SolaraGuy.com

Is it really necessary or advisable to have Throttle Body Cleaning / Service done on a 2006 Solara V6 with 90K miles? I haven't noticed any hesitation or drop in MPG.

Also, does anyone have comments / reviews on Chevron Techron or other fuel additives? I have consistently purchase gasoline from top tier brands (Chevron / Shell) typically regular unleaded for in-town driving and I fill up with premium unleaded for long distance trips. Owner's manual claims "for increased performance use premium unleaded".

Thanks for reading my post.

Cleaning the tb is more of a peace of mind thing. Yeah you can get some build up, but unless something is seriously wrong with your car, it shouldn't be much of an issue. Its as simple as getting a rag and some carb cleaner and wiping down the inside and the butterfly. It'll iterally take seconds to do.

I've heard techron is one of the better fuels to use. The fuel additives (i'm guessing you mean octane boosters) are a waste of money

I agree--all off-the-shelf additives are an absolute waste of money and some can actually do more harm than good. Oil and fuel additives is a bastard industry full of hype, so basically it's not worth the risk AND the money.

And in regards to whether you need throttle body cleaning, any fouling of the throttle body is due to bad gas AND design and would be highly noticeable. Solara/Camry engines as far as I'm aware are not prone to fouling in this regards and unless you've been using a Shell/Chevron station with leaky supply tanks I don't foresee you needing to clean the throttle body anytime soon.

Awesome! Thank you for the advice.

Black Bob wrote: unless you've been using a Shell/Chevron station with leaky supply tanks

I musta missed the news on this. Got a link or more info? Sounds interesting, as I've been shopping to buy a gas station, it's something I'd like to inspect before getting into it.

Dr J

Sorry, didn't mean to imply that Shell/Chevron has leaky supply tanks, I was just trying to relay the fact that the large retail chain gas stations (no matter BP, Valero, Shell, etc. etc.) rarely have problems with contaminated gasoline. In fact the stringent inspection schedules and mandated replacement of supply tanks by nearly all stations pretty much make contamination non-existant.

So if you're looking to buy a gas station, the real worry is more about location, local competition and bringing in customers away from the pump and into your convenient store. I never owned a gas station but my friend previously owned two BP's and is so much happier after he dumped them. In his case, the main problem was BP's ever increasing take on his profits even though he had good location and little competition at both.

I also noticed that if you have an air-intake installed or run a high-flow air-filter like K&N, you get more crud in your throttle body as well.