are some cars just brutal with a knock sensor

[bowlofturtle]

My 98 maxima... well the 95-99 maxima or anything with VQ30DE motor had a knock sensor issue. They put the knock sensor in the valley of the V. That sensor just constantly goes bad, u can go with any brand part even OEM. They just die/crack/break every 2-3 years.

My g35x which has the VQ35DE motor, if there is a CEL light, most likely its for a cam sensor. A lot of forum guys joke about it. I've replace both about 5 years ago. Replace one last year and now just recently i did both again. The car literally stalled out on me, luckily i was able to get it started right away. And it was under 1 year so i could warranty it.


So it me thinking, what is the root cause? Or are just certain motors rough on parts? Maybe to tight of a parameter? I would say bad OEM vendor but in the case of the cam sensor. I went with OEM and Beck and Arnley normally. But people on the forum have tried all brands. Some went as far was doing them yearly and using duralast's lifetime warranty.

 

[Silk]

Never seen a faulty knock sensor on a VQ30. Have seen mice chew the wire on a V6 knock sensor, but none actually go faulty by themselves.

 

[Artem]

Sounds like a design flaw more then the actual engine physically killing the sensors.

Oh and, aftermarket companies COPY the OEM design 99% of the time, mostly doing it poorly and with worse parts but that's not the point.

So if the OEM sensor is designed poorly, any replacement you try will fail also because they made the sensor to the same specs.

 

[Chris142]

Can you move the sensor to a more accessable place like the Toyota guys do?

 

[kttymau]

Back in the late 90s / early 2000s, I worked in a Nissan dealer’s service department. I remember having a conversation about knock sensor fault codes and VG30s with the shop foreman. His “wisdom” was, “it’s NEVER the knock sensor, if one of my techs comes to me and says he wants to replace one, I make him go back and keep working ‘til he finds the real problem”.
As an aside, are you actually getting a CEL, or just finding stored codes? I seem to remember that the Nissan OBD2 logic won’t actually trigger a light from just a knock sensor code.
This is going back nearly 20 years, so take it all with a grain of salt.

 

[goodtimes]

Using a code to replace sensors is not the way it works. Replacing good sensors is good for sensor makers though.

 

[mk378]

Getting in the habit of washing your engine-- will kill a lot of sensors.

 

[Trav]

I don't see many knock sensor defects, in fact it seem pretty rare on Nissan V6 engines.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

The knock sensor is a very common problem in the 4th Maxima. I had to replace mine twice.

Having one of these really helps with the knock sensor removal/installation

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted By: mk378
Getting in the habit of washing your engine-- will kill a lot of sensors.
I never understood what the point was in washing your engine besides killing your electronics. Grease stops things from rusting!

 

[quint]

I've had to replace the knock sensor in my 240sx at least three times that I can remember, maybe more, I think I lost count. They tend to crack open, or lose connectivity to ground and the resulting power difference is night and day. Nissan apparently had a number of problems with this, at least according to the Nissan tech who gave me this info. According to him it wasnt always the sensor itself, there were issues with the harnesses and corrosion between the sensor and the block.

I've never had to replace a knock sensor in any other make or model car I have ever owned other than my 240. And I kind of really have to replace it or find the issue when it acts up, because the amount of timing the ECU pulls really kills the power and turns this car into a slug when there is a problem with this circuit. And it happens all too frequently.

To be honest, the last time I had a problem with it, I went to the junkyard, grabbed a used harness, and soldered in a few resistors (to match the knock sensors resistance) and plugged that in, in the knock sensors place. What a difference, especially in low end torque. I had thought this was just a very tired, worn out engine, but apparently not. I'm tempted to keep it this way forever, I rarely hear detonation unless its really hot out, and the throttle response is amazing. Using a new sensor, and testing everything to make sure it is 100% never produced results this good. This car is pretty old so if I end up blowing a hole in a piston, or breaking a piston ring, or whatever, the way it pulls and drives now seems worth the risk, because it really woke this old girl up. I would never do this on any other car.

But anyway... yes, I've replaced quite a few knocks sensors. But only on my Nissan.

 

[nthach]

CARB and CA BAR lets Nissans of that era pass smog with a failed knock sensor monitor. There was always a logged DTC for the knock sensor on a Quest my parents had. But the CEL wasn't on, it's passed smog and the car doesn't seem to care.

 

[GR_CoB]

Originally Posted By: mk378
Getting in the habit of washing your engine-- will kill a lot of sensors.

Probably should stop driving in the rain or through puddles too...




Originally Posted By: maxdustington
I never understood what the point was in washing your engine besides killing your electronics. Grease stops things from rusting!

Take your Jetta to a mudhole then, should keep it rust-free for the next 100 years, correct?

 

[bowlofturtle]

Originally Posted By: kttymau
Back in the late 90s / early 2000s, I worked in a Nissan dealer’s service department. I remember having a conversation about knock sensor fault codes and VG30s with the shop foreman. His “wisdom” was, “it’s NEVER the knock sensor, if one of my techs comes to me and says he wants to replace one, I make him go back and keep working ‘til he finds the real problem”.
As an aside, are you actually getting a CEL, or just finding stored codes? I seem to remember that the Nissan OBD2 logic won’t actually trigger a light from just a knock sensor code.
This is going back nearly 20 years, so take it all with a grain of salt.


You are correct, most of the time it will not trigger a CEL but the fault is there. Here in IL we do OBD2 emissions, pretty much no fault = pass.

On the 4th gen max, like a few that posted, its the sensor. It physically cracking and the sub-harness just being bad or a faulty ground. I've own the maxima for about 16 years now, I've done enough knock sensors on that car but i rarely hear it on others. Then i look at my g35 and see the camshaft sensors that one is more annoying because it causes the car to stall out, i'm thinking its another pattern with these nissan motors.

Maybe its the midwest climate? 100degrees summers and -20 winters. Compare to say a climate that just goes +/- 30degrees.

 

[RoGuE]

The 5.3L GM V8 has a defect that allows water to pool up in the wells that the sensors sit in (in the valley of the engine). Mine were literally below water and completely rusty when I pulled them out. The recommended fix by some and I think a TSB was to build a wall of rtv in front of each one to divert the water away.

 

[CBR.worm]

So, the cam (and crank) position sensors are a known weakness in the VK and VQ motors. I don't think the knock sensors are - although the harness sometimes causes trouble. I do remember hearing of issues with knock sensors on the VG motors, but I never experienced it with the two I owned. I'm a (the) guy that posted the picture of my VQ35 knock sensor that had clearly been underwater for long periods of time. That was a couple years ago and it is still working.

With a high mile VK or VQ, I would (and do) keep one of the common OE sensors on hand - I've only had to replace one of mine, but from what I understand, I am in the minority. I believe in my VQ (revup) there are three that are identical and one that is different, my VK has two or three that are identical to the 3 on the VQ. I think the OE part was $40.