3 Symptoms of a Faulty Speed Sensor in Your Vehicle

There are two common types of vehicle speed sensors and they each play a different role. One type (engine speed sensor) is usually installed on the transmission or transaxle, and the other type (vehicle speed sensor) is installed on the knuckle arm on the four wheels.

The engine speed sensor takes data from the crankshaft position sensor that gives information for the engine spin speed. Vehicle speed data comes from the speed sensor which is located on the wheels and sends information regarding wheel spin speed.

Therefore, any fault from either speed sensor or any symptoms showing how defective it has become can lead to a wide range of abnormal problems in your vehicle if you fail to pay attention to it in time.

Common Bad Speed Sensor Symptoms

Rough Gear Changes

One of the most common speed sensor symptoms of your car is that the transmission will not smoothly change gears of your vehicle because of higher transmission revs. This means that the car engine runs at higher speeds than the car itself.

You may also find it very rough while shifting gears and as the problem worsens, you will find it unbearable to change the car into higher gears. This means that the vehicle’s transmission will eventually engage in overdrive very late.

Why Does This Happen?

The transmission of your vehicle can only shift smoothly with the help of a healthy speed sensor. This sensor counts the number of internal revolutions in the transmission. Consequently, the control unit of the transmission receives the data then makes the necessary adjustments after calculating the rotational speed.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to repair the transmission speed sensor as it simply fails. You have to discard it and replace it with a new one. A professional mechanic should help you examine and diagnose the speed sensor system of your vehicle even though the symptoms may seem similar in all cars.

Speedometer Malfunction

Once the vehicle’s speedometer stops functioning all of a sudden, this is a sure-fire sign that indicates the speed sensor has become defective. The malfunctioning speed sensor means that the speedometer will not have the ability to read the speed of your car.

This is very risky because you will drive without knowing the exact speed that your car has registered. This can land you in trouble with the authorities or even cause unnecessary and avoidable accidents.

DTC or Check Engine Light On

Furthermore, sometimes the check engine light may light up recurrently and periodically as you accelerate without any good reason. And commonly the code is P0500 (Vehicle Speed Sensor Fault Conditions). To check what the code is, you should use a diagnostic tool or car OBD scanner.

Conclusion

Many problems can arise if your vehicle has a faulty speed sensor. Indeed, a car that shows the symptoms of a worn-out speed sensor can bring about other related symptoms to other parts of the car, such as a faulty throttle position sensor or even a malfunctioning coil pack.

Faulty speed sensor symptoms come with some common characteristics that can affect your car engine and its related components.

And finally, any of the above speed sensor symptoms should prompt you to take your vehicle to an auto repair shop or trustworthy mechanic so that they can run a computer diagnostic on your car to identify the faults.

Even though some of the above symptoms may point towards a malfunctioning transmission, it is advisable to visit a repair shop having the best computer diagnostic equipment even before visiting a repair shop specializing in speed sensors to ascertain the real problems.