'96 Camry 4-cyl 2.2L Idle Control Sensor

[Maulana]

Because I’m in a remote rural area, my mechanic gets many parts from Toyota dealer so they can be returned locally if defective, but an Idle Control Sensor is $400, so is there a reliable after-market manufacturer I can buy it from directly (knowing the mechanic couldn’t guarantee it)?
Bought '96 Camry LE 4-cyl 2.2L automatic, 65k mi a year ago (now 72k mi). No service records, had far more problems & service to do than I & a mobile mechanic could discern when test driving before purchase (quick visual inspec too). (Timing belt & water pump, transmission svc, radiator, rear struts, front axles, motor mounts, front brake pads, sway bar link problem, tires, no A/C...as well as the parts below.)
My driving is all on the street (10-50 m/p/d), stop & go with an occasional short stretch up to 50-60 mph, hilly, and in humid warm weather climate.
I've had low idle-stalling, heavy vibration, power fluctuation and intermittent starting for at least 6 months. It's been in the shop 4 times now for all of that; 2 times car did not demonstrate problem. When codes did not always come up in scans mechanics used other data to look at system voltages. Last recommendation was to replace Idle Control Sensor. Replaced: battery, distributor cap, rotor & o-ring, and spark plugs, throttle body gasket. Checked: fuel pressure, ignition & starter. Also, don't know if the anti-theft system is factory or after-market and wired directly into ignition wires, but horn is disabled, the passive ignition lock functioning.
- Intermittent starting--first start of day or after driving and being parked for hour or so
- Get ignition, then idles low and almost (or does) stall out; tapping gas stalls it
- Low idle (almost stalling) when stopped in traffic; tapping gas stalls it
- Power fluctuations when starting, stopped in Drive (Neutral too), and just driving
- First time car would not start at all 3 months ago (towed to shop), no ignition, just clicking noise; mechanic said he started by flooring gas pedal while holding key in Start position for a while. He said system reset itself.
- Week and a half ago (2nd time) car would not start up at all--but did have ignition. I held the gas pedal all the way in with the key in Start position. That worked.
I asked mechanic to clean the throttle before getting ICS. After the inner body & plate and idle air control valve were cleaned today (they said it was clogged), when I started it up to leave the shop, I got ignition, really low idle and then stalled, repeatedly. (It had been starting and running with no problem for week and a half.) Mechanic set idle higher as a temporary fix but as I was later driving into a parking space, the car pulled forward hard at 2000 rpm, so I went back to shop and asked them to lower the idle.
New ?: I looked at ICS parts at the links given, so if the car was manufactured for California but eventually taken and sold out of state, does that mean that I still need to buy any parts that are designated as being required in California?

[jdmccright]

The only things I didn't see in your thread that could be an issue are clogged or stuck PCV and EGR valves and a bad ignition coil. Mileage is very low for your year car, but now is about the time for the OEM coils to crap out. Good luck!

[RIP]

Two of several aftermarket sources for idle air control valve:
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,ca...2,partGroup,22
http://www.toyautoparts.com/catalog/...ontrol%20Valve

I'd be suprised if a junk yard charges more than $50.

[Maulana]

It's been a year since the Forum requested a follow up as to how this problem was resolved.
I did these two things.
1. I asked my mechanic to clean the carbon out of throttle body-plate-idle air control valve (based on the computer code reading his advice had been to replace the idle control/sensor).
2. I started using eeFuel additive which did significantly boost gas mileage and the engine ran noticeably smoother.
I still have a very low idle when stopped in traffic.

[Brian R.]

Thank you for the feedback.