Home › Canon › Canon Printer › Canon Error Code 5100: Meaning, Causes & Fix

Canon Error Code 5100: Meaning, Causes & Fix

Canon Printer display showing 5100 — FixCode Guide error code graphic

The carriage is the moving assembly that carries the print head (or FINE cartridges) back and forth across the page, and 5100 is the printer reporting that this motion has failed or can no longer be measured. Canon's documentation covers the code at two depths that fit together. The service-manual name, from the PIXMA iP5200 generation, is blunt: 'Carriage error [5100]'. The consumer procedure, repeated across Canon USA's model articles (GX6020, G2260/G3260, TR8620 and others), opens with 'a printer error has occurred' and walks the physical causes in order: the print head holder's movement is impeded by packing material or tape left inside; jammed paper is blocking it; something is obstructing the paper feed path. Canon's MX922 article (ART140353) goes one level deeper and names the positioning system explicitly: remove any packing material, clear the paper path, clean the timing strip, and power cycle — and it warns you, with a labelled diagram, not to touch the clear film (A), the white belt (B) or the tubes (C) inside, because the clear film is the encoder strip the printer reads to know where the carriage is. Canon's LED page, defining the same fault as P02, states the encoder's role in one sentence: 'The printer detects the position of the FINE cartridge holder by the encoder film. If the film is smeared, the holder position cannot be detected properly.' So 5100 has two halves that a good diagnosis keeps separate: the carriage cannot move (something physical is in its way), or the carriage moves but the printer cannot see where it is (a smeared encoder film). The first half is the common one and the cheap one; the second half is why Canon's procedure includes the timing-strip cleaning that lesser guides skip.

Applies to: PIXMA inkjet models reporting support codes — documented by Canon USA for the MX922 (dedicated article ART140353), GX6020, G2260/G3260 and TR8620, with the service definition from the iP5200 manual and older MX870/MP manuals describing the same holder-movement checks. LED-display PIXMA models show this fault as P02 instead of 5100.

Safety first. Before you start: unplug the appliance (or switch off its breaker) before opening any panel, and close the water taps before disconnecting hoses. Work unplugged. Canon's procedures consistently put 'turn off and unplug' ahead of any internal inspection, and covers should only be opened as far as the model's consumer documentation describes (carriage and tank access); everything deeper is service work, on machines connected to mains electricity. Inside a PIXMA, observe Canon MX922's labelled warning: do not touch the clear encoder film, the white carriage belt or the ink tubes during jam clearing and cleaning — the film is both fragile and a diagnostic component. Treat ink as a chemical consumable: wash skin contact, keep cartridges and MegaTank ink away from eyes, and never defeat the ink-out protection (holding Stop for 5 seconds to disable remaining-ink detection) as a routine — Canon warns that printing under ink-out conditions may damage the machine and accepts no liability for that damage. On imageRUNNER machines add heat and scale: the fixing unit runs at fuser temperatures (the E001 thresholds in Canon's manuals are in the hundreds of degrees), internal parts are service-only, and a copier that has tripped a fixing protection code should be left to a technician rather than repeatedly reset and retried.

What causes the 5100 code on a Canon printer?

Packing material or tape left inside the printer

Canon's first check on every platform that documents 5100, and the classic cause on a new or recently moved printer: the orange tape and protective pieces that immobilise the carriage for shipping are designed to stop exactly the movement the printer now needs. A piece left behind — or one that worked loose and migrated into the carriage path — lets the holder move a short distance and then stop against it, which is why a 5100 on a just-unboxed or just-moved printer should be read as a packing story until the inside of the machine has been proven empty. Canon's MX922 article puts 'remove the packing material' ahead of everything else for this reason.

Jammed or torn paper in the carriage or feed path

Canon's second named check: paper jammed inside the machine obstructing movement. The dangerous version is not the visible jammed sheet but the fragment — a corner torn off during an earlier, hurried jam removal, sitting in the path where the carriage or the paper feed expects clearance. The holder strikes it (or the feed mechanism handing paper up to the carriage stalls) and the printer reports the motion failure as 5100 rather than as a jam code, because what failed is movement, not feeding. Canon's older MX870/MP wording covers both halves: confirm the movement of the print head holder is not blocked, and clear jammed paper or protective material that is preventing it.

