Topic: Throttle body cleaning?

[carcrazy]

I had the Mazda3 at the dealer for 4 years/96km service (the car is 4 years old now, but it only has 63K) and they recommended to do the "throttle body" cleaning (about $130 job). I declined the service for now until I figure out what is this all about. The manufacturer maintenance schedule doesn't mention this service item.
Can anyone help with an explanation? Is this a legitimate service apart from a money making service for the dealer?
Thanks in advance.

[articsteve]

It's a standard money maker, but it's not without it's merits.  Eventually the butterfly in the throttle body will not close perfectly if left unattended for many years depending on the motor.  Every engine is different; idle control motors benefit in some cases.

It's easy to do yourself. 

[dr_spock]

I think at some point it'll need to be done.  If your engine is still running smoothly, then you can wait. 

[carcrazy]

The engine seems normal to me, but I have no idea about how it should sound/feel when the cleaning is needed.
If it's something worth doing, I will probably do it at the next service.

[articsteve]

If this helps you out any; if I were you, I would not do it until it hits 100K km regardless of time.

[carcrazy]

If this helps you out any; if I were you, I would not do it until it hits 100K km regardless of time.

Thanks AS. It does help.

[articsteve]

Hundred times better to change the air cleaner often (say every 2 years in your case if you get a good price) than spend $150 (tax in) on some guy spraying some cleaner in a hole and wiping it out with a rag that probably isn't all that clean to begin with.

[carcrazy]

Hundred times better to change the air cleaner often (say every 2 years in your case if you get a good price) than spend $150 (tax in) on some guy spraying some cleaner in a hole and wiping it out with a rag that probably isn't all that clean to begin with.

The air filter was checked, but they said no need to replace it yet. It's been replaced about a year ago. I will replace it anyway within a year.
Mazda recommends to replace the filter every 2 years I believe. The car is driven less than 10K/year so I think it should be fine.
It's about $30 so it's not a big deal.

[blur911]

I recently cleaned the throttle body on my Audi anda  Maxima I was working on.  A $6 can from Kia (recommended by Nissan mechanics I know) and 5 minutes with the hood up and a screwdriver to loosen a clamp.  $130 leaves a little much in the old profit margin area.

A note on air filters, get a properly fitting one.  Some from Crappy tire (and others)  don't fit well and let dirt through, ruins many air-flow sensors that way, not to mention wearing out engines.

[carcrazy]

I recently cleaned the throttle body on my Audi anda  Maxima I was working on.  A $6 can from Kia (recommended by Nissan mechanics I know) and 5 minutes with the hood up and a screwdriver to loosen a clamp.  $130 leaves a little much in the old profit margin area.

A note on air filters, get a properly fitting one.  Some from Crappy tire (and others)  don't fit well and let dirt through, ruins many air-flow sensors that way, not to mention wearing out engines.

I get the air filter from Mazda and I hope they use OEM.

I would love to save $130+ but I have no idea on how to do it myself (never did it before), plus I still have 1 year warranty on the powertrain and in case something goes wrong I don't want to give the dealer any reasons to give me hard-time. For the very same reasons I swallow the dealer $150-$200 "inspections" once a year.

Once the car is out of warranty, I'll have to find a good and honest mechanic. When I had older used cars, I had an honest mechanic and fairly good for the type of car I had at the time, but I wouldn't easily trust him with my current cars; he's kind of an old school guy. 

[vdk]

What inspections? I'm curious..

And they can only deny you warranty if you don't follow regular maintenance as described in the owner's manual.

[carcrazy]

What inspections? I'm curious..

And they can only deny you warranty if you don't follow regular maintenance as described in the owner's manual.

