Toyota electronic throttle body cleaning

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I hear mixed opinions on this, some say do it, some not. The Toyota dealer says they use a brush moistened with some TB cleaner or seafoam and a shoprag. Brush it on good and leave it 10 min. Repeat if necessary. They told me not to flood it with cleaner because it could get in the electronics, just a small spray. They said you can't damage the TB if you gently push it open manually, just disconnect the connector and make sure the car is off. According to them it makes a difference. I do it with no problem on the older cars but the electronic TB worries me.
 
On my Hyundai Gen Coupe I have pushed the throttle body open when the key was on with no problems.
 
Even if you get the TB wet it is going to evaporate and dry out quickly within 5 minutes or so.Might be a lot of smoke when you first start it up if you happen to spray a lot of cleaner beyond the butterfly, but that really wont hurt anything. Just wipe it out with a shop rag. Hard to go wrong, Just do not use throttle body cleaner on the MAF sensor. Best just to buy the CRC pack with a can of TB cleaner and a can of MAF sensor cleaner. It will last several cleanings. I clean the TB and MAF sensors about every 1-2 years and the CRC 2 can pack cost about $5-$7 max at most any part or hardware store. Of course some people like "deep creep" which also works for TB cleaning.
 
I've cleaned the TB on my Rav4 and Corolla. Used a rag and some spray. Think it was CRC throttle body cleaner spray. Used a screwdriver to drop the flap open.
 
Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
Is this something they suggest you do and that they'd do for you?

I just stopped by a dealer and asked about the services they suggest. They said they would do a TB cleaning and spark plug service because it does not show it was done.
Then I asked about the electronic throttle and there was a tech standing there and explained it. He felt it is very important because when you idle you may use more gas if it is dirty. They also clean the MAF for that price.

They wanted $550 for the spark plugs and $150 for the TB. The spark plugs are very expensive, but I found that Denso has two identical plugs with different part numbers and they can be had for much less. They use the TT iridium plugs, I have them in my Explorer, great plugs!
 
Originally Posted By: ford46guy
Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
Is this something they suggest you do and that they'd do for you?

I just stopped by a dealer and asked about the services they suggest. They said they would do a TB cleaning and spark plug service because it does not show it was done.
Then I asked about the electronic throttle and there was a tech standing there and explained it. He felt it is very important because when you idle you may use more gas if it is dirty. They also clean the MAF for that price.

They wanted $550 for the spark plugs and $150 for the TB. The spark plugs are very expensive, but I found that Denso has two identical plugs with different part numbers and they can be had for much less. They use the TT iridium plugs, I have them in my Explorer, great plugs!


That's what I thought. The Spark plugs aren't fifty dollars and a can of Seafoam at Walmart is $6 and change!
 
I removed it on my Tundra to clean it, as I was having an idle issue. CRC cleaner of some sort, from Walmart. Haven't done on any other vehicle; I'm not sure I'd bother unless if it was easy to do, or more likely, I actually was having an issue.
 
Originally Posted By: ford46guy
Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
Is this something they suggest you do and that they'd do for you?

I just stopped by a dealer and asked about the services they suggest. They said they would do a TB cleaning and spark plug service because it does not show it was done.
Then I asked about the electronic throttle and there was a tech standing there and explained it. He felt it is very important because when you idle you may use more gas if it is dirty. They also clean the MAF for that price.

They wanted $550 for the spark plugs and $150 for the TB. The spark plugs are very expensive, but I found that Denso has two identical plugs with different part numbers and they can be had for much less. They use the TT iridium plugs, I have them in my Explorer, great plugs!


What vehicle and engine are we talking about here? $550 for plugs on a Toyota?
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
Originally Posted By: ford46guy
Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
Is this something they suggest you do and that they'd do for you?

I just stopped by a dealer and asked about the services they suggest. They said they would do a TB cleaning and spark plug service because it does not show it was done.
Then I asked about the electronic throttle and there was a tech standing there and explained it. He felt it is very important because when you idle you may use more gas if it is dirty. They also clean the MAF for that price.

They wanted $550 for the spark plugs and $150 for the TB. The spark plugs are very expensive, but I found that Denso has two identical plugs with different part numbers and they can be had for much less. They use the TT iridium plugs, I have them in my Explorer, great plugs!


What vehicle and engine are we talking about here? $550 for plugs on a Toyota?


The Lexus with the 2GR-FSE 3.5L engine. The plugs are $40 each and about $250 or so labor, tax.
 