A foreign object inside the printer

Canon USA's consumer articles for 5100 name foreign material inside the machine alongside jammed paper, and Canon's LED page lists 'foreign material is left inside the machine' as a P02 check in its own right. Paper clips, coins, pen caps, children's small toys, a build-up of shredded paper dust and label backing — anything that falls or is pushed through the paper slot can land in the carriage's travel path. The object does not have to be large; the carriage runs with small clearances, and an obstruction anywhere along its travel produces the same report. This cause is why Canon's procedure is a visual inspection of the whole inside, not a check of one spot.

A smeared encoder (timing) film

The half of 5100 that obstruction-checking misses, and the one Canon documents most precisely. The encoder film is a clear strip running the width of the printer, printed with fine markings the carriage's sensor reads continuously to know its position. Canon's LED page states the failure directly: if the film is smeared, the holder position cannot be detected properly. Ink mist from years of printing, grease from a fingertip, or a splash from a cartridge change can coat the film; the carriage moves physically fine while the printer flies blind and trips 5100. Canon's MX922 procedure answers with a documented cleaning of the timing strip — and with its warning not to touch the film casually, because fingerprints smear it.

Cartridges or print head not seated, fouling the carriage

A FINE cartridge or ink tank that was not clicked fully home can sit proud of the carriage and foul the printer's frame or the encoder film as the carriage passes, and a head installed slightly askew changes the carriage's clearances entirely. Canon's general printer-error procedures include reseating the cartridges/head among the recovery steps for this family, and the timing fits the cause: a 5100 that arrives immediately after a cartridge change, on a printer that was printing an hour earlier, is a seating story first and a parts story last. The cure is mechanical — open, remove, inspect the carriage for anything sitting high, refit until each cartridge locks — before any cleaning or service step is considered.

Checks to run before you replace anything

Safety first, in Canon's order: turn the printer off and unplug it before opening it up. Never reach into a powered PIXMA, and never force the carriage by hand against resistance.
Open the cover and inspect the full width of the carriage path with a torch: look for orange tape, packing pieces, paper fragments, labels, clips or any foreign object, from one end of the travel to the other. Confirm the holder can account for its whole travel, as Canon's older manual wording puts it.
Remove any jammed paper slowly, pulling evenly with both hands in the direction of the paper path; then look again specifically for the torn corner that stays behind — it is the most common reason a 'cleared' 5100 returns instantly.
Identify the encoder film before touching anything: the clear strip (Canon's MX922 diagram labels it (A)) running behind the carriage, with the white belt (B) and, on tank models, the ink tubes (C). Canon's warning: do not touch these parts during ordinary checks — the film check is visual at this stage.
Inspect the film visually for smearing: a cloudy band, ink spots or a greasy streak along the strip, especially opposite where the carriage parks. A visibly clean film points back to obstruction; a visibly smeared film names the second half of the diagnosis.
Reseat the cartridges or print head: remove each one, check nothing is sitting proud or askew and no tape remains on a new cartridge, and refit until each locks. A 5100 that started at a cartridge change usually ends here.
Reconnect and power on, and watch the carriage's start-up travel: a full, smooth sweep to both ends with no code is the pass; a carriage that stops at the same position every time is pointing at the obstruction or film defect at that exact spot.

How to fix canon error code 5100?

