PULSCAR ANALYSIS — P0335 AND THE CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR IN NHTSA'S PUBLIC FILES PulsCar analysis of NHTSA public data, September 2026. License: CC BY 4.0. Attribution: "PulsCar analysis of NHTSA public data, September 2026." Published alongside https://www.pulscar.io/blog/p0335-code ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. SOURCE FILES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NHTSA's published flat files, downloaded 24 September 2026 and loaded into SQLite without modification: COMPLAINTS_RECEIVED_2015-2019, _2020-2024, _2025-2026: 780,071 distinct vehicle complaints by ODI number, received 1 Jan 2015 - 21 Sep 2026 FLAT_RCL_POST_2010 (recalls reported from 2010) TSBS_RECEIVED_2015-2019, _2020-2024, _2025-2026 (manufacturer communications) FLAT_INV (investigations, recall queries and defect petitions) Recall 07V-527 predates the 2010 recall file. Its scope and wording come from Nissan's Part 573 defect information report (RCDNN-07V527-8115, received by NHTSA 14 November 2007), read in full; its remedy text from NHTSA's recall record (api.nhtsa.gov, campaign 07V527000). Years are taken from the Part 573 report, not from the recall service, which is known to list extra model years on some campaigns. Bulletin PDFs were located through api.nhtsa.gov/safetyIssues/byNhtsaId and downloaded from static.nhtsa.gov on 25 September 2026. The 40 documents marked "Y" in p0335-recalls-extensions-bulletins.csv were read in full. Recall records, RQ22002 and DP17-003 were read in NHTSA's published text. One Toyota tech tip PDF (NHTSA 10132812) is a scanned image with no text layer; the article relies on NHTSA's published summary for it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. THE COMPLAINT SET (crank-sensor-1203-complaints-flags.csv) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Full-text candidates (SQLite FTS5) on crank, crankshaft, CKP, CPS and P0335-P0339, then a case-insensitive regular expression on the narrative: crank ?shaft (position )?sensor | crank (position )?sensor | \bCKP\b | \bCPS\b | crankshaft position | \bP0335\b ... \bP0339\b Rows matched only by "CPS" with no "crank" and no P033x code were dropped, because owners also use CPS for the camshaft sensor (18 rows). Result: 1,203 complaints. Codes named: P0335 56, P0336 27, P0339 14, P0337 0, P0338 0. The set is a searched set, not a read set: every flag is a pattern, checked against matched passages. Flags (pattern, case-insensitive): word "stall" 519 (43.1%) stall | died | shut off/down | cut off/out | lost power 795 (66.1%) no start / would not restart / cranks but 147 mentions a recall 482 (40.1%) a crankshaft sensor replaced or changed 174 wiring, harness, connector or plug 161 battery 114 tone wheel, tone ring or reluctor 85 timing chain or belt 54 restarted after sitting or cooling 44 RPM or tachometer at zero 19 NHTSA flags: towed 74 (6.2%), crash 7 (0.58%), fire 8 (0.67%), injured 2, deaths 0. All-complaint baselines across 780,071: towed 5.11%, crash 4.37%, fire 1.82%. Mileage: 760 rows with 0 < miles < 400,000; median 98,210.5; quartiles 62,000 and 136,000. Filed by year: 2015 161, 2016 113, 2017 92, 2018 85, 2019 129, 2020 88, 2021 78, 2022 80, 2023 108, 2024 104, 2025 84, 2026 (to 21 Sep) 81. Groups counted in the article: 3.0L diesel Ram 1500 and Grand Cherokee: 117 — Ram 1500 or Grand Cherokee complaints that also mention diesel, a tone wheel or reluctor, W58, 66A, 20V-, 23V-, X94 or X95. Of these, 33 mention a flash, software, update or reprogram; 36 use words saying the VIN was not included or not covered; 7 mention X94, X95, D-21-1x, a warranty extension or an extended warranty. Nissan Altima and Sentra: 123; 86 are model years 2002, 2005 or 2006; 29 cite 07V-527; 30 of the 86 use words saying the VIN was not included, not covered, did not qualify or had no recall. Jeep Patriot, Jeep Compass, Dodge Journey: 208, of which 126 are MY2016; 47 cite 16V-907 or S89; 36 say a crank sensor was replaced (sensor_replaced flag in the published CSV). Kia and Hyundai: 173; 35 mention engine failure, replacement, seizure, knock or a rod bearing; 8 mention a fire. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2b. A RANDOM 50, READ IN FULL (p0335-random-50-read.csv) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 50 of the 1,203 (sorted by ODI number) were drawn with Python random.seed(20260925); random.sample(rows, 50), and each read in full. about the crankshaft sensor or its signal 48 of 50 engine stopped while the car was moving 29 of 48 no-start or failed restart 16 of 48 a crankshaft repair (sensor, recall flash, dealer fix) done and the trouble continued 21 of 48 of which a new crankshaft sensor 16 3.0L diesel Ram or Grand Cherokee 11 of 48 What the report says it was (one primary code per report): repairs tried, trouble continued, no final answer 15 the sensor 10 not diagnosed (code or suspicion only) 9 diesel tone wheel 7 engine (timing, bearings, coolant, oil) 5 wiring 2 The two not about the sensor: a 2023 Versa (P2615 described by the owner as a crank sensor code) and a 2012 Optima (P0014/P0017; oil control valve). One reader, one pass, no second coder. At n=48 a share near one half carries a 95% margin of about +/-14 points. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. OWNER-REPORTED AMOUNTS (p0335-owner-reported-amounts.csv) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Every dollar figure between $40 and $20,000 in the 1,203 narratives (188 figures) was read in context. 51 belong to this code's repairs and are published with ODI numbers, by lane: sensor only (21) and sensor with harness (1) $80 to $711.40 crank and cam set, Nissan and Infiniti (4) $505.83 to $618.61 hard-to-reach sensor, connector or harness (5) $1,002 to $2,200 3.0L diesel tone wheel (13) $1,250 to $3,470.98, plus one quote at $8,745.75 3.0L diesel crankshaft sensor (2) $1,168 to $1,600 beyond the sensor (5) $1,218 to $10,000 Excluded: engines unrelated to the sensor, transmissions, tows, rentals, loans, diagnostics and unrelated work. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. DOCUMENTS (p0335-recalls-extensions-bulletins.csv) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Full-text match 'P0335' on manufacturer communications: 2,155 records, 252 distinct NHTSA document IDs; 218 are Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat or Alfa Romeo, of which 205 are engine computer update ("Flash") records filed June 2016 to February 2026. One false positive: a Nissan Cube air bag campaign whose campaign ID is "P0335". A second search on crankshaft sensor wording, P0336-P0339, tone wheel and reluctor added 149 documents; the relevant passenger-vehicle ones are in the CSV. Recall file (from 2010): defect text naming the crankshaft sensor or its signal: 16V-907, 17V-356, 18V-049, 18V-465, 20V-475, 23V-411 (and one motorcycle recall, not used). Investigations: RQ22002, DP17-003. Honda 23-048 and 23-049 are emissions recalls and are not in NHTSA's safety-recall file; they were read from the bulletins and owner letters Honda filed as manufacturer communications. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. PRICES AND LIMITS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Price ranges marked as estimates in the article are US shop estimates carried from PulsCar's repair guides, verified July to September 2026; the genuine Toyota sensor price was re-checked 18 September 2026. Complaints are self-reported and over-represent bad outcomes. Nothing here is a failure rate.