View Poll Results: How often do you clean the IAC ?
Never Cleaned it
504
0.00%
Once a Year
0
0%
Every few years
4
0.00%
What's an IAC ?
19,079,869
99.98%
Every 10,000 miles
3,423
0.02%
Every 30,000 miles or whenever Carfixer007 tells me to.
23
0.00%
Voters: 19083823. You may not vote on this poll
How Often Do You Clean The IAC?
Thread Starter
Senior Member
True Car Nut
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 4,911
Likes: 624
From: BC Canada
How Often Do You Clean The IAC?
Last time I cleaned the intake air control (IAC) was about 3 years ago,
I thought it would be still in good shape until I removed it. What, are these things a magnet to carbon?
Five mega sprays later with Carb cleaner, it was getting there..
The pintle & spring was covered in black soot.
The IAC port was worse! I think I should try to do this once a year~ !!
I thought it would be still in good shape until I removed it. What, are these things a magnet to carbon?
Five mega sprays later with Carb cleaner, it was getting there..
The pintle & spring was covered in black soot.
The IAC port was worse! I think I should try to do this once a year~ !!
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1997 Buick Pk Ave (Soft Ride) Suspension!
1997 Buick Pk Ave (Soft Ride) Suspension!
Last edited by Soft Ride; Sep 7, 2019 at 05:26 PM. Reason: can't spell
Senior Member
True Car Nut
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 3,246
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From: Flint, MI USA
Add a text box or text area to your forms so we can input relative information. The IAC is more if a miles thing rather than time relative. I do them every time I clean the TB.
Senior Member
True Car Nut
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 3,246
Likes: 1,606
From: Flint, MI USA
Modern fly by wire don't have an IAC. The older cable driven throttle body have the IAC. Many times cleaning the TB will solve idle problems although some may require a relearn after.
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True Car Nut
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 6,884
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From: Earth
I voted for "never", however, the truth is that I cleaned the IAC on my 2001 Yukon. It came to me with 183,000 miles on it and a K&N reusable air filter. Not the cone type, just the flat element that fits in the factory airbox. The whole intake tract had at least an eighth of an inch of black goo on every internal surface and the IAC passage was just about plugged solid. So, I promptly mangled* and threw out the K&N, cleaned out everything I could get to . . . for several hours . . . and put it all back together with a Napa/Wix filter.
I believe the spirit of the survey question is "How often do you clean the IAC as a maintenance process?"
I've inspected all of them every once in a while but never find an issue . . . except for the Yukon that time. In the ~130,000 miles since then, I have inspected it twice and it'* needed no attention.
* "mangled" so there is no chance that anyone will ever reasonably be able to use that god-awful thing again, even the trash man and the guy that drives the tractor at the landfill.
I believe the spirit of the survey question is "How often do you clean the IAC as a maintenance process?"
I've inspected all of them every once in a while but never find an issue . . . except for the Yukon that time. In the ~130,000 miles since then, I have inspected it twice and it'* needed no attention.
* "mangled" so there is no chance that anyone will ever reasonably be able to use that god-awful thing again, even the trash man and the guy that drives the tractor at the landfill.
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From: Dark Side, AZ