Clean your throttle body.

 

They told me at the dealership that if it was the throttle body then it would be hard to accelerate and then all of a sudden just take off. Is that not right? They had the car for 10 days, pronounced it fixed and then would not return my calls (I live out of town). I know very little about cars but I seem to know as much as the dealership in Lexington. Why does putting it in neutral make a difference? That doesn't make sense to me.
Thanks!

 

The 1.8T Auto will idle a little bit rough if stopped and in gear...it is just the nature of the beast and my car did it since it was new. But I am telling you if you have never cleaned your TB then you need to and it will help. Plus it only cost a few bucks for some TB/Intake cleaner. My car had the same symptoms...rough and bouncing idle and it went away after I cleaned the TB, and it wasn't even that dirty.

 

I started yesterday and lost my nerve when I started removing the screws. I had visions of not being able to get it back in place. How difficult is it to put back together?

 

It is very easy to remove and reinstall the TB. Just don't over torque the bolts when you put it back on since the intake is aluminum. I think the bolts only need to be torqued to like 12ft/lbs or less, but I could be wrong, snug should be good. Also it might be a good idea to have a spare TB gasket, I replaced mine the last time I cleaned it but I probably wouldn't have had to.

 

Don't remove the throttle body to clean it if it's drive by cable.

- Remove the intake snorkle from the throttle body inlet.
- hold the throttle open with your hand at the throttle body (where the linkage connects.
- Spray throttle body cleaner around the throat. Use an old toothbrush with soft bristles or an old rag and brush and wipe till clean.
- Clean the backside of the throttle (butterfly).
- Reinstall

Dave

 

I just cleaned it without removing it. Preliminary results seem pretty good. I only had time to let it idle for a couple of minutes but no quiver so far. There was some black stuff in there. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Thanks guys!

 

Don't remove the throttle body to clean it if it's drive by cable.

- Remove the intake snorkle from the throttle body inlet.
- hold the throttle open with your hand at the throttle body (where the linkage connects.
- Spray throttle body cleaner around the throat. Use an old toothbrush with soft bristles or an old rag and brush and wipe till clean.
- Clean the backside of the throttle (butterfly).
- Reinstall

Dave

This post comes at a perfect time. I'm noticing my idle starting to get rough and uneven after a throttle blip, and also when braking to a stop from speed. I'll try your method. Will brake cleaner or contact cleaner do the job? Those products are just solvents that leave no residue. Is Throttle body cleaner any different?