Cause
Open sensor ground circuit
The sensor's return path broken rather than its signal or supply. A sensor with no earth reports at the top of its range rather than reading nothing, which looks like a shorted-to-voltage fault and sends the diagnosis to the wrong end of the circuit.
Typically a moderate job.
Some of these codes mean you should stop driving
11 of the 22 codes this can cause indicate a fault where continuing to drive risks damage or is unsafe. Which one you have matters more than the cause does — read the code's own page before deciding.
Codes this can cause (22)
Codes where this is a likely explanation first, rather than merely a possible one.
- P0123 Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor/Switch A Circuit High Likely for this code Stop driving High
- P0193 Fuel Rail Pressure Sensor Circuit High Bank 1 Likely for this code Stop driving High
- P0223 Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor/Switch B Circuit High Likely for this code Stop driving High
- P0228 Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor/Switch C Circuit High Likely for this code Stop driving High
- P0238 Turbocharger/Supercharger Boost Sensor A Circuit High Likely for this code High
- P0242 Turbocharger/Supercharger Boost Sensor B Circuit High Likely for this code High
- P0338 Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit High Likely for this code Stop driving High
- P0343 Camshaft Position Sensor A Circuit High Bank 1 or Single Sensor Likely for this code Stop driving High
- P0348 Camshaft Position Sensor A Circuit High — Bank 2 Likely for this code Stop driving High
- P0368 Camshaft Position Sensor B Circuit High — Bank 1 Likely for this code Stop driving High
- P0388 Crankshaft Position Sensor B Circuit High Likely for this code Stop driving High
- P0393 Camshaft Position Sensor B Circuit High — Bank 2 Likely for this code Stop driving High
- P0406 Exhaust Gas Recirculation Sensor A Circuit High Likely for this code Low
- P0408 Exhaust Gas Recirculation Sensor B Circuit High Likely for this code Low
- P0453 Evaporative Emission System Pressure Sensor/Switch A Circuit High Likely for this code Low
- P0468 Evaporative Emission Purge Flow Sensor Circuit High Likely for this code Low
- P0473 Exhaust Pressure Sensor A Circuit High Likely for this code Stop driving Moderate
- P0553 Power Steering Pressure Sensor/Switch Circuit High Likely for this code Low
- P018D Fuel Pressure Sensor B Circuit High Moderate
- P04D1 Exhaust Gas Recirculation Temperature Sensor C Circuit High Moderate
- P051D Crankcase Pressure Sensor A Circuit High Moderate
- P0585 Cruise Control Multi-Function Input A/B Correlation Moderate
Information, not instruction
CarGeek is a reference, not a service manual. Its pages are written from public sources and from what other people have found, never from a manufacturer's own service information, so they can be wrong or incomplete for your particular vehicle. Some of what they describe carries real risk: high voltage, fuel under pressure, stored energy, hot and moving parts.
Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
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