2002 Camry throttle body linkage

I bought a 2002 Camry with 22,000 Kms on it in the fall of 2006, It now has 26,000 kms on it.

A month ago it stalled when I was parking it and when I restarted it the "Check Engine" light came on and stayed on. I took it to the dealer and they diagnosed that it required the throttle body linkage replaced for $1,500. The vehicle was running fine and they said the problem might not recur so I didn't do the repair.

Monday the vehicle started idling at over 2,000 rpm and wouldn't settle. On Tuesday it was back to normal in the morning but on the way home I stopped at a light and when I set off again the vehicle would not respond to the throttle and the "Check engine " light had come on again. I idled my way the last few kms at about 20 kph.

This morning the vehicle was running OK but stalled once when I put iit in reverse. The "check Engine" light was still on so I dropped it at the dealer.

They declined to diagnose it because they said it was the same problem that they had diagnosed the last time. $1,500 would cure the problem.

Is this a common problem with the 2002 Camry? Were there any service directives related to the "throttle body linkage"? Any recalls on this issue? Seems unusual for a repair of this magnitude to be required on such a low mileage vehicle.