Electronic DBW Throttle Body cleaning - 05 Vibe, base

[tad2much]

I'm planning on cleaning the electronic (also called Drive-By-Wire) throttle body on my 2005 base vibe. (I may also clean the mass airflow sensor (MAF) while I'm at it, following to this simple video.)

I found this how-to at toyotanation, and it looks easy enough. Just remove the airbox and intake hose from the TB, spray in the TB cleaner, turn the plate to get the other side, and use a toothbrush or lint-free cloth to clean it out.

My concern has to do with what I've read about other dbw throttle body mechanisms, and precautions with cleaning them:
1) Is it safe to manually turn the throttle plate on dbw tb? I've read that can damage the gears in the motor mechanism. On fords, it is also possible that the motor will activate and close, possibly chopping your fingers!

2) I thought about just removing the TB, but i understand there may be some idle level relearning that the ECU would have to do, which can cause issues.

3) There's some protective coating inside the tb, and harsh cleaners can strip it off. I'm using CRC Throttle Body cleaner, so I should be ok, but is it alright to scrub with a cloth and toothbrush, or is that too harsh?

This article sums up a lot of the general info on dbw tb cleaning i've come across. It suggests, as other do, to clean the tb by having power on (but engine off) and the accelerator depressed to turn the throttle plate.

So for electronic throttle bodies the best way to clean them is with an assistant opening the throttle with the key turned to acc. (power, engine not running). You can also use something to depress the accelerator pedal like bricks, metal bar, etc.

Anyone have any experience or thoughts on this? My car is running fine. I had a "vibration on idle" issue that i was trying to address by cleaning the TB, but that went away after I switched to synthetic oil. Is this preventative maintenance even that useful, or if there's no problem, should I not bother?

Thanks!

[lannvouivre]

You can pull it off where it's on the intake without disconnecting the coolant lines. You'll have to disconnect the brake booster line, though. It's on the back side.

You can hold it open with your fingers without harming it.

EDIT: Having the ECU relearn is fine, it only takes like 15 minutes of driving. It won't hurt anything. I have cleaned the throttle body to correct a rough idle on another Toyota before. My mentor was a Toyota mechanic and had me clean it to fix the idle and by god, it worked.

[tad2much]

thanks for the reply.

So would you recommend cleaning it in place, holding the throttle plate open by hand, or removing the whole TB, and letting the ECU relearn on it's own?

I didn't realize coolant and brake stuff was connected to the intake/tb. That sounds weird, but i've never messed with at TB before.

[lannvouivre]

thanks for the reply.

So would you recommend cleaning it in place, holding the throttle plate open by hand, or removing the whole TB, and letting the ECU relearn on it's own?

I didn't realize coolant and brake stuff was connected to the intake/tb. That sounds weird, but i've never messed with at TB before.

The throttle body gets coolant to help extend its life. The brake booster just needs a place to hook in where it gets vacuum. I think it's actually on the intake manifold just beside the throttle body.

Yeah, just go ahead and mostly remove the throttle body and clean both sides of it. What makes the ECU relearn is disconnecting the battery long enough to discharge the onboard memory's stored power, which takes about 15 minutes, but can be done more quickly if you touch the metal ends of the battery cables together without touching the battery (this makes a circuit for the stored power to go through; my mentor does this to quickly discharge power to the airbags). I almost even recommend letting it relearn, since it doesn't hurt anything and might make it notice any changes/improvements from a clean TB faster.