PULSCAR ANALYSIS — P0340 AND THE CAMSHAFT 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/p0340-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, including recall queries) Recall 03V-455 predates the 2010 recall file; its text and vehicle list come from NHTSA's recall record (api.nhtsa.gov, campaign 03V455000), queried 24 September 2026. That service is known to list extra model years on some campaigns, so the article names the models and tells readers to check the VIN rather than stating a year range. Primary documents downloaded from static.nhtsa.gov and read in full on 24 September 2026: Ford Customer Satisfaction Program 20B14 (NHTSA 10174383) and Supplement 2 (10176006), Ford SSM 48598 (10171962) and SSM 50245 (10202798), GM PIP5335D (10168958), Chrysler 18-002-19 Rev A (10162535), Mazda SA-041-18 (10153295). Recall query RQ22002: NHTSA's published closing resume, read in full. All other documents: NHTSA's published summary text. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. THE COMPLAINT SET (cam-sensor-889-complaints-flags.csv) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Case-insensitive match in the narrative on any of: "camshaft position sensor", "cam shaft position sensor", "cam sensor", "camshaft sensor", "cam position sensor", "camshaft positioning sensor", "p0340", "po340", "p0341", "p0344", "p0345". Result: 889 complaints. 52 name P0340 itself. The set is a searched set, not a read set: every flag below is a pattern, checked against matched passages. Complaints quoted or counted by hand in the article (Nissan and Infiniti, Jeep and Dodge, Mercedes-Benz, every dollar figure) were read in full. Nissan 138, Infiniti 68 (206, 23%): 80 are model year 2003 or earlier, 99 are 2004-2008, 27 are 2009 or later Jeep Patriot, Jeep Compass, Dodge Journey: 74, of which 48 are MY2016 Mercedes-Benz: 37; 20 describe oil reaching the harness or engine computer Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain: 63 Flags (pattern): mentions a stall ("stall" at a word boundary) 305 (34%) mentions a recall 293 names the crankshaft sensor too 154 mentions a no-start 106 mentions a timing chain or belt 89 says the VIN was not in a recall, or not covered 61 NHTSA towed flag 44; crash flag 8 Filed by year: 2015 93, 2016 86, 2017 82, 2018 79, 2019 115, 2020 80, 2021 51, 2022 63, 2023 53, 2024 54, 2025 72, 2026 (to 21 Sep) 61. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2b. A RANDOM 50, READ IN FULL (p0340-random-50-read.csv) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To measure what the pattern misses, 50 of the 889 were drawn at random (Python random.seed(20260924)) and each read in full. about the camshaft sensor or its circuit 46 of 50 engine stopped while the car was moving 22 of 46 sensor replaced or blamed; trouble continued or cause found elsewhere 22 of 46 of which timing or the engine itself 14 sensor named only in passing 4 of 50 At n=46 a share near one half carries a 95% margin of about +/-14 points. The word pattern "stall" (305 of 889, 34%) undercounts engine stops: owners also write "shut off", "died", "cut off". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. OWNER-REPORTED AMOUNTS (p0340-owner-reported-amounts.csv) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Every dollar figure in the 889 narratives (197 figures) was read in context; 35 belong to this code's repairs and are published with ODI numbers, by lane: sensor only $80 (parts, DIY) to $700 crank and cam set, Nissan $563.03 to $1,068.17 crank or cam sensor, 2016 Jeep $550 to $1,766.11 (two repairs) oil in the harness, Mercedes $2,400 to $14,000 (bills and quotes) beyond the sensor (timing chain, cam adjusters) $1,100 to $12,000 Excluded: engines, transmissions, loans, tows, diagnostics, unrelated work. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. DOCUMENTS (p0340-recalls-programs-investigations.csv) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Full-text match 'P0340' on manufacturer communications: 82 records, grouped by document in the CSV. Recall file (from 2010): defect or remedy text naming a camshaft position sensor or camshaft signal: 16V-907 directly; 20V-475 and 23V-411 (crankshaft tone wheel; the software remedy runs the engine on the camshaft signal). Investigations: RQ22002 (opened 22 Jul 2022, closed 16 Jun 2025). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. PRICES AND LIMITS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Price ranges in the article are US shop estimates carried from PulsCar's repair guides, verified July to September 2026, and were not re-priced for this analysis. Complaints are self-reported and over-represent bad outcomes. Nothing here is a failure rate.