carnage6288 Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 About a year ago (Aug '07) my '02 Carmy XLE V6 started a sputtering problem occasionally during certain driving scenarios such as when I would drive long durations using the cruise control approximately 45 min or more, also if I use the a/c for a little bit then turn it off, then use it again in about 15 min. The car would eventually stall out if I allowed the rpm to drop below 500. If I was driving through traffic and the sputtering occured, I would have to put the car in neutral and rev the gas at stop lights. You can imagine how unsafe this problem is while trying to brake and not let the car stall. I took the car into the dealer and they said that it was a carbon build up causing the throttle body to stick open (too much oxygen in the fuel mixture). The car was serviced and that was the end of that problem for about 6 months or so, then it started up again. I am assuming that I have another build up, but I guess my question is, What can I do to help prevent carbon building up so that I don't have to spend an arm and a leg every six months or so to get the throttle body cleaned? My car had 65,000 miles when the problem first occured, then had about 72,000 when it started again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldnslo Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 About a year ago (Aug '07) my '02 Carmy XLE V6 started a sputtering problem occasionally during certain driving scenarios such as when I would drive long durations using the cruise control approximately 45 min or more, also if I use the a/c for a little bit then turn it off, then use it again in about 15 min. The car would eventually stall out if I allowed the rpm to drop below 500. If I was driving through traffic and the sputtering occured, I would have to put the car in neutral and rev the gas at stop lights. You can imagine how unsafe this problem is while trying to brake and not let the car stall. I took the car into the dealer and they said that it was a carbon build up causing the throttle body to stick open (too much oxygen in the fuel mixture). The car was serviced and that was the end of that problem for about 6 months or so, then it started up again. I am assuming that I have another build up, but I guess my question is, What can I do to help prevent carbon building up so that I don't have to spend an arm and a leg every six months or so to get the throttle body cleaned? My car had 65,000 miles when the problem first occured, then had about 72,000 when it started again. You only get carbon when something burns so I would possibly suspect a bad EGR (Exhaust Gas Recycling) valve. If this valve fails it can let excess amounts of exhaust (carbon) into your intake. May be other possibilities but this is where I would start looking. Roy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnage6288 Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 You only get carbon when something burns so I would possibly suspect a bad EGR (Exhaust Gas Recycling) valve. If this valve fails it can let excess amounts of exhaust (carbon) into your intake. May be other possibilities but this is where I would start looking.Roy Thanks. I'll have the dealer check it and post the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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