Hi all,
Spent some time over the weekend giving the old girl ('04 X w/111k miles) some TLC.
Replaced the spark plugs - NGK Iridiums, cleaned the throttle body with CRC throttle body cleaner, cleaned the MAF with CRC MAF cleaner.
I did have some issues with the idle afterwards (P0507 code), and had to mess with the ECU reset/ idle relearn several times to get it right, but I did manage to eventually.
It's amazing what this simple maintenance stuff has done. The car runs better than I ever remember. Great sounding startups, MUCH more responsive throttle pedal with, quicker kickdown on the AT. Seriously, my car had been running like crap for a long time and I didn't even realize it. Between that, and fixing the shimmy from my front brakes, it feels like a new car.
Just wanted to give you some motivation if you're on the fence about doing the spark plugs and MAF/TB clean.

Cheers!

 

Can the things you just did be done without a lot of experience. I would love to give my car a little maintenance if I doesn't require a lot of knowledge about cars and such.. Can you give me some more details?

 

Yeah... I've been meaning to get my sparkies changed.... will probably do it within the next 2-3 weeks!

Great to hear she's running well!

 

Sure. There's plenty of info on in the DIY section, so take a look there. There are even links to videos showing how to do the spark plug replacement and throttle body clean. All the ECU reset procedures etc are well covered.
You'll be fine if you follow the steps provided!

 

Where'd you get the cleaners and how much did you pay? On eBay the MAF cleaner is like 13$ and the TB cleaner like 11$

 

Got them both at O'Reilly Auto Parts. I think they were $6 or $7 each.

 

I cleaned my TB last week and my idle has been screwed up throwing the same code. i'v done the relearning procedures several times and ecu resetting. every time i turn it off, back to high idle. Is there a special you may have done besides that? maybe the learning procedure you read was different from the one i read. I've read several on this site but non have accomplished my problem.

 

I had the high idle problem, too. When I ran the relearn, it would drop down but would go back up if I shut down and restarted. I even left the negative battery terminal disconnected overnight, but it didn't help.
In a last-ditch effort, I did the following:
- Re-checked all electrical connectors
- Removed the z-tube and check the throttle body action (made sure it wasn't sticking and was moving as expected)
- Reinstalled the z-tube and double-checked all clamps were tightened correctly
- Started the engine and listened for any air leaks around the intake/vacuum hoses
- Removed the PCV hose to make sure the valve was flowing and not blocked (although this would have induced a low/stumbling idle instead - was getting desperate at this point!)
- Ran the re-learn one last time. This time I started the engine immediately after the SES light went solid - problem solved!
So, I really don't know if I fixed an air leak, or just managed to get the re-learn procedure timing right. It's been running perfectly ever since and feels so much smoother and more powerful than it has in a long time.

 

Nice i'll have to do that then today, because i'm at my desperate point haha! When it finally worked did the SES light go right out. or did you just know it was fixed because you restarted it and it idled good still.

 

Yep, SES went out as soon as I started it. Idle dropped down to around 650 and it just sounded right.
Best of luck!