Shift Pointers
- Author: Wayne Colonna
- Subject Matter: U660E
- Issue: Hard shifts
The owner of a 2008 Toyota Camry with a 3.5L engine powering a U660E transmission brought his vehicle in to Deltrans with hard shifts. Bill Harris road tested the vehicle to verify the complaint. In doing so he not only verified the owner’s complaint, he also discovered that it did not shift past 4th gear.
When he returned to the shop he checked for any diagnostic codes. It pulled a P0318, which the scan tool identified as a knock sensor yet this code is not listed at all for this vehicle. The knock sensor codes listed for this vehicle are:
- P0327 – Knock Sensor 1 Circuit Low Input (Bank 1 or Single Sensor)
- P0328 – Knock Sensor 1 Circuit High Input (Bank 1 or Single Sensor)
- P0332 – Knock Sensor 2 Circuit Low Input (Bank 2)
- P0333 – Knock Sensor 2 Circuit High Input (Bank 2).
P0318 is commonly known as a rough road sensor, which is commonly set by:
- Crankshaft Position Sensor (CKP) failure
- Electronic brake control module (EBCM) failure
- Powertrain Control Module (PCM) failure
- Wiring issue
Looking at the knock sensor wiring, it was discovered that a rodent ate through the wiring. Once the wires were repaired, problem solved. This is typical of a Toyota with a knock sensor issue. Both the U140 and U150 with lose overdrive with a knock sensor code. It is unclear why code P0318 was assigned to the knock sensor, which was misleading making for a squirrelly diagnostic experience.