Chilton manual says I shouldn't clean throttle body on 2006 Ford Focus

Maintenance/Repairs
1

I have a 2006 Ford Focus, which seems to have a sticking throttle body problem.
When I checked the Chilton manual, it says cleaning is not recommended for 2005 and newer Ford Focus, because the inside of the throttle body is laminated with something, which could be harmed by cleaning solvents.

Does this make sense?

Why do you think this is? Should I clean it anyway and see what happens?

My car sometimes idles as high as 3000 rpm for a few minutes. It started doing it as the weather got cold. It then gets back to normal, idling at about 900.
Check engine light has not come on.

I am thinking of cleaning the throttle body first, because it is the cheapest and easiest solution.

2

I would check for obvious vacuum leaks first.
Personally, I don’t think that’s your problem, though.
Has anyone checked for stored fault codes yet, by the way?
After ruling out that there’s obvious vacuum leaks, I’d look at the idle air control valve. It may be gummed up. If cleaning it with throttle body cleaner doesn’t help your idling, consider replacing it.
They’re not that expensive.
Idle air control valve failures are not uncommon on Fords, I believe.

3

I wouldn’t clean it with a standard carb cleaner. You can see if the parts dept. of a Ford dealer has a cleaner they recommend for the job.

4

The coating inside the throttle body prevents deposits from forming on the inside surfaces of the throttle body.

When vehicles started implimenting fuel injection and throttle bodies a lot of the throttle bodies had this special coating inside. Some even had a sticker on them warning against cleaning the throttle body. But back then there was no such thing as throttle body cleaners. Just carb cleaners. And if you used a carb cleaner to clean the throttle body it would damage/remove the special coating. But since that time they’ve come out with throttle body cleaners that can be used without damaging the special coating.

So if you use a throttle body cleaner that states it’s safe for special coatings there should be no problem.

Tester

5

Throttle body cleaners were around in 2006.
GM throttle bodies of that vintage (at least the trucks I’ve recently worked on) don’t have a warning label on the throttle body.