My wifes accord ran great until last night. She went to leave work and said it started right up then stalled. the check engine light came on.
I got there and held the gas to the floor and it fired right up but did not want to idle. I kept gassing it and finnaly it idled on its own.

I drove it home and cleaned the throttle body and intake tube. it has 115,000 miles on it new plugs wires and regular maintenance has been completed. I have heard about carbon buildup in the engine could cause this. Is this possible?
Any hep would be great.

Thanks in advance Joe

 

There are many sensors and gizmos on a modern electronic fuel injection engine. Check them. Taking a guess, start by checking your PCV valve, next your EGR valve (but this one is a more involved DIY). Or have your mechanic diagnose the problem.

 

if it's idling rough like it's kind of running on 3 cylinders, my first guess would be that a plug or wire is bad or not connected properly. Second, I know the older honda accords ( like 92) can have issues with carbon buildup, when an additive is put in to clean it out, or the car gets slammed ( accident etc.) it can knock the carbon loose and it can build up on the valves. if it builds up on the valves you can get hot spots that burn holes through them ........ check the wires, check the plugs, then have a compression test done ( if it's running rough, like not on all cylinders)

 

i dont know why but i had a similar problem and it ended up being a bad MAF sensor.. but than again mine is a 6cyl and i dont know about a 4cyl

 

First thing to check on that generation of Accords is the EGR ports.. Clean those and then continue with your diagnosis..