Knock Sensor

S

spes

New member
Hello,
I have a 2006 SR5 4Runner with 167,000 miles on it.
The check engine light came on and the error code says it's the p0330 knock sensor.
My questions:
Is it worth fixing? If they have to tear the engine apart to do it I would replace both sensors and the harness. I'm not a mechanic, and am totally guessing this would be 3,4, or $5000 job. With 167k miles, is it worth it?
It's not knocking. Should I ignore this and run it into the ground?

Lastly, why in the wide wide world of sports is this error tied into the VSC lights going on?

Other issues I eventually face if I sink money into this car...
I've gotten rid of the flange between the exhaust manifold and next section. The muffler man said if a bolt broke off replacing manifolds it would be catastrophic. So as long as there is the ability to weld.. I'll patch existing muffler.
Thanks,
 
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spes said:
Hello,
I have a 2006 SR5 4Runner with 167,000 miles on it.
The check engine light came on and the error code says it's the p0330 knock sensor.
My questions:
Is it worth fixing? If they have to tear the engine apart to do it I would replace both sensors and the harness. I'm not a mechanic, and am totally guessing this would be 3,4, or $5000 job. With 167k miles, is it worth it?
It's not knocking. Should I ignore this and run it into the ground?

Lastly, why in the wide wide world of sports is this error tied into the ABS lights going on?

Other issues I eventually face if I sink money into this car...
I've gotten rid of the flange between the exhaust manifold and next section. The muffler man said if a bolt broke off replacing manifolds it would be catastrophic. So as long as there is the ability to weld.. I'll patch existing muffler.
Thanks,
Click to expand...


FJ Cruiser Knock Sensor (both) Replacement 2hr vs 20hr (Easy Way) - YouTube


I used this video to do the repair myself. I didnt remove the water pipe like they did in the video and managed to reach the bolt holding the knock sensor with my hands. Difficult to reach but manageable.

This error is usually caused by rodents chewing up the wiring. In my case I had the same code and it ended up being a bad knock sensor. Whole job took like 4 hours and wasnt too difficult but I'm familiar with how to work on the car.
 
Anytime I've heard of a knock sensor code it was from a critter chewing the wires. Happened on my Honda V6 a few years ago and 2 co-workers within the last month. The area they put them in seems to be a nice warm flat area.
 
I haven't looked into it; but if it is the wires, don't you still have to take the engine apart to replace the wires? If I have to pay for that much labor I might as well replace the sensors while they have it apart. Hopefully that's not the case and a know nothing can replace the harness.
Thank You.
 
spes said:
I haven't looked into it; but if it is the wires, don't you still have to take the engine apart to replace the wires? If I have to pay for that much labor I might as well replace the sensors while they have it apart. Hopefully that's not the case and a know nothing can replace the harness.
Thank You.
Click to expand...


So unfortunately most of the time the wires are chewed off right where they connect to the knock sensor so you’ll need to take apart the top part of the engine anyway to fix it. The knock sensor itself is a less than $70 part so up to you if you want to change it out while you’re in there. That’s only if it’s the wires are the culprit of course.
Here’s pics from when I did it and what I bought.
Knock - Album on Imgur
 
Knocking can cause issues before it's loud enough for the driver to notice, and a working sensor allows the ECU to adjust the ignition timing so the fuel burns properly and doesn't knock. I'd fix it if it happened to me.
 
You are assuming a 3-5 thousand dollar job. You could be way off. Make some calls to local mechanics and see what they tell you. It may not be as an expensive repair as you assume. Also, if you check on this forum under high mileage 4th gens you will see many with 400 to 500 thousand miles on them. You said yours has 167k. For a 4Runner, that is low mileage. Definitely get it fixed.
 
2008 V8, I swapped both knock sensors, starter, and secondary air injection pump over a weekend. Wasn't hard work. So estimate 8 hours of labor at $100+ an hour and you're looking at $1000 ish in labor? Not sure how easy/hard it is on a V6.
 
For the co-workers I mentioned I think one paid around $600 in labor and he bought the parts, this was a Tundra and indy mechanic. The other one was $1700 hundred for a Lincoln and all dealer work on an eco-boost. That may add some work with the turbos. I did my Honda V6 for like $100 and it only took a couple hours.
 
Typically a knock sensor code triggers the ecu to retard timing for safety, so that it doesn't knock and blow itself apart without the ecu being able to hear it and retard timing as needed. You should be fine to run it but will be bad for the cats and your fuel economy. It's not really that technical of a job to replace sensors and pigtails although it is time consuming, and you're not likely to break a bolt as you would pulling manifolds. Regardless, it should come in under a grand if paying someone
 
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