How to Know If Your Car’s Throttle Body Needs to Be Cleaned Up

Air is an important part of your engine’s combustion system. It is needed to effectively combust fuel and produce power to keep your car running. For modern fuel injected cars, it is important that the air intake is properly controlled to make your engine run properly. The throttle body is the main part that controls the air flow into the engine. It works together with the fuel intake and accelerator pedal to determine when is the right time to take in air or fuel.

A dirty or clogged throttle body affects the efficiency of your fuel as well as decreases the quality of your car’s performance. Regular cleaning and maintenance are important to keep this part functioning properly. Here are some of the signs that the throttle body already needs to be cleaned up.

Dirt Build Up

One obvious sign that the throttle body needs clean-up is an accumulation of dirt and grime. When dirt accumulates inside, it lowers the efficiency of the engine and even disrupts the balanced air and fuel flow. Aside from grime and dirt, carbon residues can also accumulate in it, which causes a similar effect on the engine.

Low Fuel Efficiency

If you’re curious, LS throttle body an essential part in maintaining fuel efficiency, the answer is definitely yes. You can do a fuel economy check to determine your car’s fuel efficiency. First, put a full tank of fuel then take note of the miles indicated on the gauge. Keep the car running until the fuel is out. After that, calculate your car’s average miles travelled per gallon and compare on the standard. If it differs from about 10-15%, this means the throttle body might be clogged.

Uneven Acceleration

When you step on the accelerator, the fuel and air will rush into the engine causing the car to run and accelerate. However, if the throttle body is dirty, it causes a slow or uneven flow of fuel and air into the engine. This makes your car accelerate slower or have sudden bursts of speed at irregular intervals.

Uneven Airflow

Since the throttle body is also a part of the air and fuel intake system of a car, clogs or too much dirt can also cause pressure and air flow problems in the engine. This imbalance can affect proper combustion of fuel, leading to lower performance and slower acceleration.

Engine Light On

An engine light turned on in your dashboard could mean a lot of things, including a dirty throttle body. If it is not functioning properly, it would send an alert to the electronic control which would turn on the check engine light indicator. Perform a manual check first to see if it is the real cause of the problem or something else.

Be sure to address problems in the throttle body immediately to avoid problems from getting worse in the long run and lead to more expensive repairs or even parts replacements.

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