Should it cost $100 for a 6 cyl. Tarus.
What is an alterative?
John
The first question is: Why are you interested in cleaning your injectors?
Is it because your car is having a drive-ability problem? Or is it because the place you went for routine service said you need to have it done?
Can you give us a little more context?
Should what cost $100?
I have to assume that this is an on-the-car cleaning rather than a removal and reconditioning of the injectors. (They can be removed entirely, cleaned and tested. That should be way more than $100).
You can just run a couple of bottles/cans of either Techron or SeaFoam thru the tank. It tends to work especially well if you add it to less than a full tank - less diluted - and run the tank down pretty low (without going so far as to risk running out of gas).
The real question is what makes you think that your injectors need cleaning? Many times shops will see these kinds of services (and yes its probably about $100) when they can’t figure out what is wrong or just as an upsell. It just amounts to running something very similar to techron or seafoam through the injectors, and often doesn’t address any problems at all.
It’s hard to clean injectors that are already clean…If your injectors are dirty, you will have other symptoms like a dead mis-fire at idle…
So why do you think they need cleaning?
The question isn’t usually whether or not it should cost $100. The question is usually “Is this service necessary?”
If it is necessary, and it fixes a problem you are having with the car, yes, I think it is worth $100. If, on the other hand, someone is selling you this service as maintenance, no, it isn’t worth $100.
An alternative is a bottle of fuel injector cleaner poured into your gas tank. This isn’t as likely to fix clogged injectors, but clogged injectors are pretty rare these days.
Why do you think your injectors need to be cleaned?
long stretch of open, not often traveled, road
foot on gas pedal
pedal to floor
vehicle tops out
pedal off floor
coast(do NOT put in neutral) to about 30mph
cost: a buck in fuel
It’s also possible to have an injector with a shaky spray pattern or deposits on the intake valve head that may cause a driveability problem at idle. This may show up at times as a faint rough idle or stumble at idle. Once the throttle is opened the problem goes away.
If the engine idles very smooth and fuel mileage is normal then your car should not need an injector cleaning.