Knock sensor on a Honda FR-V shed

[PurpleTurtle]

We have a 2005 Honda FRV mumtruck on 141000 miles which at MOT time is always one big bill away from being scrapped, however I like the challenge of trying to get it to 150k miles.

It has recently developed an intermittent MIL warning light, my OBDII code reader says P3025 Knock Sensor bank 2.

A couple of YouTube how-to videos and this helpful blog post's show that this is a simple enough DIY replacement once the car is jacked up and the undertray removed. So far so good - all within the realms of my reasonable driveway competency.

However, we then come to the price of the part. For an OEM Honda part (part number 30530-PNA-003) they want an eye watering £154.96 for it, plus delivery. Alternatively, there are loads of aftermarket version out there like this one for 20 quid

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/car-parts/knock-sensor-1...

I'm comfortable using pattern parts on my cars, but am just amazed at the price differential with these.

Herein lies the rub: on a few of websites selling these pattern knock sensors there are a handful of bad reviews saying things to the effect of "cheap Chinese copy, worked for only 2 weeks, had to go OEM in the end" which is a bit of a concern. I just don't want the aggro of doing the job twice.

So, has anyone fitted a much cheaper than OEM knock sensor, and do they work OK?

[Tam_Mullen]

I don't have experience of those sensors on that car, but I used ebay ABS sensors on my EP3 and they lasted about a month before the fault came back, I ended up having to get some OEM ones too.

Same story for my brother on a 206GTI Crank/cam (cant remember which) sensor too.

[tapkaJohnD]

Don't know about Honda, but Citroen electric parts, like a reversing sensor, HAVE to be Citroen's own parts. I replaced a faulty one from eBay to no effect, but an identical part from Citroen at five times the price worked straight away.

Manufacturers 'tag' them so that the electronics can recognise if they are branded parts. After all a significant part of their profit line comes from spares.

You may have to bite the bullet and buy Honda!
John

[LordLoveLength]

There’s a genuine (in the bag with Honda label) one on eBay currently for £25

[PurpleTurtle]

LordLoveLength said:

There’s a genuine (in the bag with Honda label) one on eBay currently for £25

I had a look at a couple of those and they looked fake to me - the Honda label looks decidedly iffy. I'd rather buy "honest aftermarket" than "fake OEM" if you get my drift.

You can go as low as 8 quid on eBay on these with a seemingly reputable seller (99% positive on over 10,000 items sold) but it just strikes me as too good to be true, compared to the OEM price. Or are we just being massively had over by the OEMs?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/394526372292

My reluctance is mainly due to the staggering relative cost. I've had various sensors go AWOL over the years on my cars and nothing has ever cost me more than about 30 quid, mostly OEM. I'm just staggered at the OEM price on this one.

[E-bmw]

Febi sensors on ebay seem to be in the £20/30 range.

Not sure how good they are but if it were mine I would rather try a known brand like these that comes with a warranty.

[Mad Maximus]

There must be a middle ground somewhere. I never put the eBay special dirt cheap stuff on and tend to go for middle of the road stuff like pagid or brembo or febi etc etc. The dirt cheap stuff is just to good to be true.

[PurpleTurtle]

Typically since I started this thread the MIL has gone out!

I dare say it will be back though, as I said at the top of the thread it is intermittent.

Which is starting to make me think it might be wiring related, rather than the sensor itself.

I'll report back once I've had a look. Main ball-ache is that it is located under the intake manifold, so to get proper access to it I need to jack the car up and remove the undertray, a job I'd prefer to do in the dry! Unfortunately we don't have any covered garage space.