Dirty throttle body

[brianric]

Brought car into the dealer for a recall warranty work. Can someone explain how in the heck does my car have a dirty throttle body where (A) I use nothing but Top Tier gasoline in my car and (B) the car was at the dealer last month (1000 miles ago) and the multi-point inspection showed a clean bill of inspection of the throttle body? Honda wanted to charge $176 to clean the throttle body.

Sponsored

 

[NHCivicGuy]

Get a second opinion? Are you having any issues that point towards a dirty throttle body? I bet they're just trying to hose you though.

 

[brianric]

Get a second opinion? Are you having any issues that point towards a dirty throttle body? I bet they're just trying to hose you though.

No issues at all. I turned down the job. If Honda gives me problems going forward I have both receipts showing the descrepancy. Went to Autozone, CSR said it looks like a rip off if I'm not showing any symptoms.

 

[brianric]

gasoline does not have anything to do with the throttle body, gas is never anywhere near the throttle body, only air passes through the throttle body,

what is their definition of "dirty" its a very subjective term, all throttle bodies get dirty over time, one could claim a throttle body was "dirty" after 4-5,000 miles

a "dirty" throttle body will not likely ever affect the performance of your car,

basically they will remove the intake and clean the throttle body with a cloth that has a bit of cleaner on it,

i normally use a rag with a bit of gas on it, while somebody else holds the gas pedal to the floor holding it open,

if its a really old car i might use an old toothbrush dipped in gas and wipe everything with a clean rag after im done,

if your changing your air filter at proper intervals, throttle body cleaning would not be necessary for 120,000 miles or more

Car's got 45,000 miles. Maintain car at the dealer by the book. I'll wait until I get 100,000 miles on the car to have them clean it.

 

[nizarz]

gasoline does not have anything to do with the throttle body, gas is never anywhere near the throttle body, only air passes through the throttle body,

what is their definition of "dirty" its a very subjective term, all throttle bodies get dirty over time, one could claim a throttle body was "dirty" after 4-5,000 miles

a "dirty" throttle body will not likely ever affect the performance of your car,

basically they will remove the intake and clean the throttle body with a cloth that has a bit of cleaner on it,

i normally use a rag with a bit of gas on it, while somebody else holds the gas pedal to the floor holding it open,

if its a really old car i might use an old toothbrush dipped in gas and wipe everything with a clean rag after im done,

if your changing your air filter at proper intervals, throttle body cleaning would not be necessary for 120,000 miles or more

This.

 

[fjrman]

Throttle bodies / throttle butterfly valves get dirty from oily engine fumes which are recirculated back into the engine through the air intake system. Any dust particles which get through the air filter combine with the oily fumes leaving a residue on the internals of the throttle body.

With the old throttle cable system one might detect a build-up on the throttle body valve as the accelerator pedal was pressed and released.

Don't know how it would be detected with the new servo controlled throttle where there's no mechanical connection between the pedal and throttle valve. Maybe the computer flags a dirty throttle valve via feedback from the servo.

Maybe a direct injection engine doesn't recirculate these fumes. But, those fumes have to go somewhere.

 

[brianric]

Throttle bodies / throttle butterfly valves get dirty from oily engine fumes which are recirculated back into the engine through the air intake system. Any dust particles which get through the air filter combine with the oily fumes leaving a residue on the internals of the throttle body.

With the old throttle cable system one might detect a build-up on the throttle body valve as the accelerator pedal was pressed and released.

Don't know how it would be detected with the new servo controlled throttle where there's no mechanical connection between the pedal and throttle valve. Maybe the computer flags a dirty throttle valve via feedback from the servo.

Maybe a direct injection engine doesn't recirculate these fumes. But, those fumes have to go somewhere.

2.5 years ago I did $4,000 worth of damage to my car by hitting a curb at 2 mph. One of the things replaced was the intercooler. The body shop forgot to put in two of the three o-rings required. For a month I kept misfiring until the engine was warm, milage off by 10 mpg. Spark plugs had to be replaced due to carbon buildup. After being bounced back and forth between the body shop and Honda I demanded that Honda dealer find and fix the problem. Honda engineers asked the Honda dealer if the car was in an accident, then asked if the intercooler was replaced. Honda engineers then told the dealer to check to see if all three o-rings were replaced. Only one was. To make a long story short the Hona dealer charged me $750, which the body shop reimbursed me. I wonder if that may have any thing to do with it.

Sponsored