I'm new here, and am hoping I can get some help with an 03 Element. I've always been a VW guy, but my grandmother was getting rid of her tried and true Element, so i took it off her hands. The main thing is that the CEL is on. I ran it on a code reader, and it says my knock sensor is shot. I briefly looked into it online, and it seems that code commonly comes up for other issues. I'm curious if anyone here has had the same issue, or experience. One of the other symptoms is sputtering at high speeds. I have to take my VW if im going to be doing any lengthy highway travel. When I'm at high speeds (55+) the motor sputters, and loses all power if I step on it to pass another car. If I let off the gas for a second or 2, and just coast, it goes back to normal and I can speed up again. I can go faster than 55 but have to do it slowly after that point.
The other thingI'm looking for help with is seats. There's a pretty sizable rip on the drivers seat, so I want to get a new captains chair. More specifically I'm hoping someone knows of bench seats that will fit in the front with little or no modification. I have a big *** mastiff that's real clingy and won't sit in the back, even though he doesn't fit in the front seat, he still does and lays his head on my lap across the gap between the seats. I would really like to be able to make him more comfortable.
Thanks in advance for any help.
And apologies if this posts more than once. I keep getting a 404 when I hit submit.

 

Welcome in,
That type of very rough running, sputtering, no power is commonly caused by problems with the ignition system. The fuel system also needs to be checked to eliminate a fuel control problem as the source of this issue. Cam timing may also need to be verified to see if the timing belt has jumped out of time,check and see if any codes were set. Good luck.