General Maintenace Question.. Throttle body?

[Vangrest]

I took my 2005 Vibe in for some routine service the other day (approx. 34K miles) at the dealer. The service manager came back with a recommendation for a throttle body cleaning, citing possible performance and mileage issues in the near future if this wasn't done. Not being very mechanically inclined, this is probably something I would not do myself but has anyone else familiar with this.. Would a fuel system cleaner do the same thing for much less money? I respectfully declined the offer and thought I would post here to see what information is available.Thanks for any replies / advise!!

[engineertwin2]

It's really not that hard to do. Here's what Popular Mechanics has for a write up.http://www.popularmechanics.co....htmlI'm on 50k+ miles and haven't done a throttle body cleaning yet. I need to because the idle is getting a little rough, but it may just be an ancillary cost to deal with. Now don't get me wrong, your service advisor isn't out to screw you for every last dollar.If they'll do it under warranty, then have them do it. If not, I'd say you can push it off until later and/or do it yourself. If you don't want to push it off and the dealership won't cover it, grab some tools and go to it. It shouldn't be too intimidating.

[kevera]

All depends on what the service included,if they clean the IAC valve then yes.But it's easy to do,just buy some throttle-body spray cleaner at the auto-parts store,pull off your intake hose and spray the throttle plate and the inside of the body itself to remove the carbon build up.Cleaning your IAC valve will improve idle but it may be out of your mechanical abilities.

[Whelan]

I've done mine before on other cars. I literally went to AutoZone, picked up some STP Throttle body cleaner. Got myself a toothbrush and some paper towels. You pop off the airbox piping and spray the TB cleaner in there, brush around, then wipe out clean with the towel. Just be careful of the butterfly flapperwhen wiping it down. I do knot some places do a service where they run fluid through the whole system and injectors for like $100 bucks. But one thing to keep in mind is that if you have not had your engine given this treatment on a regular basis, its not the best of ideas. Just like they tell you not to flush out your tranny cause you can loosen up particles that may be helping to keep things working. Drain and fill is the best policy.

[Vangrest]

Thanks for the input y'all! It sounds like I might be able to handle this myself. Appreciate the quick feedback.

[nouveau rouge]

We have cleaned the throttle body of my husband's 2000 Corolla w/ 132K miles twice with success. Vibe/Matrix not that different. Also--use the throttle body cleaner spray on the mass airflow sensor.If we as bumbling idiots can do it, so can you. Good Luck!