Remove all packing material and protective tape from inside the printer (Canon's first MX922 step) — including pieces tucked at the ends of the carriage travel — then close the cover, plug in and turn on.
Clear the paper path completely: jammed sheets out slowly, fragments retrieved, the feed area checked. Then power cycle as Canon prescribes (off, unplug, replug, on).
Remove any foreign object found inside, and check the paper slot and rear tray for the source so the next one does not follow it in.
If the path is provably clear and 5100 persists, clean the timing (encoder) strip following Canon's MX922 procedure exactly: the strip is fragile, the cleaning is a gentle wipe of the film with the materials and motion Canon specifies, and the belt and tubes stay untouched.
Reseat or replace a cartridge that will not sit correctly in the carriage; a cartridge whose latch is damaged will keep fouling the travel no matter how often it is pushed in.
Power on and run a nozzle check or a single test page to prove full carriage travel under printing, not just at start-up.
If 5100 returns with a clean path, a clean film and correctly seated cartridges, Canon's articles end where they always end for this code: the printer requires servicing — a worn carriage drive, encoder sensor or related internal part is beyond the documented owner procedure.

The part that usually fails: The encoder (timing) film — the part Canon's procedure actually names

Among 5100's suspects, the encoder film is the one Canon elevates to a named, procedurally handled part: the MX922 article diagrams it as item (A), warns you not to touch it in passing, and gives a cleaning procedure for it, because a smeared film is a documented cause of this code. Cleaning per Canon is the first treatment; a film that is scratched, torn or permanently clouded is a service replacement — it is a precision component whose markings the carriage sensor reads, and it is not a user-orderable consumable on most models. Everything else in the 5100 story (carriage rail, drive belt, encoder sensor) is diagnosed by elimination and replaced by service.

How to reset / clear the 5100 code

5100 has no software reset and needs none: it is a live motion report, and it clears when the carriage completes its travel with the obstruction gone or the film readable again, followed by Canon's power cycle (turn off, unplug, plug back in, turn on). One platform caution from Canon's MX922 documentation belongs in every 5100 reset on a fax model: unplugging the printer deletes any faxes stored in its memory, so print or forward stored faxes before you pull the cord. If the code survives the full documented procedure, it is not waiting for a better reset — it is reporting a fault the procedure has already excluded down to service-level parts.

Canon documents one general power reset for its printers, in the form given in Canon USA's B203 article and repeated across its support-code procedures: turn the printer off, unplug the power cord, wait at least two minutes, plug the cord back in, and turn the printer on. The LED-display manuals give the same motion in shorter form for undocumented errors (turn off, unplug, plug back in, turn on; if the error remains, contact the service centre). This reset clears transient internal states only — Canon's guidance is explicit for code families like B200-B207 that a code which reappears after the reset has given its verdict (there, likely print head hardware failure and service). Two standing cautions attach to the unplug step on Canon machines: on fax models (the MX line), unplugging deletes faxes stored in the printer's memory, so retrieve them first; and for imageRUNNER copiers, user power cycling is not an error clear at all — iR errors are cleared in service mode (COPIER > FUNCTION > CLEAR > ERR) by a technician after the fault is repaired, and repeated clearing of protection codes like E001 without repair defeats a safety function.

Why does the 5100 code keep coming back?

A 5100 that returns days after a successful clear is usually the fragment pattern: a torn paper corner or a piece of label backing missed in the first inspection, migrating under the carriage until it jams the travel again — the second inspection, slower and with a torch, is the cure. The slower return, over weeks, is the film pattern: ink mist is a by-product of printing itself, and a high-volume or borderless-heavy printer re-coats its encoder film steadily, so a film cleaned once will eventually need cleaning again — Canon's procedure existing as a procedure, not a one-off trick, reflects exactly that. Returns that arrive with grinding or a carriage that slams its end stop are different: the positioning system is failing mechanically, and repeated returns there are a service case, not a cleaning schedule.

Can you still use the printer with 5100 showing? No — 5100 means the assembly that moves the print head across every line of the page cannot complete or cannot verify its movement. Printing is stopped, and forcing pages through risks tearing paper into the path or damaging the encoder film the diagnosis depends on.

