P0335: Crankshaft Position Sensor "A" Circuit Malfunction
If your car has ever died in traffic on a hot afternoon, refused to restart for twenty minutes, then fired up like nothing happened, you've probably met the fault behind P0335 before you met the code. The crankshaft position sensor is the one sensor the engine cannot run without, and its favourite way of failing is intermittently, with heat, which makes it both a genuine stranding risk and a famously slippery diagnosis.
What P0335 actually means
The crank sensor reads a toothed wheel on the crankshaft and tells the computer exactly where the engine is in its rotation and how fast it's turning. Every spark and every injection is timed from that signal. When the signal drops out, glitches, or never arrives, the computer stores P0335: Crankshaft Position Sensor "A" Circuit Malfunction, and without the signal it simply won't fire the engine at all.
Can you keep driving?
Severity: 4 out of 5. This isn't a damage code; it's a stranding code. An engine that stalls without warning in traffic, on a highway on-ramp, or halfway across an intersection is a safety problem regardless of what it does to itself. If the fault is intermittent, every drive is a coin flip on where it stalls next. Treat it as urgent.
What causes P0335 (most likely first)
- The sensor failing with heat. Internal cracks in the sensor's windings open up as it heats, kill the signal, and close again as it cools. The stall-hot, restart-cool pattern is this cause performing its signature move.
- Wiring or connector damage. The sensor lives low on the block near heat, oil and road spray. Chafed insulation and green connector pins do everything a dead sensor does.
- A damaged or dirty reluctor wheel. Metal debris stuck to the toothed wheel, or a damaged tooth, corrupts the pattern the sensor reads.
- Genuinely low battery voltage during cranking. A dying battery can drag voltage low enough while cranking that the sensor signal isn't read cleanly, producing this code on a car whose real problem is covered in our guide to the signs a car battery is dying. Worth ruling out first because it's the cheapest possibility on the list.
Symptoms you'll notice
Stalling without warning, often when fully warmed up. Cranking that sounds completely normal but never catches, because the computer sees no crank signal and withholds spark and fuel. Intermittent tachometer dropouts while driving. If the engine cranks but won't fire and there's no click-no-crank drama, you're in this code's territory rather than battery territory; our guide to why a car won't start and just clicks covers the other branch of that tree.
What it costs to fix in Australia
| Repair | Typical cost (AUD) |
|---|---|
| Crank sensor, fitted (accessible) | $150–350 |
| Crank sensor, fitted (buried) | $300–600 |
| Wiring repair | $100–300 |
| Diagnosis of intermittent fault | $100–250 |
The part is rarely expensive; access decides the bill. On some engines it's two bolts from underneath, on others it hides behind the transmission bellhousing. One buying note that matters: this is a sensor where the cheapest no-name unit is a false economy, because a marginal aftermarket sensor reintroduces the exact intermittent fault you paid to remove. Quality aftermarket or genuine.
P0335 on Australian cars
Hilux and Corolla crank sensors are a known quantity in Australian workshops, as are VE Commodore and Navara units. The heat dimension matters here more than most countries: a sensor that's marginal at 25 degrees fails reliably in a Brisbane January traffic jam, which is why this fault so often first appears in summer, in traffic, at the worst possible moment. Cars that have forded water or copped a pressure-washer engine bay clean add the connector-corrosion cause.
Will P0335 fail rego or a roadworthy?
The lamp fails the paperwork as usual, NSW pink slip and Victorian or Queensland sale certificates included. The larger point: a car with an intermittent stalling fault has no business passing a safety inspection anyway, and fixing this one is about the drive home, not the certificate.
How to read and clear P0335
Read the code and check for companions; P0340 alongside points toward shared wiring or timing issues, and P0016 alongside brings the chain into the conversation. On an intermittent fault, live data is the killer tool: watch engine rpm on the scanner while cranking, because a reading of zero rpm during cranking is the sensor confessing in real time. If the no-start turns out to be battery after all, a jump starter from our jump starter range solves a different problem than this page does. The full code index is in the fault code library.
P0335 FAQ
Why does my car stall when hot and restart when cool?
Heat opens microscopic cracks inside a failing sensor, killing the signal. Cooling closes them and the signal returns. It's the classic presentation of this exact fault.
Can a car run at all without a crank sensor?
Most modern engines, no. No crank signal means no spark and no injection. A few older designs limp on the cam sensor alone, badly.
Cranks fine but won't start: battery or crank sensor?
Strong, normal-speed cranking with no firing points here. Slow cranking or clicking points at the battery. The scanner settles it in seconds by showing whether rpm registers during cranking.
Should I replace the cam sensor at the same time?
Only if it's also original on a high-kilometre engine and access overlaps. They're separate parts with separate codes; there's no obligation.
Related codes: P0340 · P0016 · P0562 · Full fault code library
A fault code is a starting point, not a diagnosis. The same code can have different causes on different vehicles, and any costs shown are typical Australian ranges only. Always have the fault confirmed by a qualified mechanic before buying parts or booking repairs.