Toyota Land Cruiser Throttle Body Sensor Problem

normandy · August 2009

My 1999 TLC loses the ability to apply gas to the pedal while driving, which according to the dealer, can possibly be fixed by replacing the entire throttle body (which includes the sensor) at a cost of $1200 for the body plus labor of about $300-400. I drive the Los Angeles freeways, which is a very dangerous situation if you can't pull over fast enough. It's happened 3-4 times on city streets thankfully, the check engine light comes on, I pull over, restart and it's fine for weeks, until the next time. My mechanic reset the computer which said it was a throttle body sensor problem, but it has returned. I say the dealer could "possibly" fix it, as the real problem may be the computer, which costs $2000 to replace! I have to do something, but before I argue with them and/or go to the expense of replacing it, does anyone have this problem and a better solution? I find it insane that Toyota as a safety issue wouldn't replace it themselves. And even if I do replace it, the problem may not go away. Thanks for any help.

tedan · December 2009

Did you resolved your car problem? My 99 TLC is doing the same thing, did it once past summer and was ok for 5 months until last week. The car is not responding to gas pedal. Engine is on and running, have to restart and it's fine. I had diagnostic done at the local shop and was told to change out the throttle body unit for $1400. My brother out of state owns a mechanic shop, he told me that the problem might be with the accerator pedal position sensor or throttle body sensor. He told me to replace accerator pedal position sensor first.

normandy · December 2009

HI, Sorry to reply so late, went on a ski trip with my Land Cruiser and everything was fine. I finally replaced the full throttle body unit at around $1400 at the Toyota dealer, they dropped the price down from $1700. The problem had been happening with more frequency and it was getting too dangerous. Fortunately it did happen with my mechanic, so he did a computer diagnosis of it on the spot and the computer said it was the sensor. He had a good relationship with the dealer, they said it has happened to them with their other SUVs but not Land Cruisers, but they felt it was better to replace the whole body rather than just the sensor, because if it didn't fix it, you'd spend more money. I decided to have them do it rather than my mechanic who would have been less money because I wanted them to cover the liability if it wasn't fixed and/or something happened. Also in case this issue became another of Toyota call backs like the rug issue, I could possibly get a refund if they diagnosed and fixed it. Unfortunately, once I gave it to the dealership to fix it, they insisted on making it happen first, as they couldn't be sure it was the throttle body and didn't want to just take my mechanics assessment of it. But it never happened with them, which I found a bit suspect. But I didn't want to mess around anymore and they admitted that that was probably the problem and it would be more prudent to replace the whole part, so I did and it has been fine. I think the problem happens a lot, but they aren't admitting it as they didn't with the rug issue for a long time, because it would be another huge and expensive call back. But as you can see, no one emailed me about it but you, so maybe not. In general, I am a bit tired of these computers that run everything, because they are so expensive to replace and could have a silly glitch like this that is costly, but it is too dangerous to let it go. Good luck, Tracey

zinmyo · March 2012

Dear Sir,
I have an 2000 Toyota Landcruiser Cygnus.The VSC and TRC OFF lights came on the dash. Please explain me problem solving.Please discussion for me.

Toyota Land Cruiser Throttle Body Sensor Problem

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