When I cleaned up a Toyota ETC throttle, I was able to move the plate and wipe it clean. No CEL or idle wonkiness, I think the car checks the throttle "zero" point when the PCM boots up.
 
I've cleaned the electronic (drive by wire) throttle plate on my scion tC. What I do is clean the one side with swab moistened with throttle body cleaner. Then when I'm done with the "outside" side of the plate, I have someone turn the key to ON, but not start the car, have them press and hold the gas pedal so the plate will open up.. and I clean the other side.. Then have them release the pedal and turn the ignition off.

I have heard about messing with the "HOME" position of the plate, and usually the Toyota's will re-learn where that position is. But hey, I'm not going to force a high torque electric motor by hand. One of these throttle bodies cost around $600-700! ouch..


Another thing to think about.. DO NOT SPRAY THROTTLE BODY CLEANER DOWN THE THROAT!! On Toyota's the intake manifold on some engines is a nylon/plastic!! That means the cleaner contains acetone, you'll MELT your intake manifold! Best do you use a rag with the cleaner on it, or a cleaning swab with it on there.

another thing.. $40 for a spark plug? Highest I've seen was an NGK for a nissan at $18-20 a plug.
 
Originally Posted By: ford46guy
He felt it is very important because when you idle you may use more gas if it is dirty.

Unless it is idling rough, I doubt what he said is true. Deposits can restrict the throughput of air into the engine, not waste gas. Deposits will force the idle air control motor to admit more air into the engine, until the IAC is maxed out. This is a problem chiefly at cold idle in gear with the a/c on. That is when the engine requires the most air during idle.

I clean with gasoline, since it should be compatible with all materials in the area and not harm the throttle body.
 
Originally Posted By: Kestas
Originally Posted By: ford46guy
He felt it is very important because when you idle you may use more gas if it is dirty.

Unless it is idling rough, I doubt what he said is true. Deposits can restrict the throughput of air into the engine, not waste gas. Deposits will force the idle air control motor to admit more air into the engine, until the IAC is maxed out. This is a problem chiefly at cold idle in gear with the a/c on. That is when the engine requires the most air during idle.

I clean with gasoline, since it should be compatible with all materials in the area and not harm the throttle body.

If dirt holds it open a tiny bit then more air = more gas?
 
Originally Posted By: ford46guy
Originally Posted By: Kestas
Originally Posted By: ford46guy
He felt it is very important because when you idle you may use more gas if it is dirty.

Unless it is idling rough, I doubt what he said is true. Deposits can restrict the throughput of air into the engine, not waste gas. Deposits will force the idle air control motor to admit more air into the engine, until the IAC is maxed out. This is a problem chiefly at cold idle in gear with the a/c on. That is when the engine requires the most air during idle.

I clean with gasoline, since it should be compatible with all materials in the area and not harm the throttle body.

If dirt holds it open a tiny bit then more air = more gas?


It would need to add more gas to keep air/fuel mixture proper. It might not like it, if it thought the correction amount was too wrong, too different, too far from what it thought was zero on the flap. It should know how much air is going in from the MAF, and will touch up as the O2 sensor indicates.

I'd think rough idle is not from the flap being stuck open but rather rough airflow over the edge of the valve, turbulence perhaps, or the fact that "idle close" keeps changing position after every throttle opening. Or that the valve is slowly finishing closing, or is otherwise moving very slowly due to the crud moving around.
 
Originally Posted By: ford46guy
Originally Posted By: Kestas
Originally Posted By: ford46guy
He felt it is very important because when you idle you may use more gas if it is dirty.

Unless it is idling rough, I doubt what he said is true. Deposits can restrict the throughput of air into the engine, not waste gas. Deposits will force the idle air control motor to admit more air into the engine, until the IAC is maxed out. This is a problem chiefly at cold idle in gear with the a/c on. That is when the engine requires the most air during idle.

I clean with gasoline, since it should be compatible with all materials in the area and not harm the throttle body.

If dirt holds it open a tiny bit then more air = more gas?


The dirt holds it more open, but is in the way of the airflow, hence no change in fuel economy or idle speed. Electronic throttle bodies have adaptive logic for that. That is why the idle will usually be high after TB cleaning without resetting the logic.
 
If dirt holds the throttle body open or blocks air flow, this is compensated by the idle air control (IAC) motor. The same amount of air is admitted to the engine regardless - and the same amount of fuel is used thanks to electronic controls.

So a dirty throttle body will not use more gas. As explained before, it'll just prevent the system from admitting more of the properly mixed fuel/air during high demand conditions.
 
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