P0325 Knock Sensor Error - How To Replace And Install A Knock Sensor
On this page you will find a tutorial on how to replace a knock sensor when you are getting OBDII error code number P0325 which means Knock Sensor problem. This article contains instruction including pictures of the location of knock sensor for p0325 OBD2 [1815], Last Updated: Sat May 18, 2024
zcar
Wed Jul 02, 2008
24 Comments
42981 Visits
i have a 1996 Nissan 300zx Non Turbo. If you are getting this error on your z, YOU ARE IN BIG TROUBLE
Note: although my car is a Nissan, the idea is basically the same. In your car, the knock sensor location could be more easily accessible, therefore, this repair can take much less time for you.
replacing this little part is difficult.
this week I went to the smog check station and I didn't pass the emissions test. when I connected my OBD2 (OBDII) reader, I said:
P0325
Knock Sensor 1
Circuit Malfunction
Bank 1 or 1 Sensor
why do I say you are in trouble. well my friend because its gonna take you at least $2000 dollars to have it replaced if you have it done at a shop. or if you do it yourself, it will take you a week to do it, plus the knock sensor is not cheap. I went to the local auto parts store and it cost me 189$ dollars, about 200 with all the tax and gas I had to waste to go get it.
so if you are wondering how much its gonna cost to fix or replace one of this parts, it will cost a lot.
of course, im not gonna pay 2000 plus, im going to do it myself..
first I had to invest on a code scanner to read the code - $100
1 knock sensor - $200
first im gonna have to remove the intake manifold, this took me about 4 hours to do
once I have the manifold removed, I have to remove these:
remove radiator
remove radiator intake and outtake housing
remove fan
remove all belts: power steering, alternator and if you have a/c
remove harmonic balancer
remove timing belt covers
remove timing belt
remove intake housing
once you have remove all the above, your engine will look weird, now I took a picture of the stupid knock sensor. are you can see the location of the knock sensor is locate in the engine valley, which you have to remove a lot of crap to get to it.
removing and installing the knock sensor is very not very difficult to do. I took a shop class after I graduate from high school and I love working on my car. but this has got to be one of the most annoying things to fix on my car. why? because all that work for just this little device. I have to uninstall all those components on my car just to get to it. the installation is not very hard, whats difficult is the un-installation, I had to re-install everything when it worked fine. and to make things worst, my check engine light did not show a knock light at all for my knock senor on my car knock, I guess the timing was affected and that's why I didn't pass the test. if it wasn't for the ecu which was the knock detector i've never would have known that the knock censor needed replacing. but the knock valve is so expensive I cant believe I costs so much. lucky I go the knock code because I could hear my engine knock when I was driving.
if you want to take a close look on how this little parts looks like here is a picture I took with my camera. maybe its not a good image, but the pic looks good enough
i dont know if this is going to be the same for the following cars, but I hope its much easier for you to find where it is.
at the end what the main problem was that my car had a coolant leak, and I guess water came in contact with the connectors on the knock sensor and the cable and the leads became corroded therefore the contact could not be made when I tested the and that's why I was getting the error code p0325. but to fix it I had to remove a bunch on things on the engine to get to the sensor itself. here is my finger pointing to where the knock sensor location. it was located under the intake, I wish Nissan had better engineer the location of it to make it easier to replace. but on the other hand they don't usually go bad. my sensor itself test ok, it was just the the connectors were corroded and therefore there was no contact so the computer gave an error and affected the timing and therefore I could not pass the emissions smog test.
if you have any comments or thoughts about this, please let me know.
thanks
Note: although my car is a Nissan, the idea is basically the same. In your car, the knock sensor location could be more easily accessible, therefore, this repair can take much less time for you.
replacing this little part is difficult.
this week I went to the smog check station and I didn't pass the emissions test. when I connected my OBD2 (OBDII) reader, I said:
P0325
Knock Sensor 1
Circuit Malfunction
Bank 1 or 1 Sensor
why do I say you are in trouble. well my friend because its gonna take you at least $2000 dollars to have it replaced if you have it done at a shop. or if you do it yourself, it will take you a week to do it, plus the knock sensor is not cheap. I went to the local auto parts store and it cost me 189$ dollars, about 200 with all the tax and gas I had to waste to go get it.
