clean fuel injectors

Have my 2004 Accord EX 4i in for a 40k mile service, dealer calls and
says there's a little buildup on the injectors, do I want to spend
$160 to get the injector flush?

(hey, they sell this car on a 100k mile "no tuneup" policy)

I usually let the dealer screw me around for modest stuff, but is this
reasonable or competely bogus? I know I asked online a couple of
years ago when my Acura dealer tried to sell me that flush on every
service, sight-unseen, and the consensus seemed to be it might make
sense around 80k to 100k miles, but not sooner.

Anyway, those friggin' tiny back brakes were down below 2mm so I told
them to go ahead on those, so I wasn't in the mood for more BS.

Any advice on that injector flush?

FWIW, I use almost exclusively Chevron gas.

Thanks.

J.

 

This injector flush is absolutely not something a consensus
here believes is worth the money.

What a lot of folks here do urge is putting a bottle of
Chevron Techron (around $7 at Wal-Mart) fuel system cleaner
into a near empty fuel tank, filling up, and then having the
oil changed in about two weeks.

40k miles is not bad for OEM brake pads. That's about how
long my first ones lasted on my 91 Civic.

 

That's interesting. My dealer here says that they very rarely do
anything to the injectors, unless there is something that points toward the
injectors having a problem.

 

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On the same topic of 'salesmanship', some dentists haven't been trained
to do that 'talking out loud' thing that makes the patient (read:
victim) believe that their mouth will rot if they don't get a bunch of
extra work done RIGHT AWAY.

It's marketing, just like selling car owners undercoating and paint
protection schemes and window etching and Scotchguard etc, etc . . .

'Curly'

 

No, absolutely not. No reason unless you've used poor gas which you did not.
Honda will tell you it is unnecessary and perhaps even harmful to the
injector seals with some solvents that are used. Additives are also frowned
upon by the manufacturer for the same reason.
Modern name brand fuels have detergents in them and as long as you use a
decent grade or name gas you're wasting your money.
Howard

 

Go to Costco and get a Whole box of the good Chevron cleaner.

Sounds like the dealer is boosting their monthly sales to me. I have had
somewhere around 14 Hondas now, and I get close to 200k on some of them and
NOT ONCE has any of them ever needed to have the injectors cleaned.

I wouldn't trust that dealer any more.

Hey, now that I think of it, how the hell do they know there is a buildup?
Why did they take them out ????????

G-Man

 

True. But then it depends on who at the dealership you speak to about
the topic. Over the years the Shop Foreman and I have become very good
friends. As such, we look out for each other's best interest in whatever the
concern happens to be.

 

No there is not.

Pass on it.

 

The injector flush is very effective at transferring money from your pocket
to theirs. You can do just as good a job with the stuff you pour in the tank
(lots of people perfer Techron, but I've had good results with the cheaper
Pyroil). Since you have been running Chevron I think even that is overkill;
I used to use a tank of Chevron or Texaco instead of injector cleaner when
my old Nissan was getting balky. The effect was pretty much the same. The
dealer is being completely bogus in this case.

Mike

 

Thanks all.

I did pass on it.

Well, it's the *second* time for the rear brakes. The fronts are
still OK at 40k, go figure. I've seen the discussion here that this
model Honda has these tiny pads in the rear that do go out too
quickly. Could probably go another 5k on the rear pads,
extrapolating, but like I said, I let the dealer lead me on this one.

Which is not to say that I trust them - I don't, they're known
somewhat sleazy in sales and service, but they're a big dealer and the
next nearest one is a lot less convenient.

J.

 

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You didn't tell us __it's the *second* time__.

I was going to suggest you've got a stuck slider. It seems to be common
on Hondas, even from NEW.

You need a brake job from SOMEBODY WHO CARES, who will slip them all
apart and lube everything with the correct grease, since you'll just
have to do it prematurely again, or worse, you'll shred one side of your
rotor before the wear indicator starts screaming.

Look at the valuable resources at www.tegger.com for more about Honda
brake jobs.

'Curly'

 

It's another Honda ripoff scheme. I've had my car for 14 years now, it's got 136,000 miles, and
I've never cleaned the fuel injectors and never had any problems. You're being lied to by Honda.

 

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Spaz, That's not a (true) logical statement.

The Original Poster is being lied to by a _ Honda Dealership _ that is
trying to make extra money off him by selling him something he probably
doesn't need. Honda didn't tell the franchisee to sell that 'service' to
the OP..

You're painting with a very wide brush.

We read your posts.

'Curly'

 

Not a ripoff by Honda but by the individual dealer. Honda policy is against
most flush type services and has issued warnings up to and including
franchise removal to repetitive and flagrant ignoring of their warning.