How to stop 5100 coming back

Packing material or tape left inside the printer: Canon's first check on every platform that documents 5100, and the classic cause on a new or recently moved printer: the orange tape and protective pieces that immobilise the carriage for shipping are designed to stop exactly the movement the printer now needs. A piece left behind — or one that worked loose and migrated into the carriage path — lets the holder move a short distance and then stop against it, which is why a 5100 on a just-unboxed or just-moved printer should be read as a packing story until the inside of the machine has been proven empty. Canon's MX922 article puts 'remove the packing material' ahead of everything else for this reason.
Jammed or torn paper in the carriage or feed path: Canon's second named check: paper jammed inside the machine obstructing movement. The dangerous version is not the visible jammed sheet but the fragment — a corner torn off during an earlier, hurried jam removal, sitting in the path where the carriage or the paper feed expects clearance. The holder strikes it (or the feed mechanism handing paper up to the carriage stalls) and the printer reports the motion failure as 5100 rather than as a jam code, because what failed is movement, not feeding. Canon's older MX870/MP wording covers both halves: confirm the movement of the print head holder is not blocked, and clear jammed paper or protective material that is preventing it.
A foreign object inside the printer: Canon USA's consumer articles for 5100 name foreign material inside the machine alongside jammed paper, and Canon's LED page lists 'foreign material is left inside the machine' as a P02 check in its own right. Paper clips, coins, pen caps, children's small toys, a build-up of shredded paper dust and label backing — anything that falls or is pushed through the paper slot can land in the carriage's travel path. The object does not have to be large; the carriage runs with small clearances, and an obstruction anywhere along its travel produces the same report. This cause is why Canon's procedure is a visual inspection of the whole inside, not a check of one spot.

When to call a pro. Book service when: 5100 persists after packing, paper and foreign objects are provably cleared and the encoder film has been cleaned per Canon's procedure; the carriage makes grinding or slamming noises, or stops mid-travel with visible force; the film is scratched, torn or detached; the carriage will not move at all even unpowered (never force it — a seized carriage drive is the technician's job); or the printer is under warranty, where opening it further than Canon's consumer procedure describes is the wrong economy.

Retrieving stored fault codes on Canon printers

How a Canon code reaches you depends on the platform's display, and the display tells you which code language you are in. LCD PIXMA and MAXIFY models show the full support code (four digits, or alphanumeric like 5B00, B200, C000) on the printer's screen and in the computer's status monitor, together with a plain-language message on many models. LED-display PIXMA models cannot show four characters, so they render the same faults as alternating E or P letters with digits (E, 0, 4) and flash the Alarm lamp in counted patterns — Canon's manuals publish the translation tables (support code 1688 is E16 and 16 flashes on the families that use flash counts; P02 is support code 5100). imageRUNNER copiers show E codes with a subcode (for example E805-0001) on the control panel, with full detail held in service mode and error logs; the send function on imageRUNNER and imageCLASS machines reports its own #-prefixed codes (#751, #802...) on the Status Monitor/Cancel screen's job details and printed in the Results column of the Communication Management Report. First diagnostic act on any Canon: read the code in the language the machine is speaking, then use that language's table — never another platform's.

