Toyota Repair: Throttle body service for 2001 Camry

Question
Hi Ted,

Background:  I have a 2001 Camry with 107K that runs great.  I have always been taking it to Toyota svc.  Recently we relocated from the Seattle area to San Antonio and have been taking the car to this new Toyota place.  Today I took the car there for a 5K svc and was told all is fine with the car except for some carbon deposits in the throttle area and was recommended that I get that cleaned.  Price:  $99.00.  When I inquired a bit more, since I never heard of anything like that before, I was shown a part (of a throttle I suppose) and explained how it is supposed to close after taking air in but due to deposits, cannot close completely... I was a bit surprised the svc mgr happened to have a clean model on his desk till I realized he it probably recommending the same svc to others as well.  

Question:   Wasn't this a rip-off recommendation or would you suggest I get this done the next time?   

Thank you very much!   

Sincerely,

Pablo

Answer
Hello, I think you are right, unless you have idle problems, stalling at stops etc save your $99.00 maybe if they showed you your actual throttle body with excessive carbon deposits, then I would agree, some dealers recommend cleaning the throttle body as a preventive measure on higher mileage cars so it's not that unusual.