so if you are wondering how much its gonna cost to fix or replace one of this parts, it will cost a lot.
of course, im not gonna pay 2000 plus, im going to do it myself..
first I had to invest on a code scanner to read the code - $100
1 knock sensor - $200
first im gonna have to remove the intake manifold, this took me about 4 hours to do
once I have the manifold removed, I have to remove these:
remove radiator
remove radiator intake and outtake housing
remove fan
remove all belts: power steering, alternator and if you have a/c
remove harmonic balancer
remove timing belt covers
remove timing belt
remove intake housing
once you have remove all the above, your engine will look weird, now I took a picture of the stupid knock sensor. are you can see the location of the knock sensor is locate in the engine valley, which you have to remove a lot of crap to get to it.
removing and installing the knock sensor is very not very difficult to do. I took a shop class after I graduate from high school and I love working on my car. but this has got to be one of the most annoying things to fix on my car. why? because all that work for just this little device. I have to uninstall all those components on my car just to get to it. the installation is not very hard, whats difficult is the un-installation, I had to re-install everything when it worked fine. and to make things worst, my check engine light did not show a knock light at all for my knock senor on my car knock, I guess the timing was affected and that's why I didn't pass the test. if it wasn't for the ecu which was the knock detector i've never would have known that the knock censor needed replacing. but the knock valve is so expensive I cant believe I costs so much. lucky I go the knock code because I could hear my engine knock when I was driving.
if you want to take a close look on how this little parts looks like here is a picture I took with my camera. maybe its not a good image, but the pic looks good enough
i dont know if this is going to be the same for the following cars, but I hope its much easier for you to find where it is.
at the end what the main problem was that my car had a coolant leak, and I guess water came in contact with the connectors on the knock sensor and the cable and the leads became corroded therefore the contact could not be made when I tested the and that's why I was getting the error code p0325. but to fix it I had to remove a bunch on things on the engine to get to the sensor itself. here is my finger pointing to where the knock sensor location. it was located under the intake, I wish Nissan had better engineer the location of it to make it easier to replace. but on the other hand they don't usually go bad. my sensor itself test ok, it was just the the connectors were corroded and therefore there was no contact so the computer gave an error and affected the timing and therefore I could not pass the emissions smog test.
if you have any comments or thoughts about this, please let me know.
thanks
marty
Wed Mar 04, 2009
great job and write up...i have a knock sensor problem on a buick but i noticed on a 600mi trip enngine temp at 210 and low collant ... could be same as yours...i will ck b/4 attempting to change sensor...
greg (United States)
Fri Apr 02, 2021
i have a nissan pathfinder my knock sensor went out about years ago to change that $3500 knock sensor it was going to cost $60000 $70000 to fix i bought a new connector on ebay for bucks rewired the connector and relocated the knock sensor on top of the engine my local mechanic did it for for $14000 it works great no engine light, no issues what so ever and it's been going on years now it's all about the money $$$$ ! have a nice day :
george
Thu Oct 11, 2018
hi
that was an excellent tutorial cause i now know where that # silly # knock sensor is, but i'm not shure i want to go threw all that to fix it cause i don't have to pass any emission tests to keep my car on the road
that was an excellent tutorial cause i now know where that # silly # knock sensor is, but i'm not shure i want to go threw all that to fix it cause i don't have to pass any emission tests to keep my car on the road
yakins
Sat Jun 13, 2009
i found this great video on youtube on what you can do instead of doing all that on how to relocate the knock sensor on at nissan 300zx tt (twin turbo)
https://www.wallpaperama.com/forums/p0325-knock-sensor-how-to-replace-and-install-t6166.html
https://www.wallpaperama.com/forums/p0325-knock-sensor-how-to-replace-and-install-t6166.html
Carlos
Wed Jul 22, 2015
Help needed badly. Nissan quest 1999. Very much surprised with test only results. PO325 knock sensor. PO300 random /multiple misfire detected. Recently overheated, water all over the engine. Flushed and new coolant used.no more overheating.runs pretty much as new.But did not made it through test only smog check😲😲😲Please help.