Ok I've heard this debate a lot lately so I hope this might put it all to rest:

In 2001 the ETCS-i (Electronic Throttle Control System-intelligent) system, which realizes excellent throttle control in all the operating ranges, has been adopted. ORVR (On-Board Refilling Vapor Recovery) system has been adopted to reduce the discharge of fuel vapor to the atmosphere during refueling. The method for detecting evaporative emission leaks has been changed from the previous internal pressure monitor type to the vacuum type. The air-fuel ratio sensor and the WU-TWC (Warm Up Three-Way Catalytic Converters) for improving exhaust emissions have been adopted.

Reference: http://www.top4runners.com/ja/runhist32001.html

Ok, after reading your post, I went on Toyota Tech line (E-Tas)
and checked there for an answer and I'm sorry to say I was wrong...
2001-2002 4runners with 5VZ-FE have drive by wire assisted by cable.
Thanks...

Thanks for the info.

I've often wondered why my '02 has a much quicker throttle response compared to my wife's '00 4Runner. Makes sense now!

Make sure you read the thread "How to get better throttle response FOR FREE!" for your wife's 2000 4Runner Make sure you clean the cables, cable housing, and throttle body springs too!

Thanks, but I did that about 6 months ago . It did help, but it's still no comparision to mine.

I owned a '99 3rd Gen years ago (purchased it w/ super low miles) and it's throttle response was the same as my wife's '00 is now. When I stepped up to my current '02 Sport 3yrs ago, I was shocked at the much quicker the throttle response was. Thank you Toyota for implementing ETCS-i ! I love every bit of it...my wife's jealous of it too.

you know honestly, and this is nothing against 01's and 02's, i really dont like DBW on 4runners. My reason is that there is a chance that the ETCS-i could go out. Now toyota planed for this, and im not sure how it works, but they made it so that in the chance it goes out that you can still open your throttle body a little bit so you can get your runner to a safe location, but there is still that..."it can break" that im wondering about. Now im no expert, but if you have drive by cable throttle you eliminate that, "it can break" senario at the cost of a little better throttle response? Does anyone else agree with me? And i have in-fact raced a few 01, 02 runners and i've been able to beat all of them (i do have a few mods that make my runner quite a bit faster). So that brings me back to my point, what's the...point, of DBW?

From my understanding, Toyota needed to implement DBW to get the VSC to work. With VSC, the ECU monitors for wheel spin and will cut your throttle input if excess throttle causes wheel spin (this could not be done with a direct cable link). ATRAC is different as it uses the braking system to independently brake a spinning wheel to gain traction.

You are right about the safety feature in case of electronic failure. Toyota added a throttle cable that could be controlled by the accelerator pedal to turn the butterfly about 1/4 turn. This way, if the electronics failed, one could still limp to safety.

ok im sorry, im really never this negative but i think VSC is stupid too.

Well sure, DBW could break, but so could the throttle cable, either way there is always something to break and leave you stranded. As stated, if my DBW goes out I can still limp home as chances are the back up throttle cable is still fine. If something happens to the cable in your 00 you are out of luck unless you can reattach it somehow.

i guess what it comes down to is $$. I bet its way cheaper to fix a cable than a DBW system

Yes, if it happens to break it will be more expensive to fix. Personally I find the system to be fine and I am quite confident that my 02 will give me many more years of reliable motoring on the stock DBW system. If its worth it to worry about something that may break some day then by all means feel free, I prefer to drive and just fix things when they break and not waste any time worrying about it.

This got me thinking...

Is there a way to disable the drive by wire for 01 and 02 models? I would expect that in turn, the VSC would no longer work, yet you would still be able to control throttle input because the manual cable is still there. Would this work, or is this idea completely far fetched? I can't imagine that the drive by wire module interacts with much more than the VSC system

x2. If it breaks, fix it.


I agree, I'm sure it'd be more $$ to fix a DBW system. However, I've never heard of them failing. Granted, I'm sure some have failed, but you just don't hear about it if they do.

Personally, if the DBW failing was a common issue on these '01 - '02s, then I would have never purchased one to begin with. IMO, the DBW is the least of my worries.

If you swapped the whole throttle body and all electronics from an 00 or older it may be possible, but you would more than likely need the whole ECU as well. I would say it is 100% not worth the effort to "fix" a system that works just fine. The extra cable is a fail safe and in no way intended to be used as a primary throttle controller.

If you want to eliminate VSC and TRAC just search for the write up, there is a way to wire a switch andf still retain ABS.

The only way I know of to disable vsc and trac is the "andy mod"...and with that mod, you loose abs when the switch is activated.