It's been a long time since I've posted here, glad I rememberd my login after all this time. But I just found out that my 2006 S (177,000 miles) needs a new throttlebody. Dealer quote was $705.69 including labor. How difficult is it to do-it-yourself?

 

It is very easy to replace. 1 hour tops if you drink a beer i guess. Remove the air intake hose, Pinch off the coolant hoses,disconnect the electrical connector,remove the 4 bolts holding it onto the intake,replace the gasket. It is fairly rare to have to replace one. A thorough cleaning usually does the trick. Mazda has a TSB# 01-007/09 for poor idle/etc on that car and many others to just clean them. Is it throwing a code? What are the symptoms? Has it been cleaned? The TPS is inside it and if it had a problem it might need replacing. Otherwise i would clean it first. Whether cleaning or replacing a throttle body you need to disconnect the battery and turn the key on for 2 seconds to clear the memory so that it can relearn the idle. This takes a drive cycle to do.

 

After driving to the bank this weekend, the car would not start when I returnded to it. Just made that clicking relay sound and all the gauges turned to their max positions. At first, I thought I needed a jump. Before we tried to jump-start the car, the engine started......but wouldn't run. Had it towed to one shop where it was initially diagnosed as having some issue with the ECU. They reccomended that Mazda look at it and (among other things), the throttle body was found to be the issue. The CEL was on due to the EGR system (perhaps the leak sensor solenoid) but once the code was cleared, the car ran noramally. They did a test drive and did not notice anything awry. I am actually not with the vehicle right now, but I'll be picking it up tomorrow. In addition the the TB, the lead detection solenoid was among the reccomended items to be replaced and that comes up to about $513. Decisons decisions....it's been a great car and seems like it could still be viable with some investment. But these things are always a gamble.

 

The older V6 Mazda6s V6 3.0L with the original TB part number starting with VP3M4U-*-AA, -AB, and -BA have a TB problem that may not throw a CEL. (No CEL, no warranty coverage...).

Also must be a certain part #, see attached pic in thumbnails, pic shows a good one.

 

One question: if I change the TB myself I'm assuming that I need to reflash the ECU. Or would the computer would need a couple days of driving to relearn without doing anything to it?

 

No re-flash needed. Disconnect the battery and turn the ignition on for a couple seconds to drain the capacitor in the PCM hat keeps the memory alive. It will relearn the idle as you drive.

 

I haven't done anything to the car yet, but this weekend it wouldn't start at all. No spark, just the sound of relays clicking but the lights work. I'm suspecting that the starter needs replacing.

 

....well, after all was said and done, we just needed a new battery!!! I don't know why the Mazda dealership would say we needed a new TB, but the car is running good and strong now AND.....I still have a few dollars in my pocket :-) .

 

Good news. However, you still need to clean the TB. It should be done every 30k - 60k miles. Yours is carboned up, replacing the battery caused the PCM to relearn the idle with a dirty TB. If not cleaned regularly the carbon will end up in the butterfly shafts and then you will need a new TB. You will need to do a relearn after you clean the TB also.