Other Canon printer error codes

Code	Meaning	First fix
5B00	The waste ink absorber is full. The printer's internal waste-ink counter has reached its limit and Canon stops the printer until the absorber is serviced — 5B00 (with its siblings 5B01 and 5B12-5B15) is the full state that the 1700/1701 'almost full' warnings precede.	There is no owner fix in Canon's documentation, and that is the fix section's honest headline: 5B00 is resolved by absorber service — a service centre replaces the waste ink absorber pads and resets the waste-ink counter as one job.
5C02	PIXMA support code: Canon's consumer documentation says only 'a printer error has occurred' for 5C02 — Canon publishes no more specific consumer meaning for this code	Turn the printer off, unplug the power cord, plug it back in and turn it on, exactly as Canon's manual page directs; if 5C02 is still displayed, contact the Canon service centre
1000	PIXMA support code: there is no paper in the rear tray	Load paper in the rear tray and press the Black/Color button (or OK/Resume) to continue printing
1300	PIXMA support code: paper is jammed in the paper output slot	Pull the jammed paper out slowly with both hands, check inside the machine for torn pieces, then press the resume button; if the paper tears and stays inside, Canon directs you to the service centre
1401	PIXMA support code: the print head is not installed (on FINE-cartridge models: the FINE cartridge is not installed). Canon USA's MX922 article words the 1401/1403/1405 group as the print head not being installed or possibly being damaged	Install the correct print head or FINE cartridge properly; if the code stays with a correctly installed head, Canon routes you to the service centre
1403	PIXMA support code: the FINE cartridge cannot be recognized — the appropriate FINE cartridge is not installed. Canon groups 1403 with 1401 and 1405 on MX922-class machines (print head not installed or may be damaged)	Install the appropriate FINE cartridge for the model; if a correct, known-good cartridge still gives 1403, Canon directs you to the service centre
1472	PIXMA G-series (MegaTank) support code: the print head cannot be recognized — it may not be installed properly or may not be compatible with the machine	Remove and reinstall the print heads in their correct left/right positions following Canon's procedure for your G model; if 1472 persists, replace the print head — and if it still persists, contact Canon service
1660	PIXMA support code (models with separate ink tanks): the ink tank is not installed	Install the ink tank for the colour the printer indicates, push it until it seats, and close the cover
1682	PIXMA support code (LED models show E15): the FINE cartridge cannot be recognized — Canon's manual table equates it with U150, an ink cartridge hardware error; the cartridge may be damaged	Reinstall the FINE cartridge; if 1682 returns, replace the cartridge — Canon's documented remedy for this code is replacement, not cleaning
1684	PIXMA support code (LED models show E14): the ink cartridge (ink tank) cannot be recognized	Install the appropriate ink tank for the model, seated fully; press Stop to cancel a job you do not need, per Canon's page
1686	PIXMA support code (LED models show E13): the ink may have run out — the remaining ink level cannot be correctly detected	Replace the cartridge, or hold the Stop button for at least 5 seconds to continue printing with the remaining-ink detection function disabled — Canon notes the level will then show as unknown
1687	PIXMA support code (LED models show E04): the FINE cartridge is not installed properly	Open the cover, take the FINE cartridge out and reinstall it until it locks in place, then close the cover and resume
1688	PIXMA support code (LED models show E16): the ink has run out	Replace the ink tank or cartridge and close the panel. To keep printing temporarily, hold Stop for at least 5 seconds to release the remaining-ink detection — Canon warns that printing under ink-out conditions may damage the machine and that it accepts no liability for damage caused that way
1700	PIXMA support code: the waste ink absorber is almost full (the warning stage before 5B00)	Press OK (or the Black/Color button) to continue printing for now, and arrange service — once the absorber is completely full the printer stops with 5B00 and only service or replacement resolves it

See the full list on the Canon Printer error codes hub.

Codes 5100 gets confused with

6000 — Canon's service-manual name is 'Line feed error [6000]' — the paper feed mechanism has faulted. Canon's consumer articles describe the same event as a printer error usually caused by jammed paper or a foreign object stuck in the paper feed path. Support code 6000 sits at the seam between Canon's two documentation depths, and reading both is what makes it make sense.

C000 — Printer error (MX922-class): Canon USA's dedicated MX922 article documents exactly three causes — packing material (the orange tape) not fully removed, an ink tank not seated properly, or an obstruction in the paper feed path. On some other models Canon groups C000 as a generic printer error handled by power cycle, then service. C000 needs to be rescued from its own internet reputation before it can be fixed, because the popular account of it is not Canon's.

7700 — A platform-split support code. On TS-series models Canon groups 7500/7600/7700/7800 as 'an error related to the ink cartridges has occurred' (fix: replace the ink cartridges). On G-series MegaTank models the same group is 'a print head error has occurred' — the print head(s) need replacement. Canon's manual for some other models words 7700 only as 'an error requiring a repair has occurred'. 7700 is the batch's clearest lesson in why Canon codes cannot be read without the model name, because Canon itself documents two different faults under this one number.

