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intake manifold service

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by jake daniel, May 25, 2017.

  1. jake daniel

    jake daniel New Member

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    I took my '08 Prius (112k miles) in for a routine inspection and the dealer says it needs to have an "intake manifold service" performed. What would the symptoms of this be exactly, as there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the car, but they say it has build up in there. Is this something they would have been able to see/detect while doing a quick(ish) routine inspection or is the dealer just trying to scam me?
     
  2. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    What about your muffler bearings? :p

    If they mean a throttle intake cleaning due to gunk buildup from dirt and gasoline byproducts, then that's an actual service item and with over 100k it's time.
     
  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    They are trying to scam you. Unless you feel there's performance issues, I wouldn't worry about it
     
  4. jake daniel

    jake daniel New Member

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    Yeah, I thought it sounded kinda odd., but they literally said "intake manifold service" and he said they looked into it and saw the build up, which I was kinda like, "really?...I'll think about it". I mean, taking everything apart to even look in there would be a bit of a chore, and I couldn't believe they would do that during just a routine inspection.
     
  5. hchu1

    hchu1 Active Member

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    If they are talking about the throttle body, you can do this yourself. A rag and carb cleaner wipe down the throttle plate and throat.
     
  6. jake daniel

    jake daniel New Member

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    That's kind of what I thought, but then why would he have said it specifically needs an "intake manifold service"?
     
  7. Prius Jas

    Prius Jas Junior Member

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    Did one yesterday. 10mm socket and a $20 can of Liqui-Moly intake cleaner. Does make a difference on our cars with high KM's but it's one of those things that has become popular lately....
     
  8. jake daniel

    jake daniel New Member

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    what do you mean did one? did a cleaning of the intake manifold or of the throttle body?
     
  9. Prius Jas

    Prius Jas Junior Member

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    Completed a vehicle intake manifold service. You need to do both for the best results.
     
  10. Prius Jas

    Prius Jas Junior Member

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    Completed a vehicle intake manifold service. You need to do both for the best results.
     
  11. M in KC

    M in KC Active Member

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    The last time a sat in a customer service waiting area at one of my local dealerships, I thought to myself "how do these robbers without guns sleep at night will and the made up ramblings they throw at unknowing customers." The worst conversation I overheard was some service writer playing on the alleged or perceived unsafe condition of a elderly person's vehicle to them. It was nearly criminal.

    Remember folks you can always defer or decline any service recommended. Jake, good job for pumping the brakes on this one. I believe the valve lash in these Atkins style motors are prone to leaving an oil deposit in the bottom of the intake manifold. It has been discussed on here several times over the years. Its not detramental to the health of the engine. Should your throttle plate become gummie, sticky or you experience driveablility issue it is a simple $10 DIY fix.
     
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  12. jake daniel

    jake daniel New Member

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    Glad I brought this issue to the forums, as I just couldn't imagine that they looked inside the actual intake manifold while doing a simple inspection. He (the dealer) said they actually looked into it and saw build up that needed to be cleaned out. ...I thought that seemed like quite an undertaking to do during a routine inspection.
     
  13. hchu1

    hchu1 Active Member

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    Don't know, most would just say "throttle body cleaning service" or similar.
     
  14. 05PreeUs

    05PreeUs Senior Member

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    RUN!!!!!! They are TOTAL SCAMMERS.

    Ask them to show you, in the TOYOTA PRIUS MANUAL, where this service is recommended, needed, or suggested.

    The answer is that, it is not.
     
  15. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Why not? It is hardly an undertaking. You just have to remove the air filter box lid and then the air filter. You can then look straight down the throttle body throat to see what the floor of the manifold looks like. They would have removed the air filter for a basic inspection to check the condition of it, anyway.
     
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  16. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Intake manifold cleaning is maybe more warranted with third gen, due to both EGR and PCV dumping into it?
     
  17. 05PreeUs

    05PreeUs Senior Member

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    Total hogwash, an unabashed and shameless money grab attempt.
     
  18. jake daniel

    jake daniel New Member

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    Yeah, I understand that, but the way he said it, he made it sound like there was buildup on the inner walls of the entire thing; implying that they had done a much more in depth look at it than just peering down into the throttle body.

    However, I stopped by another nearby dealer yesterday and he said that what the first dealer "meant" by it needing an "intake manifold service" was that the throttle body just needed cleaning off...quite different implications in my opinion.
     
  19. 05PreeUs

    05PreeUs Senior Member

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    TB cleaning is also HOGWASH, unless the buildup is soooo very bad that the throttle plate is actually sticking/binding, which is a very rare condition unless the stop screw has been tampered with.

    In point of fact, MANY TB assemblies have an "anti-fouling" coating that actually PREVENTS build-up of crud. These coatings can be and most often are, destroyed by commercial carb and TB cleaning solvents.
     
  20. Jmack111

    Jmack111 Member

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    I've cleaned mine pull off the throttle body there two cooling hoses to clamp or and one air like normally if there trap in there the PVC valve is
    stuck open



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