Camry 99 occasionally stalls on cold days unless gas is applied. Dealer diagnoses as problem with ICV replacement goes for 121 for valve cover gasket and 565 for the valve itself. 686 for the whole thing total. Otherwise the car will supposedly be undrivable any day...supposedly no way to to tell how close it is to breaking...could be tomorrow could be in a year.
Thoughts?
ICV? I think you may have misunderstood, as there is no such thing. PCV? EGR?
oh wait, are you talking about the idle valve? It just hit me. We call it an IAC valve (idle air control). Thats the only thing I can think of that is in line with that price you mentioned.
PCV (positive crankcase ventilation) or IAC (idle air control)? L4 or V6?
PCV is a ~$5 part plus a $2 rubber grommet. It vents crankcase blowby gas back into the cylinders. If bad pressurized crankcase can force oil out.
But sounds like stalling the problem is with the IAC. Toyota is notorious for these. I've heard some fail when cold but most when warm. Depending if it's stuck closed or open I guess. Google the old postings on how to "clean the Camry IAC valve". After cleaning some used TriFlow to keep it unstuck longer.
Toyota had a policy of giving away IAC valves because of the frequent failures, but they'll want you to pay labor. But cleaning it will do and it's cheaper.
Valve cover gasket is around $14 a set for L4, including spark plug tube seals. $565 is way too much even accounting for labor or for a V6. It's something that can be done in 15 minutes on the 4cyl, if it even takes that long.
Blah wrote:
Sorry it is the idle control valve...they want around 700 bucks for it or the car will be undrivable any day now. Could be tomorrow could be in a year...sound right?
Yeah, the idle air control valve sticks frequently. The valve doesn't need to be replaced. Many owners here shared their experience in cleaning the valve and then lubing it with TriFlow to extend the cleaning interval. Toyota redesigned the valve but that didn't resolve the problem.
$700 to way out of line. If you must have a dealer do it, they should be able to clean the valve and charge you for 1 hour's labor. Call Toyota's 800 line and see if they still have the free IAC program available. You'll just pay 1 hour to have it installed, for the same price of cleaning you might get a new valve.
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