Nissan Repair: High idle on 2001 Frontier, nissan frontier, o2 sensors

Question
Hello,

I have an '01 Nissan Frontier XE pickup with 62k miles on it.  The other day the idle began to act up.  It was going from 1100 RPM's up to 1500 RPM's and back to 1100.  It finally stabilized but has been doing this behavoir consistently now.  The bad news is I have only had the truck for three days, it passed CA smog with flying colors, and has an excellent carfax maint. history.

Got any ideas what might be causing this?

I have heard clean the throttle body? I am a good weekend warrior mechanic, but have never dabbled in throttle body before.  Does this just invovle removing the throttle body and spray cleaner in it????  If you could elaborate on this for me and give me a little better directions I would really appreciate the help.

Thanks,
Travis


Answer
Hi Travis -

Yes, sometimes some debris gets stuck between the butterfly valve and causes erratic idle. Are you getting a CEL (check engine light)?

BTW, when using cleaning sprays, ensure that it is compatible with your engine exhaust system. Some cleaners destroy the O2 sensors and you will end up with a great cost to repair.

Hope this helps -
aloha
calvin