09 GT throttle body

1.8-liter VVTL-i (2ZZ-GE) and VVT-i (1ZZ-FE) engine, transmission, exhaust, intake, and performance tuning discussions
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leaster1939
Posts: 27
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2013 7:46 am
Location: Myrtle Beach, SC

09 GT throttle body

Post by leaster1939 »

Just turned 100,000 miles and figured it was time for tune up, plug etc. Been experiencing slight hesitation when first stepping on gas and when cruising with light pedal pressure I have the feeling that the engine may want to stumble. I decided to clean the throttle body as part of my tune up effort. Even thought of replacing the TPS. When I finally got access to the throttle body I did not notice a throttle cable nor did I see the TPS that I expected. Maybe I just did not look hard enough. Does the 2.4L engine require replacement of the throttle body if the TPS is faulty? What is the Toyota nomenclature for the 2.4L engine. Does any one know of a manual for the 09GT
jolt
Posts: 945
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2014 2:07 am
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota

Re: 09 GT throttle body

Post by jolt »

Around 2007 and up Vibes are "drive by wire", which means that there is no throttle cable. The ECM controls the throttle body by electrical signals to a stepper drive motor. The TPS is built inside the throttle body along with the stepper drove motor and plastic gears. There are no serviceable parts that you can buy replacements for in the throttle body. The whole unit must be replaced if something goes bad inside the throttle body.

There are some YouTube videos about cleaning throttle bodies that you may what to check out before doing any cleaning. DO NOT force the throttle body butterfly open as you can damage the plastic gears or worse inside the throttle body. The safest way to clean the body and butterfly is to remove the throttle body and do the cleaning on a work bench. I cleaned my 2009 2.4L Vibe's throttle body at around 72,000 miles and it was dirty. The more dirt that in is in there, the harder it is for the stepper motor to open and close the butterfly from idle. This puts more load on the plastic gears which causes the gears to wear and gets play in the butterfly, this in turn makes it harder for the ECM to control idle speed.

There was also a recall on my Vibe for the throttle pedal. That went back to the floor mats getting stuck under the throttle pedal and other things getting blamed on the uncontrolled acceleration. The recall involved shimming the throttle pedal pivot shaft to give it more clearance. That was years ago now but you may what to check to make sure your Vibe had the recall done. If there are any problems with your TPS that the ECM can not deal with, you will get a code and "Check Engine" light will be on.

As far as I know 2009 and 2010 all have the same 2.4L engine in them. It does not matter if it is a GT or base with a 2.4L, the 2.4L is a 2.4L. The 2.4L in the Vibe is the same base engine that is in a Camry of the same year. If trying to find info about the engine, you may want to search the Camry too.
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