Where is the knock sensor on a SkyActiv 2.5L engine?

CombatSailor

2015 Mazda CX-5 Sport 2.5, 150k miles
Looking for where the knock sensor is on a 2015 Mazda CX-5 with a 2.5l engine. Any help is appreciated!
 
Solution
Finally got around to doing it. It's definitely under the intake. You have to pull the throttle body, intake, and I would recommend the radiator overflow (makes getting the intake out a ton easier).

Attached is a picture just because I never could find a picture.

20210225_155459.jpg
When I cleaned the carbon from the throttle body,the throttle body gasket (identical to the OEM) from RockAuto was about $3 vs. $20 from Mazda.
 
Upvote 0
Maybe the price was for the intake manifold itself, that's too much for only a gasket. I paid about $30 for a genuine mazda valve cover gasket.
Did some research on OEM parts and the whole set of intake manifold with both gaskets costs much more than $100; but gaskets should be much cheaper.

32186393-565F-47B9-9FF6-2D310585C7DD.jpeg

3FE73F83-8A7E-47BC-9B4A-78CFC29A6043.jpeg

8B8FBCB7-24DE-4E2B-8889-30183F3BA4E4.jpeg


And got some related screenshots from felixd’s video:

Video Cleaning Intake valves CX 5 Skyactiv Gasoline engine

43A1BAAF-7E37-475E-B111-A54573A9733C.png
B0696EF9-4174-4069-B321-D79D3E01FAEE.png

7CC7B50F-89FD-4617-ABC7-C85B5FA0EE13.png


And was wondering why a single red throttle body gasket is 3 times more expensive than 4 green intake manifold gaskets? :unsure:
 
Upvote 0
It's $30 per intake gasket. There are 4 gaskets on your intake.
It’s confusing that the green intake manifold gasket(s?) PY01-13-111 comes with a set of 4 or not. Many Mazda online stores do show 4 gaskets but others show only one. Judging by the price of single red throttle body gasket I feel PY01-13-111 contains only one gasket? :unsure:


4EB64817-82C8-42A6-92F2-54A34BD4BECF.jpeg

DE15B3CF-FA36-4BD7-A616-64AEC2DF74E1.jpeg



B3E7DDA6-9D3E-4771-B3DD-9C7BFA558B7D.jpeg
 
Upvote 0
The ones I got from rock auto were singles. The dealer stated theirs were singles as well
That’s what I figured but the parts list from Mazda simply is not consistent. BTW, can you tell us how many miles has your original knock sensor lasted?
 
Upvote 0
6 years and 120,000 miles
Honestly we haven’t seen many knock sensor failing here. I believe in your case you didn’t feel anything abnormal until you saw the CEL. At least you can DIY and all the time you spent for the job you can also clean up carbon deposits on throttle body、intake manifold、and intake valves as a preventive maintenance which we usually won’t do unless there’re obvious related symptoms.
 
Upvote 0
Honestly we haven’t seen many knock sensor failing here. I believe in your case you didn’t feel anything abnormal until you saw the CEL. At least you can DIY and all the time you spent for the job you can also clean up carbon deposits on throttle body、intake manifold、and intake valves as a preventive maintenance which we usually won’t do unless there’re obvious related symptoms.
I don't think it's very common. I couldn't find a single thread or YouTube video for it. As you said, given the miles, it was a great excuse to clean up the engine a bit. This is my 3rd 2.5L. So far I've made 200k+ on each. This job should help me get there with this one.
 
Upvote 0
I don't think it's very common. I couldn't find a single thread or YouTube video for it. As you said, given the miles, it was a great excuse to clean up the engine a bit. This is my 3rd 2.5L. So far I've made 200k+ on each. This job should help me get there with this one.
Hope my wife’s 2010 Mazda 3S 2.5L engine lasts that long. It only has 40k miles on it now.
 
Upvote 0
Hope my wife’s 2010 Mazda 3S 2.5L engine lasts that long. It only has 40k miles on it now.
Change the oil. Don't beat it and 200k is easy to achieve. I have always wondered how much beyond that they would go but I never stuck it out past that. I drive way too many miles away from home to have a car let me sit.
 
Upvote 0
I didn’t disconnect any wiring connections and I left the throttle body connected to the manifold. I removed the accordion-type intake rubber pipe and the two rubber tubing connections to the throttle body. Six 10mm bolts for the manifold and swing it out of the way. Took 15 minutes.

But I didn’t realize there was tubing connected to the bottom of the manifold. It came disconnected and I had a big vacuum leak. I had to start over to find it! 2nd time took 5 minutes. I did change the intake gaskets but I wouldn’t have, had I seen them before I ordered them.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Sorry to bump an old thread, pretty sure I'm having the same issue with a faulty knock sensor in my 2017 Mazda 3 2.0 my cel code is p130C with 109k on odometer

Just wondering if anyone has knowledge on if the location will be the same, when I got the code read at AutoZone, their print out is saying fixes are to replace sensor and/or decarbonize engine... so considering I've still got like 4 years of payments uh yea.. haven't noticed any knocking or really anything different about the engine.. I mean maybe it slightly stutters just a tiny bit on cold starts, and it seems like its running really hot (like I'll see the heat or condensation coming off hood on mildly cold days even after short 10 15 mile trips)
 
Upvote 0
…and it seems like its running really hot (like I'll see the heat or condensation coming off hood on mildly cold days even after short 10 15 mile trips.

Heat waves are no help in determining if an engine is overheating. What does the coolant temp gauge indicate? What is the coolant level in the catch tank? Do you smell coolant overflow from the catch tank? Have you checked the coolant level in the radiator (when the engine is cold!)?

You probably won’t hear mild detonation, and a carboned-up engine is certainly possible at 100+k.
 
Upvote 0
Back