01 Corolla Pinging

[abidinam]

2001 Corolla Pinging since it had 20K miles on it. Using high octane gas did not change anything. After a lot of excuses and arbitration, it was decided by Toyota that nothing was wrong and they would only do something if the CEL lights up. Now at 50K miles, the pinging problem is very bad. Yesterday I disconnected the Knock sensor wire and the pinging disappeared (of course the CEL turned on). The problem is that the knock sensor is about $200 and I do not want to buy it and find out the hard way that the new knock sensor did not change anything. It is also a pain to replace it since the intake manifold has to come off.
Did anyone have the similar problem and did changing the knock sensor help? Please let me if something else needs to be checked. There is no code and the car runs fine otherwise. The pinging is heard even when driving on a straight road at constant speed and of course very loud upon accelerating.
It is not a sound of any loose shield as people have told me earlier. The sound is of pinging and disappeared when I disconnected the knock sensor.

Thanks

[357wheelgunner]

Is your car under warranty?

Personally I'd sell it or trade it in and get a new car, even if someting like that is fixed I still would not trust the car.

[90 GP]

If you have had this problem since 20,000 and it is documented then it's the dealers problem . They should be the one that covers the cost of a new knock sensor or any other parts involved. Try another dealer.

[stubborn1]

Have you talked to the service manager for the dealer who originally checked the car at 20k miles and explained what you found? If they won't do anything for you, it wouldn't hurt to try another dealer.

If all else fails, try checking a few salvage yards for a knock sensor. I don't think getting rid of the car would be an option - you would be out more money by trading in a car that isn't running right.