[jennifer8181]

I just got my oil changed and right after I left, my check engine light came on. I brought it back the next day and they hooked it up to something and hey said that it is my "knock sensor" and that it is a pointless sensor but it will be expensive to fix and I have to get it fixed before it will pass inspection. First off, what does this sensor have to do with me getting my oil changed??? And is it a "pointless sensor" and is it expensive to fix? They said they can turn it off but it will keep coming back on. I just don't get it. The truck was fine before I brought it to these kids. And now my check engine light is on!!!!! I am really pissed to say the least.

It is a 2002 Frontier, supercharged crew cab long bed. It has 58k miles on it. They also said to me that I am going to have to get my timing belt changed soon. Argh....this sucks. Can someone please help me? What is this sensor????

 

[azrocketman]

Check your owner's manual, but I believe that the timing belt change interval for your engine is 105,000 miles. Sound like "the kids" are either being conservative or they want to suck some money out of you.

A "knock sensor", if it is doing its job, is not pointless. It protects the engine from serious damage cause by cylinder detonation (also called knock). This can be very critical on a supercharged engine. An oil change should have no effect on the knock sensor.

The first step I would take is to inspect the engine for loose or damaged wiring or loose connectors. I would then clear the code and see if it returns; sometimes the OBD II will generate spurious codes. If the OBD II does not repeat the failure it will clear the code on its own after several test cycle passes (this may take several longer drives to make sure the OBD II conditions are present for the test). If the light returns I'd find another shop (some auto parts stores will read the code for free) to read the malfunction code. You can follow up with this forum by telling us the code.

Sounds to me like you need some different mechanics instead of the "kids".

Steve

 

[jennifer8181]

Okay, what was written down on a piece of paper says: PO 328, Knock Sensor Circuit High Input (Bank 1 or single sensor)

But guess what.....while I was driving yesterday I realized that the check engine light was off! I guess that is a good thing since I didn' do anything to try and turn it off. Maybe, as you said, it re-set itself.

Bu can you tell anything from the code?

 

[azrocketman]

The code tells you where to look but it takes inspection of wiring and connectors and some testing (sometimes with special meters, sometimes with simple equipment) to see what really went wrong. Keep an eye on it and write back if the problem reoccurs.

Steve

 

[slr_will]

Those "kids" werent lying when they said it was an expensive part to fix...if its what i think it is its located under your intake manifold...ive been quoted 5.5 hours labour for it so i said forget it. Either way i know 3 people with Frontiers (all the same...2000 SE or XE V6) and all 3 of us have picked up this code through a scanner. It must be a commonn thing.

 

[rockcrusher44]

quick while your check engine light is off go get it inspected