Honda Car Forum

My dealer recommends "decarbonizing" the throttle body (by soaking it in
solvent) of my Odyssey every 2 years for $179. He says it's due to the
cheap gas and, god forbid, the carbon migrate all the way to the catalytic
converter.

I'm a little confused since I picture the throttle body as being before the
cylinders/combustion, and the catalytic converter as after...

But, none the less, has anyone heard of this and is it worth it?

Thanks

"Mayday" <mayday@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:7FqSc.65$8I2.59@bignews6.bellsouth.net...
> My dealer recommends "decarbonizing" the throttle body (by soaking it in
> solvent) of my Odyssey every 2 years for $179. He says it's due to the
> cheap gas and, god forbid, the carbon migrate all the way to the catalytic
> converter.
>
> I'm a little confused since I picture the throttle body as being before
the
> cylinders/combustion, and the catalytic converter as after...
>
> But, none the less, has anyone heard of this and is it worth it?
>
> Thanks
>

You can do it yourself if you're the least bit handy with an $8 bottle of
throttle body cleaner. Oh, and avoid the $200 "injector" service. You can do
that too with a $4 bottle of Techron.

Josh

On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 15:52:17 GMT, "Josh" <SPAMjdunning@cadd-tech.com>
wrote:
>You can do it yourself if you're the least bit handy with an $8 bottle of
>throttle body cleaner. Oh, and avoid the $200 "injector" service. You can do
>that too with a $4 bottle of Techron.

Or just buy better gas for a few weeks, or, y'know, always.

I guess the issue is whether this is "de-carbonizing", or
"de-gunking".

J.

JXStern wrote:
> On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 15:52:17 GMT, "Josh" <SPAMjdunning@cadd-tech.com>
> wrote:
>
>>You can do it yourself if you're the least bit handy with an $8 bottle of
>>throttle body cleaner. Oh, and avoid the $200 "injector" service. You can do
>>that too with a $4 bottle of Techron.
>
>
> Or just buy better gas for a few weeks, or, y'know, always.
>
> I guess the issue is whether this is "de-carbonizing", or
> "de-gunking".

Or "de-dollaring".

On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 11:09:29 -0400, "Mayday" <mayday@nospam.net> wrote:

>My dealer recommends "decarbonizing" the throttle body (by soaking it in
>solvent) of my Odyssey every 2 years for $179. He says it's due to the
>cheap gas and, god forbid, the carbon migrate all the way to the catalytic
>converter.
>
>I'm a little confused since I picture the throttle body as being before the
>cylinders/combustion, and the catalytic converter as after...
>
>But, none the less, has anyone heard of this and is it worth it?

It's not a big deal - the only symptom I've seen of this gunked up throttle
body is a sticking accelerator when cold: you press on the pedal and it
feels sticky and when it lets go the car lurches a bit. IME I haven't seen
this on non-EGR cars so I figure that's at least partly responsible for the
gunk build-up.

$179. seems excessive for what's required - remove the rubber intake from
the throttle body, hold the throttle plate open, spray with TB cleaner and
brush with a toothbrush, wipe off with a clean rag. It shouldn't take more
than 30mins - 15mins with practice.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

Mayday wrote:
>
> I'm a little confused since I picture the throttle body as being before the
> cylinders/combustion, and the catalytic converter as after...
>

EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) Valve sends back some of those
unburnt/not entirely consumed sooty exhaust gases back through your
throttle body for better emissions.

"Mayday" <mayday@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:7FqSc.65$8I2.59@bignews6.bellsouth.net...
: My dealer recommends "decarbonizing" the throttle body (by soaking it in
: solvent) of my Odyssey every 2 years for $179. He says it's due to the
: cheap gas and, god forbid, the carbon migrate all the way to the catalytic
: converter.
:
: I'm a little confused since I picture the throttle body as being before
the
: cylinders/combustion, and the catalytic converter as after...
:
: But, none the less, has anyone heard of this and is it worth it?
:
: Thanks
:
I recently had the throttle body of my 2000 Accord cleaned by my local shop.
They told me my sticky throttle was a result of using "cheap gas." Well,
maybe. They charged me $64, and I don't have a sticky throttle anymore. $179
every two years seems excessive, especially since you didn't say you're
actually having any throttle body-related problems. I'd get a quote from a
good independent shop if I were you.

I have decided to use only Chevron gas from now on, as a precaution. We'll
see if it helps. Oddly, the prices at one of the local Chevron stations are
as good as or in some cases better than the prices at the "cheap gas"
stations.

Paul

In article <7FqSc.65$8I2.59@bignews6.bellsouth.net>, mayday@nospam.net says...
>My dealer recommends "decarbonizing" the throttle body (by soaking it in
>solvent) of my Odyssey every 2 years for $179. He says it's due to the
>cheap gas and, god forbid, the carbon migrate all the way to the catalytic
>converter.
>I'm a little confused since I picture the throttle body as being before the
>cylinders/combustion, and the catalytic converter as after...
>But, none the less, has anyone heard of this and is it worth it?

It is worth it to your dealer to recommend this worthless service. They
make a hefty profit. A good way to double check this is to look at the
service schedule that came with your car. See if this so called service
is needed.
-------
Alex

"JXStern" <JXSternChangeX2R@gte.net> wrote in message
news:jokkh09voetir12tuhiok9njae4drbnc5a@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 15:52:17 GMT, "Josh" <SPAMjdunning@cadd-tech.com>
> wrote:
> >You can do it yourself if you're the least bit handy with an $8 bottle of
> >throttle body cleaner. Oh, and avoid the $200 "injector" service. You can
do
> >that too with a $4 bottle of Techron.
>
> Or just buy better gas for a few weeks, or, y'know, always.
>
> I guess the issue is whether this is "de-carbonizing", or
> "de-gunking".
>
> J.

LOL. When I said "cheap" gas, I guess I meant "lower quality". I buy what
I think is good, "name brand" gas. The dealer says Florida has less
stringent gas requirements than some place like California and hence we get
a lower quality of gas.

On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 11:09:29 -0400, "Mayday" <mayday@nospam.net>
wrote:

>My dealer recommends "decarbonizing" the throttle body (by soaking it in
>solvent) of my Odyssey every 2 years for $179. He says it's due to the
>cheap gas and, god forbid, the carbon migrate all the way to the catalytic
>converter.
>
>I'm a little confused since I picture the throttle body as being before the
>cylinders/combustion, and the catalytic converter as after...
>
>But, none the less, has anyone heard of this and is it worth it?

Absolutely. It is worth every bit of $179 to your dealer.