Not individually documented. Seen in 2 real diagnostics across 2 workshops.
P046C is a standardised code, but it is not one of the codes with a single agreed description. Rather than guess at a meaning, this page gives what its structure genuinely tells you and what we see when it turns up in real work.
What the code tells you on its own
- System. Powertrain. Engine, fuel, air, ignition, emissions and transmission. The overwhelming majority of what workshops bring to the AI.
- Functional group. EVAP and fuel tank
- Subsystem. Auxiliary emission controls
- Failure type byte, when the tool sends one. 00 (No sub-type information), 85. Scan tools report the same fault as P046C and as P046Cxx, where xx is a sub-type. They are one fault, and whether the sub-type appears depends on the tool and the protocol rather than on the car.
What we see when P046C turns up
Measured across the diagnostics run through Wrenchlane by independent workshops, not taken from a reference table. Sightings span May 2026.
- 2 diagnostics carried this code.
- 2 separate workshops met it, so this is not one shop seeing the same fault repeatedly.
- 50% of the time it arrived with no symptom description at all, meaning the technician had nothing but the code to work from.
- Most often on Audi, which is where we have seen it most rather than a claim about the fleet at large.
What this page does not tell you
A code names a symptom the car noticed, not the part that failed. P046C on one vehicle and the same code on another can have different causes, and the counts above describe what independent workshops brought to us rather than how common the fault is across all cars. Getting from the code to the cause needs the vehicle: its make, model, engine and what it is actually doing.
Run P046C against the car in front of you. Enter the code and the symptoms and get ranked probable causes for that specific vehicle, with the checks in the order worth doing them. Free account, no card.
Other evap and fuel tank codes
- P0441, Evaporative emission system incorrect purge flow
- P0443, Evaporative emission system purge control valve circuit
- P2066, Fuel level sensor B circuit range/performance
- P0456, Evaporative emission system leak detected, very small leak
- P0444, Evaporative emission system purge control valve circuit open
- P0451, Evaporative emission system pressure sensor range/performance