I have a 2002 Honda Odyssey with 91000 miles. It is at the dealers having the maintenance work done. They just called and said that my throttle body had some carbon build up and had I noticed any sluggishness with first acceleration (I haven’t). Is this legit?
How much did they quote to clean out the carbon? There is usually some carbon build up, question is how much? and is it a problem? If they want a ton of money to clean it say “no thanks” and take the car to an good independant mechanic for a second opinion. If it is dirty he’ll likely charge a lot less to clean it out.
At 90K miles on a 2002 car you are due to reduce reliance on the dealer service department and find a good mechanic. Dealer service is expensive, they recommend services that are exhorbitantly priced, and your car is older and may need more repairs on down the road.
This sounds legit to me. My mother’s 2002 Sienna had similar symptoms, similar mileage, and an identical solution. Normally, I would remove the air cleaner housing and just spray some throttle cleaner on the throttle plate while the engine idles, but the engine wouldn’t run with the air cleaning housing removed and she had to pay a mechanic to clean the throttle manually.
Generally when a vehicle that’s running fine and is beyond warranty goes in for routine maintenance and they recommend something like a “carbon cleaning” I get really suspect. These things are generally revenue generators only. What they really want to clean is your wallet.
I agree that finding a good reputable owner operated shop for future servicing is your best move at this point. If you’ve already approved the carbon cleaning know that it’s harmless, if not “pass” on it.
Honestly I would be suspect if you notice no issues. I would wait till it (if ever) gets bad and address acutely rather than proactively.
Thank you. I did pass on it because the car is running well.