Why Does Fuel Consumption Increase After Throttle Body Cleaning?
2 Answers
The reason for increased fuel consumption after throttle body cleaning: After cleaning, the throttle body must undergo a re-adaptation process with the ECU to ensure normal engine operation. Once the adaptation is complete, the phenomena of increased fuel consumption and higher RPM will disappear. Due to prolonged lack of cleaning, excessive wear occurs between the throttle valve and throttle arm. After cleaning, the gap actually becomes larger, leading to higher fuel consumption. If the necessary adaptation procedures aren't performed after cleaning, the ECU continues calculating fuel injection based on the old throttle body parameters. Normally, after driving for some time, the vehicle will gradually adapt and fuel consumption will return to normal.
After cleaning the throttle body, the fuel consumption becomes higher. I've encountered this situation several times. I remember once I cleaned the carbon deposits on the throttle body, thinking the car would be more fuel-efficient, but in the first few days, the fuel consumption noticeably increased. Later, after checking some information, I learned that this is a normal phenomenon. After cleaning, the engine control unit needs to relearn the throttle opening changes. It may temporarily increase fuel injection to ensure stable engine operation. After the system adapts over a hundred or two hundred kilometers, the fuel consumption usually returns to normal levels. Of course, if it remains excessively high, it might be due to improper resetting of the air flow meter or idle speed motor during cleaning. It's advisable to check these components or perform a diagnostic scan before worrying about major issues.
