Hello,

I've been told by a mechanic that my car (a 2003 Vue with 4 cylinder engine) will need a throttle actuator. Furthermore, the work needs to be done by a dealership with the proper software to reset the computers, etc. Because he couldn't perform the repairs and 'cause I lacked the money right then we towed the car to our driveway. Now there it sits derelict and I'm losing patience with no vehicular motivation.

Does anyone have any advice or information on how to do this myself? I've looked for manuals online and the only products available are the dealer set for $175 and several not cheap ($40) spurious products on eBay. Is it even possible for me to do this? Heck, I'm an unemployed construction worker and I've got nothing but time. It would be nice to get the car working so I can at least pretend to look for a job (as there's nothing out there to apply to even if I could get my car running). Having wheels during this wonderful weather and getting a car repair done on the cheap are victories enough for me right now.

Thanks,

Dean

 

What in the world is a throttle actuator .......... it might help to have the proper dealer name for the part you need not something the guy and JoesCrabShack&AutoRepair made up. So if you need a new throttle body because the electronic throttle control is bad then you need to buy the throttle body. If thats what your talking about you can change with no problems at all.

 

see if you can check out a haynes manual from the local library to find out what the device is called....

 

'throttle actuator control' fault = throttle fault, the 'actuator control' part was mechanic's embellishment as you suspected

I have since gone out and bought a full set of dealer manuals (35 pounds of paper and binders - yowza!) AND I am narrowing in on a PC based Elm chip diagnostic tool (either ElmScan 5 or Palmer Performance's ScanXL tool) with upgraded software...