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Just look at the accelerator pedal assembly. If you see a cable that moves with the pedal and goes through the firewall then it almost certainly is not DBW.
Thats right. Here is a pedal from a 2010 Toyota Avalon XL.... note this has an electrical connection at the top. This is a drive by wire of course.
Location: Still in Portland, Oregon, for some reason
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Good picture, TN...another way to determine if it is a cable or DBW throttle is to push the accelerator pedal to the floor with the ignition off. A drive-by-wire throttle will not be active and hence, won't work. A cable throttle will work regardless of ignition position and you will hear the butterfly valve 'click' as it opens to its fullest extent.
For comparison purposes, here is a photo of the cable pedal on my 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe. Sorry for the dirt...I can't say it's an area I've ever photographed.
It's a very simple mechanism...all it is is a spring-loaded pivot with the end of the steel throttle cable attached at the top. That cable passes through a hole in the firewall and loops around where it attaches to the throttle body. It is a much more space-consuming unit due to the pivoting action required to actuate the butterfly valve (also called the throttle plate) inside the throttle body. Under the hood, both cables (one from the pedal and the other from the cruise control unit) are shielded in rubber casings to protect them from corrosion and to keep them from freezing.
A little oil on linkages and cable can work wonders... My 1985 volvo has a cable with mechanic linkage called bell cranks. The still are original and there is no wear, or broken strands.
As a x foreign car tech there is no car I will own that flies by wire. I live in Hell's Bump, New Hampster, and have seen more than a few bad ECU's cause by road salt dust..
The more I see what happens in 'change' the more determined I am to keep my old junk.
Cables wear out? I have to ask how that would even happen. It's steel.
Oh yea I'm old enough to remeber they most definitely wore out, frayey, stuck, jammed and bunches of other problems, and the linkage on the wire wore out big time. The good old days weren't always that good.
Oh yea I'm old enough to remeber they most definitely wore out, frayey, stuck, jammed and bunches of other problems, and the linkage on the wire wore out big time. The good old days weren't always that good.
Yeah I am so glad those days are over and now we have drive by wire.
I will not buy anything with "drive by wire" I always thought it was a bad idea... I don't care what anyone says, give me the old school cable. I will stick with my 1995 accord, OBD1, and a CABLE!!!!!!
And of all the cars I have owned in 22 years NONE of them ever had a throttle cable problem, NONE OF THEM..... I have owned 50+ cars.
Oh yeah there was a bad hard wire car. The MGA, LOL. The linkage ran across the fire wall where the passanger could step on the gas if he was crafty. (why is there no evil grin?)
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