Help! Might have bought a lemon?

+1. I got an old Asus netbook at a pawn shop and made it the garage computer. Barely takes up any room on the shelf, always ready to go and I don't care about greasy paws on the keycaps. My Mac stays clean in the house.

 

I'm going with the assumption your code reader is not giving you all the codes. I want to know from your original post, why your car would allow you to limp home after 15 minutes rest? Possibly after it cooled down? Possibly not related to throttle body at all? This car shuts down most electronic components when it overheats.

Or maybe you can take a peak inside the throttle and maybe clean it out and the MAF sensor while you're in there?

 

I don't think it's especially easy for even a cheapo scan tool to get a P0 code wrong. If it says there are P0121 and P0122 codes set, probably that's because there are, so I'll go with the problem turning out to have something to do with janky signals getting back to the ECM from the throttle body.

As covered upthread, whether that means the throttle body itself is the reason the signals are janky is not something the ECM or a code reader will be able to reveal; where the actual trouble is in that circuit will be for some human to suss out.

 

I’m interested in finding out if it’s the throttle body or something else. OP please keep us advised. I agree with lead foot on an old laptop. You only need a single core windows 7 machine to run Techstream, that’s a pretty low and cheap bar these days. You actually don’t want it connected to the internet when you are running the program, and if the battery is weak just use an extension cord to power it.

 

You really should get the software and a cheap laptop even if the throttle body works. Then you have it the next time you need it. It also works on all Toyota’s, I use it on my others whenever I have a problem.

 

Kind of hit or miss at the lower price points ($15+), but mostly they work or will with the correct TS version. Find a seller with 'free returns' if worried about build quality. Some sellers will let you 'make an offer', just look at the sales history and see if lower offers were accepted and try to match.

There are other cable options that cost more, like the 'VXdiag' ($50+), or even the Tactrix open port 2.0 cable for $170+ ( Tactrix ).

Assuming you don't want to wait for a cable from China, here is a US shipper : Mini VCI J2534 16Pin OBD2 Diagnostic Cable For Toyota Lexus Scion TIS Techstream | eBay

 

You can download a copy of version 12 for free to see if it works here.

Toyota Techstream 12.30.017 download & install on Win 7 Win 10 | OBDII365.com Official Blog

I got my mini vci from this place. I can’t change my TPMS sensors over with it but it scans fine.

 

It can only be plugs, connectors, wiring or the ECM itself, now.

 

Have you tried @SFO ‘s troubleshooting links from post 4 yet?

 

Well, the really general term is ECU - electronic control unit. A Gen 2 has about a dozen of those (a Gen 3, north of two dozen). But only one of those ECUs is the one also called the ECM (engine control module).

And as usual, as with any no-moving-parts, all-solid-state industrial-grade electronic controller, it is almost almost almost almost never going to turn out to be the problem. Wiring and connectors are going to be the usual suspects, as they have been all down the years.

 

You will need Techstream, sooner or later.

Do you have a multimeter?

 

It's not going to pop up and tell you "Wire #83 was eaten by a brown mouse on September 25, half a meter from the black 4-pin connector" or anything magical like that. Some detective work with a meter is still going to be required.

 

On the other hand, it will let you do things like watch, or record, the sensed values being seen at the ECU while you are out jiggling wires. So if you look at it as another tool rather than an oracle, it can be a pretty darn useful other tool.