5200 — Print head temperature rise error — Canon's service-manual name for 5200. The print head has overheated; Canon's consumer guidance ties the code to low remaining ink or a defective cartridge, and on G-series/MAXIFY models to ink not reaching the head. Support code 5200 is the PIXMA print head's thermal protection trip, and Canon documents it at two depths that agree with each other.

Frequently asked questions

What does Canon error code 5100 mean?

Canon’s service name for 5100 is 'carriage error': the print head holder's movement is blocked or its position cannot be detected. Canon's consumer procedure checks, in order, packing material left inside, jammed paper or an obstruction, and — on the MX922 article — a smeared timing (encoder) strip, the clear film the printer reads to track the carriage. LED-display models show the identical fault as P02.

How do I fix Canon error code 5100?

Follow Canon's order: turn off and unplug; open the printer and remove any packing material or orange tape; clear all jammed paper and any fragments or foreign objects from the carriage path; reseat the cartridges; plug in and turn on. If it persists on a model Canon covers with the timing-strip step (MX922 article), clean the encoder film exactly as that procedure describes. A 5100 still standing after a proven-clear path and a clean film is a service case in Canon's own articles.

How do I reset Canon error code 5100?

There is no code reset — 5100 clears when the carriage can move and be tracked again. The documented finish to the procedure is a power cycle: off, unplug, replug, on. On fax models like the MX922, heed Canon's warning first: unplugging deletes faxes stored in memory, so print them before you pull the plug. If the code returns after the full procedure, resetting again is not the next step — service is.

What does Canon error 5100 mean on a PIXMA MG3600?

The same carriage story as every PIXMA: the print head holder's movement is impeded or its position can't be detected. Work Canon's checks on the MG3600 — packing material or tape (especially if the printer was moved), jammed or torn paper in the path, a foreign object, cartridges reseated until they lock — then power cycle. The MG3600's FINE-cartridge carriage makes the seating check particularly relevant: a cartridge not clicked fully home can foul the travel.

I have 5100 on a PIXMA MX492 — where do I start?

Start where Canon starts: off and unplugged, then a full-width inspection of the carriage path for packing material, paper fragments and foreign objects — on a compact MX model the path is short but the clearances are tight, so a small fragment matters. Clear anything found, reseat both FINE cartridges, and power cycle. The MX492 stores received faxes in memory when it cannot print, so check for stored faxes before unplugging, per Canon's warning for the family.

My TR4720 shows 5100 after I changed cartridges — why?

That timing points at the seating cause Canon's family procedure includes: a cartridge or the head sitting slightly proud or askew after the change, fouling the carriage's travel or the encoder film as it passes. Power off, open up, remove and refit each cartridge until it locks, confirm nothing (tape, a label edge) is sitting high in the carriage, and restart. If 5100 persists with seating proven, move to the obstruction and encoder-film checks before suspecting parts.

Is 5100 the same error as P02?

Yes — same fault, two displays. Canon's LED support page defines P02 as support code 5100 and gives the same checks, including the encoder film: 'The printer detects the position of the FINE cartridge holder by the encoder film. If the film is smeared, the holder position cannot be detected properly.' If your printer shows P, 0, 2 on its segment display, every 5100 check on this page applies to you unchanged.

What is canon error code 5100?

Printer error: the print head holder (carriage) cannot move or cannot be tracked correctly. Canon's service name is 'carriage error'; its consumer procedure checks packing material, jammed paper and obstructions first, and on MX922-class machines adds cleaning the timing (encoder) strip. LED-display models show the same fault as P02. The carriage is the moving assembly that carries the print head (or FINE cartridges) back and forth across the page, and 5100 is the printer reporting that this motion has failed or can no longer be measured.

How to fix canon error code 5100?

Start here: Remove all packing material and protective tape from inside the printer (Canon's first MX922 step) — including pieces tucked at the ends of the carriage travel — then close the cover, plug in and turn on. Clear the paper path completely: jammed sheets out slowly, fragments retrieved, the feed area checked. Then power cycle as Canon prescribes (off, unplug, replug, on).