2004 saturn vue 3.5 crankshaft position sensor location

New Member

Join Date: Jul 2019

Posts: 4

My daughter has an 05 Saturn Vue 3.5. Where is the Crankshaft position sensor located? We have looked everywhere and see nothing that resembles the part. It is a plastic quarter circle with a place for something to plug into the end. It looks like the image below

Super Member

Join Date: Jan 2006

Location: NYC

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2003 L-Series 3.0L Sedan

Your crankshaft sensor next to the crankshaft. It's behind the timing chain cover. Are you sure the crank sensor failed?

New Member

Join Date: Jul 2019

Posts: 4

Thats what the codes pointed to. P0335 and p0741

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2003 L-Series 3.0L Sedan

Service manual codes;

DTC P0741 Torque Converter Clutch (TCC) System - Stuck Off

DTC P0335 Crankshaft Position (CKP) Sensor A Circuit

DTC P0335 is the result of a hard failure or an intermittent condition.

Your crank sensor outputs two signals, A and B. The pcm needs both to operate the entire EFI system. Based on single crank sensors used in other Saturns, an intermittent failure can be heat related where the engine runs fine then suddenly dies at random, requiring cool down before the engine can start and run and again but die as the engine heats up. Starting with a warm engine fails to get the engine running since the crank sensor needs to cool down. Outright failure means the starter will crank the engine but the engine will never fire up. Dual signals with one being faulty may allow erratic engine running.

Crank sensor signals allow the engine computer to; turn on fuel pump, allow the ignition system to generate spark and pulse injectors. No crank sensor signals = no pump, no spark, no injector operation.

Describe symptoms.

New Member

Join Date: Jul 2019

Posts: 4

code P0335 CPS sensor A Circuit no signal and P0741Torque converter clutch circuit performance or stuck off..

Symptoms, starts but turns off whether it be hot or cold.

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Join Date: Jan 2006

Location: NYC

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2003 L-Series 3.0L Sedan

You're one of less than a handful of members here with an error code pointing to the crank sensor. Most of us finding an intermittent or dead crank sensor didn't have any error code and came here to figure out what to do. When mine failed (single sensor signal) I was already informed about symptoms so it wasn't difficult to determine when my engine died on the highway (from normal engine heat cycling, no error code) the only indication I could see readily was the tach dropped dead as I coasted three lanes over and exited onto a street. Members describing similar symptoms with the main symptoms of zero fuel pump operation and zero spark. Intermittent failure of the sensor is more difficult to determine with the only hint of the engine cooling off before it would work again then fail as soon as the engine warned up, repeating often. A dead sensor simply won't let the entire EFI system run the engine since the engine computer cannot run without crank sensor signals.

Advanced Member

Join Date: Nov 2012

Location: Mpls, mn

Posts: 781

2003 VUE 3.0L

annoying that the vue had 3 different engines. honda uses a sensor that looks at a toothed wheel next to balancer? my 3.0 motor only sees the crank weight so it makes 2 pulses per firing cycle. my ohms should be 850 but i measured 1600. so its not dead, but a bit off. other website said its probably ok. yes i have no codes. and no start. but i cleaned sensor too measure it and vue ran. till next day
fyi, i think the chev LS motor has a toothed wheel at crank mid point? and different teeth counts for different motor displacements? gm is odd

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Join Date: Jan 2006

Location: NYC

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2003 L-Series 3.0L Sedan

All crank sensors use a Hall effect circuit. 3.0L V6 engines (from service manual descriptions); The CKP sensor works in conjunction with a 58-tooth reluctor wheel on the crankshaft. Machined teeth on 3.0L engines. Honda's 3.5L V6 engine has the steel toothed wheel on the end of the crankshaft. With dual outputs and a smaller diameter, less teeth but still uses the Hall effect circuitry. All precision timing signals to allow ecm or pcm to operate the EFI system.

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Join Date: Nov 2012

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2003 VUE 3.0L

No 58 tooth wheel. Seller on eBay says this is 3.0 crank. I put my finger in hole in block and I could feel the counterweight. No toothed wheel. Sensor is in center of crank, not on end

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Join Date: Jan 2006

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2003 L-Series 3.0L Sedan

Look again carefully. At first glance, I examined which end for the crank pulley (the big end). Although the snapshot may be an exact replacement crankshaft for '03 Vues, I believe it's missing the steel toothed reluctor wheel. I was impressed at first, viewing missing 'machined teeth' as I never saw actual crankshafts and assume service manuals are correct unless bulletins alert to printing errors. I assumed teeth are machined. For that, I'm mistaken but not about reluctor wheels - the same term as machined teeth to allow precise spaces for the magnetic sensor to detect metal then space to generate a signal and a large space as the reference for top dead center. Whether I described (incorrectly) machined teeth or stamped steel reluctor wheel, they're one and the same in purpose. I think if you remove your crankshaft sensor and visually look into the hole, you should see the reluctor wheel with spaced holes.

I considered what you stated and tried to resolve why you believe no reluctor exists and the only theory I can come up with is the possibility of the cam sensor generates signals from the camshaft teeth. According to manual descriptions, the camshaft sensor is used to allow sequential injection in conjunction with the crank sensor. My theory isn't correct because a dead crank sensor will not allow the engine to run as I too replaced an intermittent sensor. If my concocted theory was correct, the engine should still run off the cam sensor. It didn't and won't. Replacing the crank sensor the same day allowed me to drive home and to this day hasn't failed (approximately 5yrs ago). I still had my doubts with your thoughts so I did some searching for L300 replacement crankshafts. Two different years of L300 crankshafts for the same 3.0L V6 engine have a stamped steel reluctor wheel bolted onto the front crankshaft counter weight. Here are two links to ebay for each crankshaft. 1) https://www.ebay.com/p/w102-Cranksha...35391030&rt=nc. 2) https://www.ebay.com/itm/GE10-2002-S...ally+Aspirated. Both with several views with each set showing one closeup of reluctor wheels. A second view shows they're bolted onto the counterweight. For whatever reason, L300 cranks are not interchangeable with Vue 3.0L engines. Both models are the same 3.0L V6 engine.

That image you show, I went to ebay and viewed the same part with several other images. A second image shows the front of the crank with part of the counterweight. One hole in the counterweight is drilled and I surmise its one of several drilled and tapped holes on the front counterweight for the reluctor wheel that's missing. I do not think drilled holes into the side of counterweights are for balancing when they're drilled over the top of each weight, varying depth to remove a few grams of metal for dynamic balancing. Comparing the Vue crankshaft and L300 crankshaft, it's not too much imagination to presume the Vue crank is missing the reluctor wheel. If you like, email the seller and ask if the reluctor wheel is missing.

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Join Date: Nov 2012

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2003 VUE 3.0L

i did not revisit the ebay ad. maybe it says saturn 3.0 and the vue part is wrong? huh? an ebay seller who is selling mismarked parts?
BUT, the vue crank sensor is next to the oil filter. the center of the block. as in, not the end of the block by the balancer. i felt the counterweight. i did not feel the toothed wheel. just luck i guess. the crank could have been turned another 90 deg and i would have felt nothing thru the sensor hole
i also read a thread that said the exh cam has 1 lobe that the sensor pics up. the cam sprocket does not have a toothed wheel. so it sees 1 mark per rev. just like the crank sensor see 1 mark per rev.
guess someone could dig up a spec for the l300 crank sensor location. yes its hard to miss the wheel on the l300 crank. unless ur stevie wonder

Last edited by Cavell; 09-07-2019 at 10:39 AM.