PFB

Car is a 2001 es300 about 150k miles. The p0330 (knock sensor bank 2) comes on when I drive above 65mph. Otherwise it stays off. I’m able to reset it and it stays off till I reach above 65 mph. Even with check engine on, drives perfectly, (p0330 and traction control light on)

Any thoughts? As I said if I erase codes and stay below 65 mph it’s fine

Arsenii

Hello,

It may be that the issue occurs as a result of high RPM, try driving around neighborhood in 2nd or 1st gear, just to keep the engine at about 2500-3000 RPM and see if the CEL will appear again.

Other than that, you can also try flipping the wires on the ECU or on the sensor wiring to see if the code will jump to the other bank, but you need to be extra cautious about it. If after flipping the contacts, the code remains the same, then it is likely an issue with the wiring or the ECU, but if the code switches to the other bank, then something is wrong with the knock sensor or its respective wiring.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

PFB

Thanks Arsenii, good suggestion. I’ll try the high rpm trick. But let’s say that it comes on at high rpms only, can I drive it as long as I keep the rpms relatively low?

And what if it doesn’t come on at high RPMs

Also, are Dorman knock sensors from Amazon any good?

Arsenii

Well, it actually looks like the ECU only questions knock sensors when RPMs exceed a certain threshold, which could be a reason why a CEL only comes up at higher RPM range. By that logic, the sensor may be bad, but the ECU realizes it only when you go on a highway.

If, however, the code is fixed to a certain speed rather than RPM, then it could either be an issue with the ECU, or some quite peculiar fault in either a wiring or a sensor, which is to be determined by flipping the terminals for the sensors, as I described in my previous post.

As for any parts made by Dorman, I would suggest to avoid them at all costs, those are some of the lowest end parts you can get, ask me how I know.. OEM Denso is definitely preferred, but those can very well run you a few pennies. Other alternative would be to get NTK sensors on RockAuto (P/N: ID0166), while I haven't personally used them, I am pretty sure those will still be far more superior than Dorman or any knockoff Denso stuff you can get on eBay or Amazon..

Hope this helps and best of luck!

PFB

Thanks Arsenii, will try your suggestion tomorrow and see what happens. Dorman product is out.

Mrv8q

OEM knock sensors only; I got mine through the local Toyota dealer (Toyota part number).
While you are in there, a good time to replace the rubber coolant hose in the valley.

PFB

Hi Arsenelli, I tried duplicating the problem but no go. All is ok and no check engine light. So I’ll wait a bit more to see what happens. I remember I was driving on the highway about 6 months ago and I was in 2nd gear by mistake. Engine was revving higher than normal so check engine light came on. Unfortunately I don’t remember the code but I know for sure it wasn’t a knock sensor code. Oh well I’ll wait some more

PFB

haha, had bought that hose as a spare a few years ago.

so thank you.? Ya I’ll go for OEM knock sensors for sure

thanks again

Arsenii

Huh, I was expecting it to work actually.. Next thing to do would probably be to flip the sensors. If you are confident enough in your skills, you can try flipping those contacts on the ECU itself, but if not, you can also go to the junkyard and get a wiring for knock sensors with male and female connectors, and then make yourself an adapter with flipped contacts, that way you are not risking anything.. See if by doing so, the code will move to the other bank, which will tell you where to look next.

P.S. On the highway in 2nd gear..? Sounds rather like a money shift scenario.. Maybe your current issue is a sweet revenge? Those cars can be pretty vicious at times if mistreated..

Hope this helps and best of luck!

iceblast

Did you ever get a resolution to this or find out what the issue was?

PFB

Not yet, it happened only twice in the last 6 months or so. So for now all is well each time was a different code only the last one was a knock sensor code. Don’t remember the first code. Both happened at speeds over 65 mph. Tried to duplicate problem but wasn’t successful yet.

for now car runs perfect.