Recently I’ve been told that in order to properly clean the injectors I have to have a technician use a 3 part cleaner that cannot be done without a special tool. Is that true and do these treatments work? The technician who told me this said its far superior to what I can buy at the auto parts store.
If the engine is running normally, the injectors don’t require cleaning. Or is there a problem with the way the engine’s running?
Tester
It just developed an occasional misfire at idle speed.
Try a bottle of techron first. It’s what the dealer uses. I usually don’t run premium but I’ll use that and a tank of premium to clean up the injectors. Works great on varnished gas too
The question I have is “who diagnosed the problem”? You don’t have to answer. Maybe no diagnosis was done. Do you have warning lights or codes? There are other causes of “misfires”. Just keep on trying and I hope the Techron helps.
One dose of a good cleaner used according to the instructions should not hurt anything and could do some good. Premium will not hurt anything, but it is very unlikely to fix anything. Premium just indicates octane rating. Unless you car needs it, it is not likely to do any good.
Note some “Premium” fuels do have more built in additives that may help.
maybe try some new spark plugs and wires?
My question is does the 3 part $30 fuel cleaner do more good than a $6 can of STP injector cleaner?
Part 1: tech gets pops open the fuel filler door
part 2: tech puts in cleaner
part 3: you are charged $30 for that $6 can of STP(or BG44k or whatever) that they probably got for 30 cents in a bulk order deal.
What you’ve been told is BS. The technician is pushing a profit generator.
Now, as to the “misfire at idle speed”, what year is the car? If it’s 1996 or newer it will have an OBDII diagnostic system that should have stored at least one “fault code”. Most parts stores will read these codes for you for free. I suggest that you stop by one, have the codes read, and post them here. We’ll help you interpret them.
Also post the year, engine, miles, and overall history of the car.
Diagnosing the cause of the misfiring will be far more productive and much cheaper than throwing additives at it. I can guarantee that.