U0231
Lost Communication With Rain Sensing Module
- Severity
- Medium
- Driving
- Drivable — book it in
The control module has stopped receiving messages from the rain sensing module. The driver aid it provides is switched off. The vehicle is unaffected mechanically - the risk here is habit: these systems work quietly and constantly, and it is easy to keep relying on one after it has stopped working.
Possible causes
- CommonLow battery voltage or a discharged battery, dropping modules off the bus
- CommonBlown fuse or corroded earth on the supply to the rain sensing module
- CommonWater ingress at a bumper- or screen-mounted sensor connector
- CommonDamage from a minor knock, a car wash or bumper work
- PossibleDamaged, chafed or corroded bus wiring
- PossibleFailed module
- PossibleModule not calibrated after windscreen or bumper replacement
What you might notice
- The assistance system will not switch on
- Warning message for the driver aid
- Parking sensors silent, or beeping constantly
- Adaptive cruise control unavailable
- Automatic wipers not responding to rain
- Blind spot warning inoperative
What to check, in order
- Assume the system is off and drive accordingly. Blind spot and parking aids fail quietly, and the danger is trusting one out of habit rather than the failure itself.
- Check battery voltage and state of charge before anything else. A weak or failing battery drops modules off the bus and sets lost-communication codes with no wiring fault at all - this is the single most common false lead in this whole family.
- Ask whether the windscreen or a bumper has been replaced, or whether the car has had a knock. These sensors need calibrating after that work, and an uncalibrated sensor is more common than a failed one.
- Inspect the sensor and its connector for water and physical damage. Bumper-mounted sensors take the worst of the weather and the car wash.
- Check the fuses, earths and connector for the rain sensing module.
- Note how many U-codes are stored. Several at once points at battery, earth or bus wiring.
Read this code from your own car
Plug an ELM327 adapter into the OBD-II port under the dashboard. Pin16 reads every stored, pending and permanent code, explains each one like this page does — offline, with no account — and shows what the car recorded when the fault was set.
Where this code sits
U00xxU01xxU02xxU03xxU04xxU05xxU06xxU07xxU08xxU09xxU0AxxU0BxxU0CxxU0DxxU0ExxU0FxxU10xxU11xxU12xxU13xxU14xxU15xxU16xxU17xxU18xxU19xxU1AxxU1BxxU1CxxU1DxxU1ExxU1FxxU20xxU21xxU22xxU23xxU24xxU25xxU26xxU27xxU28xxU29xxU2AxxU2BxxU2CxxU2DxxU2ExxU2FxxU30xxU31xxU32xxU33xxU34xxU35xxU36xxU37xxU38xxU39xxU3AxxU3BxxU3CxxU3DxxU3ExxU3Fxx