U0199 means a module on the network lost communication with door control module A, the driver's door module. Its neighbor U0200 is the passenger's door module. The driver's door module handles the window, lock, mirror, and on many vehicles the memory seat and mirror positions; when it goes quiet, those functions die together and the body control module logs the silence.
Severity: low. Can you keep driving? Yes. Nothing about the engine or brakes is involved. The driver's window and lock switches stop working, the mirror will not adjust, and memory functions fail. The rear windows, driven by their own switches, usually keep working, which is a useful clue.
Two manufacturer cases
- Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger, 2005 to 2010: a bulletin for inoperative front power locks and windows with U0199 (driver door module) or U0200 (passenger door module), where the rear window switches still work. The diagnosis checks for a loss of communication with the door module and, if confirmed, inspects and replaces the door module. Related repair records for the same code point at the inline connector under the left side of the instrument panel for loose connectors, pushed-out terminals or bent pins before the module is replaced.
- Toyota Avalon, 2015 (T-SB-0138-14, October 2014): to limit battery drain in shipping, a short pin is removed at the plant and stored in the engine compartment relay block on vehicles shipped to certain territories, and the dealer must reinstall it and clear the resulting codes at pre-delivery. Toyota's list of codes the missing pin leaves behind includes U0199 for the door module on memory-seat vehicles. A code with nothing wrong except a pin in the wrong place.
Causes, in the order they are found
A broken wire in the door-jamb harness between the body and the door, fatigued by years of opening and closing.
A connector problem at the inline connector under the dash or at the door module, with a pushed-out terminal or corrosion.
Power or ground to the door module: a fuse, or a ground in the door or the A-pillar.
Water in the door reaching the module, from a vapor barrier or a window seal.
Low battery voltage producing a group of U codes.
The door module, last, as in Chrysler's procedure once communication loss is confirmed.
A diagnostic order
- Record every U code. U0199 alone with U0200 absent points at the driver's door wiring or module; both together point at shared wiring or power.
- Test the battery.
- Flex the door-jamb harness with the key on while watching whether the window switch works, or while a scan tool pings the module. A function that returns with the door at a certain angle is a broken wire in the boot.
- Open the inline connector under the dash and the door module connector; look for pushed-out terminals, bent pins and corrosion.
- Measure power and ground at the door module, key on.
- Check the bus wires from the module through the jamb to the body.
- Repair the wire or connector; replace the module only if it has power, ground and a healthy bus and still does not answer. Replacement may need configuration.
Frequently asked questions
Can I drive with a U0199 code?
Yes. The driver's window, lock and mirror switches may not work, and memory functions fail, but nothing about driving is affected.
Why do the rear windows still work with U0199?
Because the rear windows use their own switches wired to their own motors or modules, while the driver's door module runs the front functions. Chrysler's bulletin lists working rear switches as part of the symptom pattern for this code.
Is U0199 the door module?
Sometimes, and Chrysler's procedure replaces it once a loss of communication is confirmed. But the harness through the door jamb and the inline connector under the dash fail more often, and Toyota's case shows the code can be left behind by a shipping pin with nothing broken at all.
How much does it cost to fix U0199?
A jamb harness wire repair is an hour or two. Repinning a connector is under an hour. A door module is a moderate part plus configuration.
Related codes
- U0200: lost communication with door control module B, the passenger side.
- U0140: lost communication with the body control module.
- B-series door lock and window codes stored alongside.
- See U codes and module communication for reading a group of network codes.
The code number itself tells you the family and the domain; how to read an OBD2 code number explains what each character means.