My throttle position sensor needs to be replaced. The dealership suggested also having the fuel injectors cleaned (about $140. Should I have the injectors cleaned? What are the benefits to this. The vehicle has abour 65,000 miles.
The benefits are great dealer profit. I wouldn’t do it.
If the engine was running fine before you found out you needed the TPS, I wouldn’t bother.
BTW, was the engine 'surging" before?
The engine was running great before the sensor went bad.
Dealers like all businesses are there to make a profit. If they can sell you an over priced service, they make money.
Some dealers are very honest and some are not, just like independent mechanics. I would suggest trying to find a good honest local mechanic and save yourself some real dollars.
Decision time.
Since;
1 ) a good cleaning is often the major fix to many a problem. Tools, small & major household appliances, plumbing, electronic devices, AND automotive systems among them…
AND
2 ) in hindsight a good cleaning would have kept many of those items off my workbench…
At which point does one decide to clean as a pre-emptive measure ?
( you should pull out your refrigerator away from the wall for once a year “spring cleaning”. Un-plug it and take your vacuum cleaner hose back there and clean everything underneath and on the back free of dust, hair and “dust bunnies”. This will, in fact, keep it out of the shop for a nice long life.)
You can decide based upon the vehicle’s own operational history.
Do you use an in-tank cleaner once in a while ?
Has it ever been done before and when ?
Is there even a hint that it might be a good idea while it’s in the shop ?
Do you use a quality fuel which keeps you running clean ?
After seeing docnick’s post I’ll add that mine have never needed an in-shop injector flush. Including the 92 Explorer @ 142,000.
The last time our Nissan was in for plugs, around 100,000 miles, I asked my mechanic whether he recommended fuel injector cleaning. He told me it was a waste of money if the car was running smoothly; there is enough cleaner in the gasoline these days to keep the injectors clean.
The car now has 125,000 miles and still no injector service of any kind necessary.
Dealers like all businesses are there to make a profit. If they can sell you an over priced service, they make money.
I HOPE you’re NOT saying the only way for a dealer to make money is to sell UNWANTED AND UNNEEDED services?? I sure hope the business model of a dealership is such that they can offer a HONEST service and still make a profit. If not then they need to change their business model.
There are a few things in the automotive world that are absolutely beaten to death; often mistakenly.
Bad gas.
O2 sensors.
Dirty injectors, just to name a few.
While cleaning injectors is usually not necessary, it can be beneficial depending on the car and the situation on that particular car.
All fuel injectors have a screen inside of them and this screen prevents any solid particulants from passing through the pintle/pintle seat, or needle. Any cleaning will not remove these particulants; the vast majority of which are caught in advance by the fuel filter anyway.
There’s a very easy way to determine if cleaning may help the injectors or not.
With the engine warmed up simply turn everything (radio/fan/whatever), let the vehicle idle at a dead stop, and note if there is any rough (even slightly) idle or stumble now and then at idle.
Assuming the ignition and mechanical components are fine this roughness or stumble could be caused by a faulty injector spray pattern and cleaning may cure this. (Again, assuming the faulty pattern is not caused by a worn pintle and pintle seat in the injector.
If it idles smoothly and the fuel mileage is normal then don’t worry about injector cleaning.
The only injectors that were really prone to needing a regular cleaning are the old CIS injectors which were used on predominantly European cars way back when.
How does the engine run, NOW? THAT will determine what repairs will help it, now. What trouble codes were set when the check engine light came on?
Your reply should have been: How, exactly, will you clean them? Some shops just dump a can of BG-44K in the gas tank and KAa-Ching, $140…That’s a complete rip-off. Better shops open the injector rail (there is a fitting made for this purpose) and inject the 44K into the rail directly. This takes about 10 minutes. But if your injectors are not dirty, it’s impossible to clean them and these services are a complete waste of money…