# Crankshaft sensor



## Trez (Aug 6, 2015)

I recently replaced my crankshaft sensor because my car would only start in the mornings or sitting for a couple of hours after short drives. However when I replaced the sensor, the car started right on up, but after starting it twice and shutting it down, it wouldn't start again. I went and got a new crankshaft sensor, and still it acts as if it wants to turn over but it doesn't. Same symptoms I was having prior. Any suggestions?


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Are you using a genuine Nissan replacement? Did you also replace the cam sensor? Might be useful to know what year and model Nissan, the mileage, and a bit about why you changed it in the first place? What were the symptoms?


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## Trez (Aug 6, 2015)

It's a 2006 Nissan Altima 2.5L - It has 114,000 miles. Correction, I only changed the camshaft sensor (Valucraft purchased at AutoZone) that is on the front part of the engine near the air box. I have a year warranty to take the part back and either switch or get a refund. My brother who's a mechanic for Honda, said I should change the camshaft sensor because my car would only start in the mornings or sitting for a couple of hours after short drives. Then one day it wouldn't start at all. Again I replaced it, started twice, after shutting it down the second time, it wouldn't start again. Same symptoms, went and traded out the part I had just purchased, and still it will not turn over.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Well then you probably know the problem if you have been reading this forum and the various threads dealing with these sensors. What was the error code that came up?


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## Trez (Aug 6, 2015)

It was giving a random P0300 code. So I changed all of my plugs, ignition coils, and MAF sensor. Still no crank which lead me to the camshaft sensor. This is the first time I've encountered this problem. Are these sensors crap? Should I replace them both and hope that fixes it?


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## SPEEDO (Jun 9, 2003)

you can get the pair (cam/crank) for $50 (oem) I always replace both, but thats me


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## Trez (Aug 6, 2015)

Ok, thanks! I'll post whether it worked or not. Fingers crossed......


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Hope it works for you Trez. And yup people seem to have problems with some of the ebay sensors.


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## Trez (Aug 6, 2015)

Changed both sensors with after market parts and it worked on the first two tries, then the same problem. So I returned the aftermarket parts, and bought two genuine Nissan crankshaft/camshaft sensors and my car has been running ever since. Crankshaft wasn't easy to take out, but I'm glad I did. Now I'm rolling again!


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Way to go! Thanks for the update.


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## 05nismogurl (Jul 24, 2015)

Yeah always use genuine nissan with thise sensors either wise they won't work correcly


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Anybody know the number for the oem nissan kit. I want to change mine and have put in an order with Nissan. Thing is they want 126 for each sensor, but when I insisted there was a kit that had both for a better price the guy had no clue. Got him to phone Nissan US after checking Amazon and he found the kit part number, its only $56. Does this actually contain both, or should I say two of the sensors as they are the same? The dealer guy wasn't sure. I will know Wednesday when it arrives. Pain if its only one as I will have to wait as he then orders another.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

The sensor recall kit used on the QR25DE engine was Nissan P/N: 23731-6N225. It contained both the crank position sensor and the cam position sensor. While they both look similar, the sensor in the kit with the white paint mark on it is the crank position sensor.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Thanks for the answer smj . My 06 X trail was assembled after the original recall date so it has the updated part. But its now almost 10 years old, and saturday during a very hot day it stalled on me while driving which was a first. Just died. Steered to the side of the road and stopped. Tried to restart no go. Checked under the hood. All fine. Decided to give it 5 minutes, and then it started up fine. So, I finally got to use my bluetooth unit on my own vehicle for once. Was the crankshaft sensor fault code p0335. Since clearing the code and its related 1 incident report, it hasn't come back, haven't stalled, and it drives fine. Only thing I note is a bit more vibration at idle 
Anyway, I dont like letting things linger, so I will have it and the cam sensor changed. Was going to do it myself, but with the savings on the parts, I am thinking about getting the dealer to install it. Figure maybe they would test more and give the vehicle an inspection with another set of eyes. Any idea how long the shop labour hours would be for the job? It appears like it could be fairly straightforward, I am just wondering how hard it will be to get the sensor out when you cant really see it and have to go by feel by the looks of things.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Hard to say since we don't have Xtrails in the US; I assumed you had an Altima, so I'm not 100% sure the kit number I gave you is correct for your vehicle.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

I will let you know tomorrow when the parts arrive. The X trails in canada all have the same 2.5 engine. Not too sure why, but probably because it was never sold in the US, there are not as many part source options, and for their own reasons if the same part is used on a sentra, altima, frontier or pathfinder, the same nissan part is always priced higher. The kit here is a good example. 56 for the 2 genuine Nissan sensors, vs 262 + 15% tax if bought separately. So, I am happy that thanks to reading posts here, I knew it existed, and with a little insistence was able to get the parts guy to find and order one.


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## chadn (Jan 28, 2010)

Hey Quad. My x-trail (06) had the old style crank and cam shaft sensors. Those are the ones with the black plastic part that inserts into the engine. The updated sensors from Nissan have a metal case around the sensor. 

I ended up taking off the upper part of the air filter housing and disconnecting it from the intake manifold. You have to unclip one or two sensors but no big deal. Then you can reach the crankshaft sensor pretty easy. It will be near the rear side of the engine, near the bottom, on the drivers side. 

