Throttle body cleaning on an '09 1.8L? Necessary or even possible?

[belfert]

I took my '09 with 1.8L engine (35,750 miles) to the dealer because it sometimes almost stalls when braking to a stop. Of course, they couldn't duplicate it.The service adviser asked about 30,000 mile service and I said I hadn't done anything except the oil change and tire rotation. He recommended a throttle body cleaning and said it was part of the 30,000 mile service. I declined.Does the 1.8L engine even have throttle body injection? There isn't a recommendation for throttle body cleaning at any mileage in the manual! Would a throttle body cleaning really help my issue?

[star_deceiver]

Here's what you'll find if you've had the brake line recall done.If you havent had the brake line recall you won't have the silver TB spacer.The inside of the Throttle body looks like any other TB...Get a can of TB cleaner and spray the insides of everything down, just be careful not to get too much in the manifold. I found that doing this did nothing performance wise, but then again mine had little black grunge on it. Quote, originally posted by belfert »I took my '09 with 1.8L engine (35,750 miles) to the dealer because it sometimes almost stalls when braking to a stop. Mine does this on occasion and has done it since new. It's never stalled, and I don't worry about it anymore (108XXXkms later)!

[belfert]

I'm pretty sure the brake recall has been done. The dealer didn't mention any open recalls.Would throttle body cleaning help with the issue I mentioned? If not, I won't do it. That is a pretty big hole and I don't see how it being dirty could really hurt things.

[lovemyraffe]

Cleaning the throttle body could potentially help with the issue you are having. It isn't a difficult procedure. Save the $ and do it yourself and see if it works.

[fusetap]

Try running a can of injector clearner in your next tank of gas, That my help!

[jasonvibe]

cleaning the throttle body only helps if something is sticking to not allow the magically driven, by wire motorized throttle work.Which is a likely possibility..Otherwise welcome to the "drive by wire makes no sense club". I feel for you. It should not happen. You can always tell them it's a "safety issue" and be a pain...especially if it's under warranty or even if you are paying. As far as it being part of the maint. schedule. You only need to do it if it's in the owner's manual. Bet it's not there.

[belfert]

I finally put fuel injector cleaner in late last week so I really won't know for a bit if it helped.Drive by wire throttle are not all bad. I have had numerous diesel vehicles and they all had drive by wire throttles. I have a 43 foot motorhome with drive by wire throttle. It works great. People with older 40 foot motorhomes have lots of problems with the super long throttle cables binding or the air throttles having poor response.

[zaxellord]

Quote, originally posted by belfert »I finally put fuel injector cleaner in late last week so I really won't know for a bit if it helped.Drive by wire throttle are not all bad. I have had numerous diesel vehicles and they all had drive by wire throttles. I have a 43 foot motorhome with drive by wire throttle. It works great. People with older 40 foot motorhomes have lots of problems with the super long throttle cables binding or the air throttles having poor response.Interesting. I thought that diesels used vacuum for acceleration since they don't have spark plugs, and electronic ignition. oh well, maybe this is something new.

[circuitsmith]

Quote, originally posted by belfert »That is a pretty big hole and I don't see how it being dirty could really hurt things.It's a tight clearance between the butterfly valve and the throttle bore.That's where dirt can be a problem.I needed to clean the throttle on my '88 Accord after 18 years and 200k miles.Quote, originally posted by zaxellord »I thought that diesels used vacuum for acceleration since they don't have spark plugs, and electronic ignition. oh well, maybe this is something new.Diesel power is controlled by varying the amount of fuel injected at each cycle.There is no throttle, the engine is always drawing a full amount of air and always running lean.

[belfert]

Quote, originally posted by zaxellord »Interesting. I thought that diesels used vacuum for acceleration since they don't have spark plugs, and electronic ignition. oh well, maybe this is something new.Ever since diesel engines got ECMs (computers) they have pretty much all used electronic throttles. My understanding is the injectors themselves are electronic on modern diesels and that is what controls how much fuel the engine is getting.One nice side effect of going electronic is nearly all electronic diesel engines have built-in cruise control controlled by a set of switches. Cruise controls were fairly rare on non-electronic diesel engines. Some of them simply attached a cable to the accelerator pedal

[belfert]

Getting back to the topic at hand, has anyone actually seen a problem with the vehicle seeming to die when coming to a stop fixed by cleaning the throttle body? This is on an '09 with 38,000 miles on it.

[star_deceiver]

Quote, originally posted by belfert »Has anyone actually seen a problem with the vehicle seeming to die when coming to a stop fixed by cleaning the throttle body?No, but if a solution is found I'd be glad to try it.

[zoomie]

Quote, originally posted by belfert »Getting back to the topic at hand, has anyone actually seen a problem with the vehicle seeming to die when coming to a stop fixed by cleaning the throttle body? This is on an '09 with 38,000 miles on it.My car is doing the same thing, I haven't cleaned the throttle body, problem started occurring around 25k kms.Shakes @ 500 RPM before climbing to idle 750. Yours and mine arent the only two.Maybe the dealership will do an engine scan. Thought of contacting GM Warranty dept?

[zoomie]

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver »...If you havent had the brake line recall you won't have the silver TB spacer.Get a can of TB cleaner and spray the insides of everything down, just be careful not to get too much in the manifold. I found that doing this did nothing performance wise, but then again mine had little black grunge on it...Do you know what the torque is for the bolts?Paper or rubber gasket?I'd like to clean the back-side of the TB, without chemical, in case there is an anti-buildup coating.Apparently the $200 GM Induction Cleaning Service cleans the throttle body, intake runners, valves, and injectors.

[star_deceiver]

Quote, originally posted by zoomie »Do you know what the torque is for the bolts? No idea. I used a short box end wrench and what I thought was enough torque.Paper or rubber gasket? Intake manifold to TB spacer, rubber w/metal grate. TB spacer to TB, paper type as I recall.I'd like to clean the back-side of the TB, without chemical, in case there is an anti-buildup coating. Take off the TB and spray it with brake clean. It works well.Apparently the $200 GM Induction Cleaning Service cleans the throttle body, intake runners, valves, and injectors. Unless they're pulling the intake manifold, it wouldn't surprise me if that service wasn't just a spraydown with the engine running. Spraying TB cleaner through the TB as the engine is being ran at about 2500rpm.

[zoomie]

Thanks Dude I'll make sure I have a new gasket on hand.

[Capt.Vibe]

Like star deceiver, my car has also been doing this since new. The idle drops for 2-3 seconds then climbs back up to normal idle but never stalls. No particular or special conditions that I've noticed, it just does it seemingly randomly. I also just ignore it.

[PaveLowGirl]

I have had the same problem with my '03 GT, twice it actually did stall out on me. I am going to clean out the throttle body and I'll let you know if it works. I also had a check engine light come on the other day realted to a bad PCV valve, not sure if they are related.

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by PaveLowGirl »I have had the same problem with my '03 GT, twice it actually did stall out on me. I am going to clean out the throttle body and I'll let you know if it works. I also had a check engine light come on the other day realted to a bad PCV valve, not sure if they are related. You should look @ cleaning your MAF sensor & possibly installing new plugs as well.