I’ve heard that Techron fuel injector cleaner is widely respected. I decided to try a bottle of the expensive stuff. My Avalon had been experiencing declining gas mileage, with no apparent reason. With the additive, and a topoff to mix it in, bingo!
My mileage jumped a lot, and right away–I would expect at least a delay while it cleaned things, but this was immediate. Am I or my car hallucinating?
While unusual, you must have had a small amount of deposits in the wrong place. That’s why I recommend it first if there are drivability issues. It’s cheap (compared to a mechanic), easy to find, won’t hurt anything, and sometimes it works.
Went to Albuquerque and back, a 300 mile round trip and would fill up there. when I left Gallup the miles to empty showed about 200 miles.
When in Albuquerque, after driving 140 of those miles, the miles-to-empty showed 160 and the guage agreed.
– Now I know I just drove 140 miles, not 40, this Expedition will never get THAT good of mpg !
Tried cycling the ignition off a couple times to re-set but it didn’t.
One bottle of Techron from Auto Zone and the guage & m.t.e. read accurate at the very next start-up.
How are you measuring your mileage? Onboard “mileage computer” thing; or dividing actual miles driven by gallons to fill the tank.
My vote is wishful thinking, but new information could change my vote.
There are no possible DOWNSIDES to using Techron, right? Other than the fact that it cost 10 bucks (which isn’t much if it actually does something useful.)
None that I know of, as long as you follow the label instructions. And $10 seems high compared to what I pay at Walmart…
“but this was immediate.”
I would be skeptical of the dash display, at least until it’s verified by measuring a couple of tank fill-ups.
That said, I have witnessed Techron smooth out an engine idle in just a couple miles of driving.
I agree with the others who are suggesting not to assume too much out of one test. For example the weather is getting warmer and that means most of us will be getting better mileage.
As for the on board computer giving you current mileage, remember that that gadget is not actually measuring mileage. It is measuring a number of data sources and using a program to compute the estimated average for a few seconds. It does not directly measure mileage so, while it may be useful it should not be overly trusted.
It is sort of like this. I am a runner. I don’t run the same distance every day. However if I measure how much I eat in the next 24 hours I might be able to estimate the distance. It may be more accurate if I include adjustments for humidity, sun, what shoes I am wearing, etc.
It is indeed possible that this is a gauge accuracy change and not a real change. It is not a gas type change, because it took place instantly and I only topped off with about 4 gal of gas to mix the stuff. I am using the electronic “mileage” gauge averaged over the miles since the fill-up. I should comment that since I have owned this vehicle this gauge has been consistent, except for seasonal changes and a slow decline over 50k miles.