vacuum leak local to that runner
6 candidates · no ranking · your call
What AceDx gives you
One ranked call
Named specifically enough to order the part, with a confidence number and the evidence printed underneath.
1 call · evidence attached · you can overrule it
A frequency ranking is about every vehicle that ever threw P0301. You are working on one of them.
The actual problem

That list is not a diagnosis. It is a to-do list you did not ask for.

Every one of those 6 causes is now a decision somebody in the bay has to make, under a clock, on a car a customer wants back today.

We haven’t published a verdict for P0301 yet.

We could mock one up. We’re not going to. A fabricated example of our own product’s output is exactly the kind of thing this page is criticizing. Verdicts appear here as the pilot produces them on real vehicles, with the evidence they actually stood on.

Related codes

What often shows up beside it.

All diagnostic trouble codes →

Stop working P0301 from a list.

The pilot runs on your existing scan tool and your live repair orders. Bring us a car that's throwing this code.