P0453 code on 2002 Mercury Sable
 

The check engine light on my 02 mercury sable is on with the code P0453: Fuel tank pressure sensor condition. I changed the gas cap but it remains. I sent it to a mechanic. He checked the car (I believe he just looked at the car because he tried to remove the 2 bolts with a wrench of wrong size and failed...) and tell me that it would cost 3xx bucks to fix the problem as he need to replace the whole part (shown in the picture, right under the trunk). Is it reasonable? Can anybody share some experience (problem location, expense, any...)? Thanks.

Btw, will it fail in emission inspection with this code?

Just in case, the light came on due to the fuel cap being the problem, it will take a trip or two to allow the monitors to see a corrected condition and turn the light off. Need to look into exact operation of evap pressure system to determine if cap could have been the problem, but most inspection places won't even inspect the vehicle with the C/E light on. Code says, "Evap Emission Control System Pressure Sensor High Input". Before I would offer a possible suggestion , want to check what causes high input , then maybe can suggest correction. hanky

Thank you hanky for the information. It has been about 300 miles since I changed the gas cap, so maybe the cause is somewhere else.

The 2 bolts I mentioned are shown in the pictures... rusted... The mechanic told me that once he took them off, the part can not be reinstalled and I'll definitely need a new one.http://media.share.ovi.com/m1/s/2275...c3596d773a.jpg

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http://media.share.ovi.com/m1/s/2275...ebf8b68e64.jpg

After checking the PO453 code input high, says, there is a path that vehicle reference voltage is coming directly thru the signal wire to the PCM from the pressure sensor. This could be caused by a defective pressure sensor on the fuel tank among other things. Its a pain to access and make the correct tests,but that is the better way to proceed.
There is something that can be tried. If the negative battery cable was disconnected for a few minutes then reconnected the light should be off. BUT, in doing this you will lose all clock, radio, Keep alive memory in the computer and any other memory amenities ie. seat, mirrors etc. The car would have to be driven thru a few cycles of normal driving for the computer to relearn the settings. Then you would have to reset clock, radio etc. If the light stays off, it was worth it. If it comes back on its a trip to the person(s) correcting the problem. hanky;)

That code is for the fuel tank pressure sensor. Those are usually installed in the fuel tank, not in the part you have a picture of. That picture is the emissions cannister and not related to your code. The thumbnail has a picture of the connection. It is on the top of the gas tank. You need to lower the tank to replace the part.

Back from system reset, same problem =(

Thank you way2old. Is it difficult to do the job by myself? I checked the gas tank from beneath the car and saw some pipes coming out of the tank and connected with the part I pictured. Is it possible that the code is also caused by pipe leakeage?

If you drain the tank and lower the tank from the car, it is not really too bad to do. The sensor just sits in a grommet and is just pulled out. Be sure you purchase the part before you try the repair becayse they are easily broken on removal. Also the tank can just be lowered and does not have to be completely removed. Good luck.

Way 2old has it on the money. Suspect your mechanic isn't familiar with this system. If you should decide to try this job yourself, just remember to get the fuel in the tank used up as much as possible because a tank full of fuel is HEAVY and dangerous for inexperienced people to mess around with. Also just because the code directs you to the system doesn't mean the part involved is defective. There could be other causes for the code to set and if after you go through all the trouble to replace the sensor and come up with the same problem it's not a good feeling. Don't know your skill level nor what equip you have to work with so ,please be careful and think this through before you attempt this job. hanky

I also have the P0453 error on a recently purchased 2002 Ford Taurus SES. I pulled the tank once I ran most of the gas out, and purchased a part from the local parts place. Now that I can see the top of the tank, I realize they sold me a part that actually mounts on/in a tank, and can't be right, mine in more like the one in the diagram. I also have the three wires that go to it cut near the plug. Since it's pushed right up to the bottom pan of the of the car, I "assume" we cliped it on a sharp edge pulling it out. I now have numbers on the old part to take back to the parts place, and a number for the tank wiring harness to see how much a replacement would cost. I'd normally just repair the wires, as that's what the day job is, but they are right at the plug, so it makes it more difficult.