Honda Car Forum

On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 22:27:30 -0400, "Elmo P. Shagnasty"
<elmop@nastydesigns.com> wrote:
>> My dealer recommends "decarbonizing" the throttle body (by soaking it in
>> solvent) of my Odyssey every 2 years for $179.
>
>Yikes. Stay away.
>
>It's true, throttle bodies can get gunked up--and the old style Odyssey
>and its brother the Accord are famous for that. But a throttle body
>clean is nowhere near $179 at any reputable dealer. It's a half hour or
>so labor, maybe a bit more. That's it.

It may include cleaning the injectors, I believe the Acura dealer
quoted me about that price for the service on a V6 a year or two ago.
I declined the honor ... and the service rep half-apologized for
offering it! Guess I was giving him the skunk-eye.

J.

In article <7FqSc.65$8I2.59@bignews6.bellsouth.net>, mayday@nospam.net
says...
> But, none the less, has anyone heard of this and is it worth it?
>
A bottle/can of solvent carb/throttle body cleaner, a toothbrush, what
ever tool is need to pull the intake pipe off, and about 30mins-1hr time
to clean it. No problems, and very little work.

Might run lumpy for a little while when the residues burn with the fuel,
but it will be much cheaper than dealer job.
--
The poster formerly known as Skodapilot.
http://www.bouncing-czechs.com

In article <7FqSc.65$8I2.59@bignews6.bellsouth.net>, "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?
>
> Thanks

I advise you to only buy gas from major brand stations such as Chevron and
Shell. Shell says that they have a new type of gas that contains lots of
cleaning solution--it cost more than regular gas. I think that it is
called V-10 or something like that. You should also visit a auto supply
store and ask the salesperson at the counter to sell you a bottle of a
special solution that cleans out your entire system. I don't recall the
name brand. You mix it with a full tank of gasoline. If you use a bottle
of that solution in your gasoline about once every two or three
months--it'my guess that you won't have any problems with your thottle
body.

--
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Jason wrote:
> Shell says that they have a new type of gas that contains lots of
> cleaning solution

Good for them, but does anyone know of a source for independent
laboratory assessment of such claims? I'd much rather buy a bottle of
additive every few months than pay $.15 more per gallon every time I
fill up.

Abe

Mayday 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.

if theyre snowing you like that, you must be a chick, right? carbon
migration? LOL!
>
> 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?

sometimes, on some cars, the TB *might* need to be cleaned to get some
varnish and crap out. simple as using a $3 can of throttle body spray
cleaner, and possibly a toothbrush. usually can be felt as the throttle
sticking a bit, or idling a little off even after a tuneup.

but a $179 "soak" every 2 years? sounds like they want to "soak" you.

id bet you anything their "soak" involves a $3 can of spray cleaner, and
$176 in pizza and beer for the service techs that day.
>
> Thanks
>
>

Alex Rodriguez wrote:

> 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.

yeah. id bring this to the "stealers" attention as well. bring your
owners manual and ask where it is.

SoCalMike wrote:
> $176 in pizza and beer for the service techs that day.

LOL!

I used Chevron Techron fuel system and combustion cleaner a few times.
Can't say if it worked, maybe it did but surely there was no negative
effect. So for $5, you can try without any risk.

Quality gas ads from Shell are not confirmed. Don't trust them. Go to
their web site and asked for independent lab test.

No noticeable difference if I used gas from Costco, Walmart.


Abeness <news@nada.x> wrote in message news:<411bd23d$0$5899$61fed72c@news.rcn.com>...
> Jason wrote:
> > Shell says that they have a new type of gas that contains lots of
> > cleaning solution
>
> Good for them, but does anyone know of a source for independent
> laboratory assessment of such claims? I'd much rather buy a bottle of
> additive every few months than pay $.15 more per gallon every time I
> fill up.
>
> Abe

DTT wrote:
> I used Chevron Techron fuel system and combustion cleaner a few times.
> Can't say if it worked, maybe it did but surely there was no negative
> effect. So for $5, you can try without any risk.

i ran some through my 89 kawasaki bout a year ago. a week later, i
needed a new petcock o-ring.

coincedence? dunno. might wanna think twice before using it in an older
car.

DTT wrote:
> Quality gas ads from Shell are not confirmed. Don't trust them. Go to
> their web site and asked for independent lab test.
>
> No noticeable difference if I used gas from Costco, Walmart.

Right. Thanks, DTT.