[electricAnt]

Hi all,

Took my car to dealer for the usuall yearly free inspection. They recommended cleaning the throttle body since the car has a total of 37,000 miles. This service would cost $150.00 . I only have 6,000 ICE miles so I declined. However I wonder if I should have taken the service. The car has been on the road since 2013. Can debris still accumulate enough the affect the throttle body? According to Volt stats the ice MPG has been around 36mpg this year and I have no ICE engine issues. Dealer also wanted to add a cabin air filter (my model year did not ship with a filter) for $95 . Dealer also tried to sell me an oil change although dealer replaced oil last year for me, it was listed on the service history they were looking at. Oil life is still at 85% to so.

 

[caronjeff]

My Son-inlaws Volt started running rough, CEL on. Dealer service diagnostic a dirty intake, blamed it on bad gas. $600 later all is well. My own 2011 Volt with 88,000 miles has never been touched other than 3 oil changes. Runs like a watch. Smooth as silk. Maybe I'm just lucky. I am now running a tank of non ethanol 100% gasoline which is locally available just to compare gas mileage. The non ethanol gas seems to run even smoother. It cost $3.15 a gallon, Shell gasohol premium was $2.85 so not much difference. Anybody else try it?

 

[BAZINGA]

I'd fill the tank with some fresh Top Tier Premium fuel and add a bottle of fuel injection cleaner and run the ICE for 50 to 100 miles or on your next LONG trip.

If it's not broke don't fix it.

 

[viking79]

Most cars will never need a throttle body cleaning in thier life. My guess is your dealer is trying to sell unnecessary service. It sounds like they are basing the recommendation on mileage and not actual cleanliness. Honestly, I wouldn't expect that type of issue until after 10 years and 150k miles.

 

[viking79]

Just to add, the throttle body can get buildup if your engine isn't running right, but you will have symptoms along with it. I think the Volt generally operates wide open, so you might be less likely to notice anything. The reason it can jam up is crankcase fumes are vented into the air intake to be burned for emissions. After time they can build up and jam up the throttle. Check your oil level (make sure it isn't over filled).

Also, if you only run engine for short bursts it might be beneficial to run it on the highway every so often to get good and hot, or if that isn't practical let mountain mode run occasionally to burn anything off. I sometimes don't charge the battery one day, or if I run out of range switch mountain mode and let it run. When I first got my Volt used, it had some bad smells when the engine was running until I ran it with the engine for a while.

 

[chrootz]

You can clean up the throttle body by using spray cleaner into intake that what I used the called "Sea Foam" spray from Walmart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5N_Z1W6mho


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[electricAnt]

Thanks for the information everyone. I did end up declining the service this year as I hardly use the ICE.

 

[electricAnt]

Most cars will never need a throttle body cleaning in thier life. My guess is your dealer is trying to sell unnecessary service. It sounds like they are basing the recommendation on mileage and not actual cleanliness. Honestly, I wouldn't expect that type of issue until after 10 years and 150k miles.

The dealer was trying to make some "service sales". They asked if I wanted an oil change, knowing I had one last year at their facility since the oil life meter reached 20%. This was a "power of suggestion" strategy. Dealer tried to sell me on installing a cabin air filter for $95. I know my Volt did not come with a cabin air filter but I know I can add it myself easily for much less money.

 

[SharkVolt]

Yes, the cabin filters are about $10 on ebay, and take all of two minutes to install.

Obviously a dealer looking for quick easy profit with service you don't need, and parts you can get way cheaper.

 

[woodturner]

Dealer Service

A dealer that tries to sell unnecessary services is the reason people are so sick of using their service centers. Since each of these dealers are privately owned franchises, they can get away with it. Too bad GM can't do something about it to protect their name and reputation.

 

[Seca Turbo]

I am wondering if this engine has a PCV issue where under certain conditions too much oil vapor is entering the intake. My 2010 V6 Camaro has this issue (they all do) and I had to add a catch can. This slows the air down and allows oil vapors to collect in the can.
Without the can there would be a puddle of oil in the low spot just after the throttle body.
If I get time this weekend I will see what the PCV plumbing system looks like and look for presents of oil in the tube going to the intake.

 

[turboguy327]

They where trying to make some quick money. Any direct injection engine should get a blast of sea foam yearly, especially the German crap.

 

[llninja]

I'd fill the tank with some fresh Top Tier Premium fuel and add a bottle of fuel injection cleaner and run the ICE for 50 to 100 miles or on your next LONG trip.

If it's not broke don't fix it.

Agreed. Top tier for me means BP, Shell, or Exxon Mobil. Surprisingly Marathon is not top tier. Avoid all the speedways, pilots, and caseys. Also $150 buys an aweful lot of tectron fuel additive. At $5-9 per bottle, it might not hurt.

 

[accelerus]

Dealer wanted to skim you for some more money plain and simple.

They charge $150 and (if you are lucky) they run a $6 bottle of seafoam through the intake. Although in our cars since there's no way to control the revs of the engine while it's in hold mode a direct shot of sea foam would probably just cause it to die.

You have about another 100K ICE miles before you might even think about needing this "service" of theirs. Personally I'd red flag them in my book and leave yelp/google reviews on them as it's a bull**** service in the hopes of quick easy cash.

 

[El Dobro]

Wait'll they start recommending throttle body services for Bolts.

 

[BAZINGA]

Wait'll they start recommending throttle body services for Bolts.

That's funny, sad, but funny. Can't wait till the first Bolt owner to be told his TB needs cleaning.......That dealer will make the top of the Wall of Shame.