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.

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.

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.

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.