P040D: Exhaust Gas Recirculation Temperature Sensor A Circuit High
What to do
Ask for the connector and wiring to be checked before the sensor is replaced. On this kind of sensor a break in the circuit produces exactly this reading, so a corroded terminal or an unplugged connector is the likeliest cause — and much cheaper than a part.
Mention any recent work on the EGR system or the cooler. A sensor left disconnected after cleaning is a common and free-to-fix cause.
The car will usually drive normally, though the emissions system will not be working as intended, so it is worth fixing before an MOT.
Mention if the fault comes and goes, particularly with heat, since that points at a wire or terminal rather than the sensor.
What this code means
The first EGR temperature sensor's signal is above the highest voltage the circuit should produce.
On a temperature sensor, high and open usually mean the same thing, and knowing which way round this sensor works is what makes the code readable. Most of these are negative temperature coefficient thermistors — resistance falls as temperature rises. The module supplies a reference through a fixed resistor and measures what is left across the sensor.
So a broken connection produces the highest possible voltage, which the module reads as an impossibly cold sensor. An open circuit and a sensor reporting −40°C are electrically identical.
That is the practical shortcut: on this kind of sensor, a circuit-high code almost always means a broken connection rather than genuine heat. Look for an open before anything else.
The connector is the usual place, and this one has a specific enemy. It sits in the hottest, sootiest part of the engine bay, so insulation hardens and terminals corrode faster here than almost anywhere else.
Check the obvious first: a sensor left unplugged after EGR cleaning or cooler work produces this exactly, and on a recently serviced vehicle that costs nothing to eliminate.
A sensor failed internally open is the honest last conclusion — real, but cheaper things come first.
Likely causes
Start here
- Open circuit in sensor wiring · moderate
- Corroded or loose connector · easy
- Heat damage to wiring insulation · moderate
Less common
- Sensor left disconnected after previous work · easy
- Faulty EGR temperature sensor · moderate
Symptoms
Components involved
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.
Community experience
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