I think the way the harnesses clip together is the same for the crank and cam shaft sensors. The crankshaft sensor wire was a bit short so it would be good to do the cam first so you know how it works. 

Overall it was not bad to change. 

Here's a picture of the old and new sensors side by side


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Hi Chadn thanks for the pointers. I am aware of the sensor change and pretty sure this is the kit that was ordered from Nissan for me
2002 2006 Nissan Altima Sentra Cam Crank Sensor Positon Kit Camshaft | eBay

I am pretty sure its the type that would be in mine now, seeing it was built (bonavista edition in Oct 2006) . after the date in which nissan did a recall in Europe and Australia for the x trail and in the us for altimas and sentras with the 2.5 engine. 

You reassured me that it is not that tough a job, but as I mentioned I havent had anyone else work on it the past couple of years, so having the dealer go over it has value for me. Seeing it started off at 262 +150 labour, and now I have got it at 56 + 120 labour, I will give them the job. Darn now I am thinking hey its still 138 after tax dollars, which for me is pretty much a days work these days, for what two hours of effort. Then again total money spent on the vehicle in the past 6 months has been 120, which included mobil 1 synthetic oil, purolator synthetic oil filter, fram charcoal cabin filter, fram engine air filter, 3 new wipers, front , passenger and back, and a set of front raybestos professional grade ceramic brake pads.That amount includes 23 for two for two front stabilizer bushings that I havent installed yet.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Well surprise surprise, I did have the old plastic style, and the Nissan Mechanic had the misfortune to break it in the block while trying to remove it. Here I thought I was in for an hour, and it took 4.5 hours for him to fish the pieces out. So I didnt end up getting any inspection out of it. Glad I negotiated the price for the labour before, and they respected their estimate.
Of course Nissan has gone down in my estimation now that I know they continue to use pieces in new builds that are old design or even subject to a recall. Not too sure how I feel about the service dept either.
They didn<t drop the pan, and I am wondering how they know they got it all out. the service advisor was of the opinion that its plastic and won<t hurt anything. I am not so sure and wonder if I should and if I need to change the oil. I also wonder if I should reset the ecu, as it wasn<t done by them and nor did the tech ever disconnect the battery while changing them. Hoping for some advice as to how serious this is. Guess it could have happened with me trying to do the job, but jeez it seems every time I go the mechanic route there is some drama or something broken, that never seems to happen when I am doing work on it with hand tools and a slow approach. 
Sensor Kit part no B3731-6N21A, and it was $56 CDN and did include the two new design sensors. Great price, roughly one fifth of the nissan price to buy them seperately. So even if you only want to buy one its worth it to buy this kit.


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## chadn (Jan 28, 2010)

I think that's common with automakers. Toyota, Fiat Chrysler, Volkswagen and Mitsubishi just admitted they are still installing Takata airbags in some of their new vehicles that are being sold today. They will likely be recalled in 4-5 years.
Takata airbags being installed on new cars, while 70 million are being recalled - Business - CBC News

That sucks that he broke the sensor off. What a pain. Did he give you all the pieces to show that he got all the pieces out?


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Nope was not shown all the pieces just the stub of the connector with the top inch of the sensor missing in an unclean ragged break. I am going to break the old cam sensor open to see what was inside and specifically how much metal. I was told the work was being done by one of their best, and he seemed a nice guy, embarrassed about the delay and said he got it all out. Decided last night after posting to take it on the highway for 30 minutes, and if damage was going to happen it would be directly attributable to the work done. Happy to report, engine seems fine, and the throttle response has improved a bit. I will keep my eye on it for the next few days, but I am glad its changed. I am starting to think these sensors should be changed around the ten year mark, even if there are no codes as they do suffer a bit of a drop in performance over time.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Well with a fair bit of effort, a chisel, a vise and a hammer I broke the other in a similar spot. All I can figure is it had to have suffered structural weakness for it to break like that, and I suspect a bit too much force was used. Anyway, there is a circuit board with lots of metal solder points and contacts that goes throughout the end part, and there is also a small magnet at the end that is encased in strong plastic. I will have to assume he got it out, as it would have been exposed at the break, and he must have some technique to get it out. Somehow I think that was needle nose pliers trying to grasp the exposed circuit board end to pull the whole thing out. Problem is the language they used sounded like he had to pick out multiple bits Assuming any little bits were not picked up would they fall into to the oil pan, and hopefully be too big to be sucked up by the sump?. I hope so, but I am a bit concerned. Obviously I care a fair bit more about the health of my engine, than they seem to. Am I being paranoid, or do I just accept and hope for the best. It does seem fine.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

RE the Takata Airbags, every article seems to say its the entire airbag, but what is being replaced is the inflator component, and my understanding is that the companies have no other ready supplier to provide them so they are using existing stocks by default. Moreover the problems with the inflators is they degrade over time, so I guess the compromise is to install them now for a limited time, until new ones are available. I assume they need to get the agreement of industry regulators to do this.

I don't classify this as quite the same thing. This would have been an internal Nissan decision to use parts in export versions in markets where there is no recall, while acknowledging the problem and changing them for other markets. I guess Its not much of a surprise that integrity and business interests sometimes conflict and that profit must come first lol.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

After a week no problems to report and only goodness from the engine. Absolutely worth getting done. Engine and throttle are like new. Had not realized the old ones had degraded so much prior to setting off the code.


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