check engine light + the VSC Trac + VSC OFF lights are on- Again 1 year later

[uhmgawa]

I'm somewhat mystified of where the connector is located for the front
A/F sensor. This vehicle is a 2000 3.4L/R150F with CA emissions
and it appears no accessible connector exists as the A/F cable heads
to the top of the transmission leading to no obvious connector AFAICT.
From other photos I've seen I'd expect the connector to be within
6-12" of the sensor but not in my case. The downstream sensor
(actually an O2 sensor) does have the typical connector hanging off a
bracket in plain sight. Can anyone shed some light here?

Just in case anyone else travels down this path of misfortune,
there is indeed a connector which through considerable effort
has been carefully hidden. After pawing around blind at the top
of the transmission (recall this is a M/T) I found what felt like a
connector. The only way to get *close* to it was to pull the interior
shift/transfer console + rubber boot off. Doing so is a tease at best
as you can only see a fraction of the mated set pushed far up
away from the tranny cutout in the floor.

Releasing the latch while the connectors are in their normal
mount location is effectively impossible. I grabbed a pair of
curved, long handle needle nose pliers to squeeze the plastic
mount stud pawls on the connector while simultaneously
prying the shebang free of the mounting bracket with a long
flat screwdriver. You'll have the shift and transfer levers
strategically obscuring your work while you additionally try not
to loose an eye on either un-knobbed lever. The position you'll
need to be in while attempting this is the dictionary definition of
awkward.

Anyway once you free it from the bracket you can better depress
the lever to separate the pair. If the a/f sensor head is free you can
just pull the works through the floor cutout.

On the bright side I found the Denso 234-9001 a/f sensor (M/T
version) on Amazon for $113 delivered which is surprisingly
cheaper than I've seen anywhere else. FWIW the A/T version
(243-9002) is simply the same sensor with a shorter cable and
paradoxically more expensive from some vendors.

Another oddity is with my vehicle the color codes in both the
vehicle wiring harness and the connector cable itself differ from
the factory wiring and service manual. Not a big deal but it
does seem a bit strange.

 

[BADGATE]

I'm sure most of you are bored discussing this issue....but I had all three CEL, VSC Trac & VSC Off lights come on together. I took it to Autozone and got the three codes PO440, PO441 & PO446. After searching thru threads, I purchased a new gas cap and reset (disconnected the battery). A day or so later the lights came back on...back to Autozone and only 2 codes PO441 & PO446. I took it into a toyota dealership and they told me I needed a new charcoal cannister %600+. In another thread I found people talking about 2 other solutions I would like to try before spending that cash...replacing the VCV valve is an inexpensive possible fix along with the cleaning of the MAF sensor. Does anyone have pics of where these two items are located? Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[uhmgawa]

On the bright side I found the Denso 234-9001 a/f sensor (M/T
version) on Amazon for $113 delivered which is surprisingly
cheaper than I've seen anywhere else. FWIW the A/T version
(243-9002) is simply the same sensor with a shorter cable and
paradoxically more expensive from some vendors.

You'd think they would check their selection guide information
more carefully. After the -9001 sensor arrived I realized it was
for an A/T. Turns out Denso's website has the -0001 and -0002
applications swapped. A call to Denso's customer service
confirmed this.

So apparently given the scarcity of M/T 4runners those replacing
a air-fuel sensor in an A/T simply received a sensor with a longer
cable and likely just zip-tied the excess.