5 Signs Your Mercedes May Have a Faulty Throttle Body

There are many controlling systems in the car. Their work is to control different process and help the can in performing better. They are highly required in making your car run efficiently. One of such system is the throttle body. In this article, you will know the role of throttle body and some symptoms of faulty throttle body

What is a throttle body?

Every vehicle need energy to run, they get energy from fuel. To make the car run or to get mechanical energy from fuel, they have to burn it, and burning requires air. But air is also required in a proper quantity to make the combustion process run properly. Too much air or too less air cannot make the combustion happen properly and power generated will also be less. So the control of air flow rate into the engine is controlled by throttle body. This function makes the throttle body an important part of the air intake system. Just like fuel pressure regulator control the fuel amount going into the engine, the throttle body control the air amount going into the engine.

The throttle body, along with the fuel intake is synchronized with the gas pedal or the accelerator. When the gas pedal is pressed the demand of power in engine increases and more amount of fuel and air flow into the engine, leading to generation of more power. If the fuel amount is increased the air requirement also increases because your car engine would need more air to burn more fuel.

A throttle body is made up of aluminum and it is located on the intake manifold, near the big hose of the air filter. The air comes in through the air filter after having purified. Then it passes to the big hose and then to the throttle body. The throttle body has a valve that adjusts the air flow.

How to know that your car has a faulty throttle body?

As throttle body has a great role in combustion process. Malfunctioning if the component can affect engine performance and show various symptoms. Studying the signs is required to detect the problem and fix it earlier. Here are some common signs of a faulty throttle body.

Check engine light is on

A bad throttle body affects the performance of the car, leading to low output power at the engine this make the check engine light to turn on. The sensors present in the throttle body send signals to the computer which turns on the check engine light.

Low performance of engine

A throttle body controls the amount of air entering into the engine. If it becomes bad, the air amount would get highly reduced. With absence of appropriate amount of air into engine, the fuel would not be burned properly to produce appropriate amount of power.

Increased fuel consumption

The fuel consumption increases due to decrease in engine power. With a little distance travelled, your car would demand more fuel. You will have to top up the fuel frequently to make the car run.

Rough idling with misfires

Rough idling means shaking rapidly and jumping while idling. This usually happens when there is some problem happening in the combustion process. The car engine also misfire due to a wrong mixture of fuel and air causing incomplete combustion in the combustion chamber.

Accelerating strangely

A wrong type of fuel and air mixture can cause problems while acceleration. The acceleration will be uneven. Whenever you press gas pedal, the acceleration remains low, then suddenly become fast and then again slow acceleration. This is such an annoying symptom of a bad throttle body.

What to do?

The throttle body should be checked first and cleaned properly. Cleaning the throttle body while servicing the car would prevent it from getting bad. But if the throttle body is corroded, then you may have to replace it. A throttle body replacement would cost you in a range between $250 and $650 including labour costs. Replacement cost differs with different manufacturers.

Conclusion

Failing to repair the throttle body can waste your money and time and make your car into a liability, because you would not get any gain from it. So repairing the throttle is highly important.

EuroService Automotive is Warrenton’s go to shop for European auto maintenance and repairs. We are experts in looking after Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes, Mini and Volkswagen. At EuroService Automotive, our ASE certified mechanics.