Have you noticed that your vehicle isn’t running quite right? Maybe its idle is a little erratic. Sometimes it may be high, sometimes its low. Maybe its stalling out on you when you put it into gear. Worst of all, maybe you have the dreaded check engine light on. These can all be signs of a dirty or bad Idle Air Control Valve on your vehicle.

One of our vehicles has a few of these symptoms. I’ve noticed the idle dropping way down when coming to a stop, and one time I even had it stall when I put in gear to drive away from a parking spot. I decided I’d get into this and get it fixed.

The first thing I did was just a simple visual inspection to see if I saw anything disconnected. I checked the electrical connections as well as checked for a loose or broken vacuum line. A vacuum leak can cause some of these symptoms as well. I didn’t find anything like this. This lead me to believe the Idle Air Control Valve had some issues with it. I was prepared to take it off and attempt to clean it but upon further investigation, I discovered one spot near the electrical connector that looked corroded, or melted. It looked weird. I decided that I’d feel more comfortable if I got a new one.

After a little bit of shopping around to find a good deal, I ordered the part. In my case, I found it for the best price by ordering online from a popular retailer of auto parts. I was OK waiting for the delivery. Once I got the shiny new piece, I unbolted the old valve and removed the old gasket. I used a little bit of degreaser to make sure the sealing surface was nice and clean before installing the new gasket and bolting the new valve in place. I reconnected the wires and fired the vehicle up.

I let it run for a couple minutes and then shifted the vehicle into gear a few times to try to put some load on the engine. I did not notice any funny idle problems. So far the vehicle has been working well with no issues to report. I’m happy. The vehicle is happy. All is well in the world for now. I don’t know what this would cost had I taken it to a repair shop but I’m sure well over what I spent on the new part, and 30 minutes of my time.

If you need to replace the Idle Air Control Valve on your vehicle, the process will be very similar to mine, even on different vehicles. You just need to get the right parts for your vehicle. You can do this!

Here’s how I changed mine.

— Affiliate Links to Products Used —
Super Clean Degreaser – https://amzn.to/3s1shrx
Fingertip Driver Extension (very similar to mine) – https://amzn.to/3b4Bmc6
Throttle Body Cleaner – https://amzn.to/37zWmXt

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