The annual service (12/24/36/48... month) is about $250 and apart from the usual oil change ($35-$40), they say they road test the car, check for leaks, fluid levels, service the brakes - clean, lubricate, check hoses, suspension bolts, tires rotation, air filter check etc.
I'm not saying that these checks are not necessary, but the amount of money they charge for it is quite high IMO. Plus, do they do a thorough check? Not sure. For example today the service adviser told me that next time I should replace my rear brake pads. I immediately questioned his claim because I replaced the rotors and pads last year and I drove around 10K since, mostly on highway and suburbs. There is no way the brakes should be already gone. Plus you can tell that they have lots of meat left. The service manager will have the tech actually measure the pads and write it down.

The reason I'm reluctant to work myself on the car or take it to a different shop just yet is because, in case something happens for the next year, the dealer may say it's because of the work done outside of the dealership. If I do all the service at the dealer, if something happens, and they are the only ones who worked on the car, they may not try to give me hard time. Besides, the service manager knows me and he was pretty good at addressing all my concerns in the past (I had no problems getting the rust issue addressed last year and largely because of the relationship I have with him as a returning customer).

[onearmed]

Back around when my car was about 80000km the VW dealership recommended a throttle body cleaning. Declined, 55000km later the car still idles fine.

[safristi]

..when a "butterfly" flaps it's wings in yer car why does it  always get trapped in yer intercooler rad..................doesn't Premium GAS take care of the dingus that ate /throttled yer body!!!!.....................it's ONLY an olde Carb butterfly thingie doo dah like   NO!!! tricked UP fer Xmas..............

[Squishy]

It's fairly easy to do yourself.  Grab a bottle of throttle body cleaner; easiest would be the Motomaster can from Canadian Tire, I prefer the Kleen-Flo stuff.

In this picture, the throttle body is at the left of the picture, where you see the steel cable and a spring loaded swivel.  Basically, follow your intake piping until you get to a big piece of metal.  There is likely a metal cylinder on top of it, which is your idle air control (IAC) valve.
http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/bdai/Escape-City/How-To/2003%20Spark%20Plugs%20PCV/IMG_0015.jpg

Disconnect all tubes and electrical connections from your intake piping, and loosen the clamp.  You may have to open the airbox (where the filter is) to get enough wiggle room to pull the tube off of the throttle body.  This is a very slightly dirty one - note the black ring around the throttle plate (disregard the red circle; these pictures are from another post of mine on changing the PCV valve).
http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/bdai/Escape-City/How-To/2003%20Spark%20Plugs%20PCV/IMG_0016.jpg

Spray the TB cleaner liberally at the dirty spots, and wiggle the throttle plate by twisting the spring-loaded swivel part I talked about before.  Allow the cleaner to soak in for 30 seconds or so, then take a toothbrush and loosen the gunk.  Spray more cleaner in there to blast it clean.  Repeat if necessary.  Mine looked like this after cleaning:
http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/bdai/Escape-City/How-To/2003%20Spark%20Plugs%20PCV/IMG_0021.jpg

Put everything back together, and you're done!  If you used a lot of cleaner, let the whole thing sit for a half hour or so to allow the cleaner to evaporate from the intake manifold.  There is a very small chance of hydrolock; I have only heard of one case in an online forum, and I suspect that poster had his engine running and sprayed in too much cleaner.

I do mine every 30,000 km or so.  If you don't do it, eventually you might get a sticky gas pedal or a weird idle.

[Turbo Bob]

Squishy that's a perfect explanation! Top marks dude!

 

[dr_spock]

Back around when my car was about 80000km the VW dealership recommended a throttle body cleaning. Declined, 55000km later the car still idles fine.

You're doing pretty good.  My VW had to be cleaned at 133000 km.  The engine felt much better afterwards. 

[tortoise]

My Mazda B2500 needed constant TB cleanings every 50,000 km or so to keep the pedal from sticking.  It made driving standard a real pain in the A$$.

My P5 is at 175,000 km and is running as well as it ever has. 

[Turbo Bob]

What does driving standard have to do with it?

[Squishy]

It shoots you up to 2000 RPM or more right off the mark.  You press and press on the pedal, and eventually it unsticks and the force you use takes you to 25% throttle instead of the 5% you were going for.  I imagine that's hard on the clutch.