Has your car been running slower, rougher (shaking at idle especially in P?) and did you eventually get a CEL / MIL ?

In my case I checked codes and found the following:
P1349 VVT System Malfunction (Bank 1)


Bank 1 refers to the sensor on the left side of the car (at least in 3UZ-FE engines).

If so you have the dreaded and common bad VVTi Solenoid Valve which is common. If you are lucky it may just need a cleaning or you could replace it in.
As you can see below I removed and cleaned mine, cleared the code and went for a cruise. Oddly enough Celsior felt great and smoother than ever!
But come this morning the code has returned and the car is idling rougher than ever so I will be replacing mine.

VVTi Left Side (from the rear of the car) part number: 15340-0F010 (fits a bunch of other Toyota/Lexus models too).
I ordered this affiliate link from Amazon for $22 USD (will update once I get it)

You could just remove the top cover with the 2 10MM bolts and then looking at the right (from the front of the car) disconnect the sensor.

The sensor is held in by a single 10MM which is to the right of the power connector of the solenoid.








It is very tricky to remove this piece because of the metal bracket on the solenoid and the power connector. What I did when I reinstalled it was remove the screw above the right portion of the solenoid (it is supporting a plastic bridge for the fusebox wires). Doing this will allow you to lift up the plastic bridge just enough to rotate the solenoid to get it in and out.




The dirty solenoid once it was removed!




I gave it a bath in 99% isopropyl alcohol to clean it (degreaser or brake clean would probably have worked too).



Look at some of the larger deposits that came out (they are still stuck to the bottom of that container right now and will not come out!)



Look at the plastic bridge with the bolt removed that I was mentioning. I had to do remove it so I could pull up on the bridge to have enough space to wiggle the solenoid back in.