I'm starting to get reports of failing connectors on the 453 so as each one is brought to my attention, I'll try to find the manufacturer and add the information here, plus the reason each reported one failed. 12v Battery Sensor Ben C from SmartTecnic contacted me...
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453 Electrical Faults
A Future Common Problem I'm lucky enough to be in a position where I hear about a lot of different issues on smarts and over many many years, I have learnt to spot patterns and trends for issues that can become common and well known faults. What's The Symptom For This...
453 Electronic Controllers
No one seems to know where any of the 453 controllers are or, if they find a controller, they don't know what it is. The main issues that causes confusion with a lot of people is four-fold. 1 - Being a Renault underneath, none of the controllers look like the old...
453 Engine And Gearbox Types
How Can I Tell What Engine My 453 Has? Normally, to tell the engine, you open the boot, remove the engine cover and take a look. There is always a tell-tale difference between the engines. Turbo 0.9 Engine (281.910) - Renault H4B 1.0 Non Turbo Engine (281.920) Renault...
453 Engine Cover
453 Fortwo & 453 Forfour Engine Cover Some people had problems with the single quarter turn fastener in the previous Fortwos and Roadster. The 453 replaced the single fastener with something easier but takes ages to undo. Here is the 453 engine cover. There are 6...
453 EQ Acoustic Presence Switch
If you have an EQ (electric drive) smart 453, it probably has the pedestrian warning noise maker fitted. Some countries didn't mandate them so you'll have to look and listen to know if yours has it. Up until the end of 2019, the car had a switch that could be pushed...
453 EQ Battery Fault
There seems to be a software issue with the 453 ED/EQ which can intermittently bring up a battery fault. The error can display in 1 of 3 ways. 1 - Malfunction, Visit Workshop ...or 2 - Charging Not possible, Visit Workshop Either way, the car will not start or drive....
453 EQ Charger Coding
Smart Screwed Up Many of the European electric drive 453s with the 7kW chargers left the factory with the inability to actually charge at 7kW. This is because of BS power regulations in some countries. Read about it here. Really? Yep. Let's look at numbers. Watts are...
453 EQ Crash Sensor
453 Pyro Fuse Surprise! Unlike most other EV cars, the 453 doesn't have a pyro fuse. Instead of something easy to change, it has an entire controller which internally destructs in a crash. Symptoms You've crashed the car and it will no longer drive. Step 1, Delete all...
453 EQ Desiccant Cartridge
What Is A Desiccant Cartridge? Electric doesn't like water but high power batteries and water can cause serious issues. A desiccant cartridge pulls all of the water out of the air inside the battery. This reduction in humidity stops the formation of condensation...
453 EQ HV Service Plug
If you are doing any work on the high voltage side of the car, any orange cables or any electrical controllers for the battery or motor, you really should be pulling the service disconnect plug to stop the system from being able to apply the 400 volts through the HV...
453 EQ Power Display
What Do The Lights Mean? There are 12 LEDs in an arc over the top of the dash pod. If you don't know what they mean, they could look random. However, it's not random but the info it tells you isn't exactly important or interesting. It's just showing how much power you...
453 Error Code P26AB
In 2019, an error code started being mentioned on various forums for the 453 model. In the subsequent years since this I have only ever heard of it happen on US cars so my assumption is that the failed part is a US only fixture. P26AB This is a generic error code but...
453 External Temperature Sensor
Unlike all other smart models, Smart (and by that I mean Renault) decided to stick the external temperature sensor in the offside mirror. There it is, the little plastic nipple. Adjust the mirror all of the way in... ...so you have enough room to get your fingers...
453 Facelift Centre Console
453 Facelift Centre Console It's got a tambour door! It's neat for storage but terrible for drinks holding and accessing the USBs. A lot of people are desperate to retrofit this to their old smart, however, when you see the price, most people don't bother. Smart Part...
453 Facelift LED Headlight Retrofit
Important This is ONLY for fitting facelift LED headlights to a NON FACELIFT 453. This is because DDT4All does not connect to all of the electrical controllers on the facelift car. This is because DDT4All uses Renault files but the facelifted 453s uses newer code not...
453 Facelift Rear LED Lights
This page covers fitting the new rear lights and making them work. There is a hardware option for all models and a software option for 2017+ models. 453 Facelift LED Rear Lights From about December 2019, smart started giving the option of a new design rear LED light...
453 Flip Key Upgrade
For the 1st year of construction, the 453 came with the standard Renault key on the left. When they released the 453 in America, they started supplying the updated Renault flip key. The blade can be folded into to the body for storage and to make it all a bit smaller....
453 Fog Light Bulb Change
Changing the fog light bulbs on the 453 can be easy or hard. It depends on which type of access panel you have. Large Access Panel Turn the steering wheel so you can see the front edge of the arch liner. Get your night vision goggles out and look at your access panel....
453 Fog Light Coding
Adding fog lights to the 453 is a 3 part situation. You have to: 1 - Fit the fog lights and the wiring loom. 2 - Code the fog light ability. 3 - Fit the replacement stalk. Step 2 - Code The Fog Lights Start DDT4All Read the installation and starting guide here. Coding...