Fuel Injector cleaning

[bboard]

Hey guys... so i took my 09 Rogue (39,000 km / 24k miles) in for service and they recommend me to do the fuel injector cleaning service because it was really dirty and its past their upper end of recommended km to do this service.... little do I know, so I agreed to it. I called another dealer after thinking about it and just check on pricing and whether it was needed, and they said they would find it unusual for such needed until 50,000 km (31k miles)...

so just want to see what you guys think... i do mostly city driving and I'm up here in Vancouver, Canada....

[kerrton]

I'd say dealer number 1 is recommending service that is not required, and I'm confused by their statement about "it was really dirty" - what was really dirty? You can't see fuel injectors during routine oil change service, the only reason you'd normally consider having the fuel system cleaned is if you have rough running conditions, particularly at idle. If you car was idling and generally running smoothly, your fuel efficiency hadn't declined recently, and you don't have a couple hundred thousand km's on the car, I wouldn't see any reason for a fuel injector cleaning. It definately doesn't hurt the vehicle if they perform it properly, and you could consider this "premium" maintenance or "going above and beyond" regular maintenance, but the delear should not have recommended this as "required", unless they discovered something that I'm unaware of, in which case they should've described this in more detail to you.

I'm curious, do you mind sharing what they charged you for the injector/fuel system cleaning service?

[bboard]

I was too stupid this morning that I agreed to it... but after reading the above and check with another dealership, I complained to the service manager and settled for 50% off the service. I guess what sold me was 1) I was stupid and didn't check with you guys 1st 2) I haven't been satisfy with my fuel economy @ 10.5L/100k (22.5mpg)

They normally charged $200 for fuel injecting cleaning + Throttle body / intake service ...

[philipa_240sx]

I never cleaned the injectors/throttle body on my past 3 Nissan's...

- '89 240SX with about 100,000mi
- '03 Altima with about 147,000mi
- '08 Rogue with about 68,000mi... and counting

Guess what? I never had driveability issues, rough running, etc.

If you read your Owner's Manual and Service & Maintenance guide, there is no recommended service interval for the fuel injectors and throttle body either.

However, if you want the fuel injectors cleaned then get the dealer to perform the service. The commercial grade cleaner the dealer uses requires special equipment and is the only fuel injector cleaner that's safe to use. It's also sold through Nissan's tool program to the dealer.

Bottom line:

IMHO, fuel injector cleaning is not required if good quality fuel is used. The dealer offers it as a 'recommended service', but not necessarily because the vehicle needs it. There is nothing wrong with this... it's just a good sales pitch. It's still your decision if you want it.

BTW, if you think fuel injector cleaning is a DIY job... think again:

Pg 9-4 of your Owners Manual:

Aftermarket fuel additives

NISSAN does not recommend the use of any aftermarket fuel additives (for example, fuel injector cleaner, octane booster, intake valve deposit removers, etc.) which are sold commercially. Many of these additives intended for gum, varnish or deposit removal may contain active solvent or similar ingredients that can be harmful to the fuel system and engine.

[pawprint]

I'm not sure if this is a similar situation, but the dealership I go to did the same fuel injector cleaning on my Murano at 15,000 miles. Originally I brought the Murano in to have the brakes checked.

I still don't understand completely, but I learned it was something regarding the warranty and the way they file/charge off warranty work with Nissan Headquarters. They told me that if I paid for the fuel injector cleaning at $99.00 then they would resurface my rotors and rotate my tires while they were at it, for free...

Maybe they have kick-backs or quotas. I've also heard that they have some leeway with what is considered warranty work. They said that my brakes are not covered by warranty, however.....mine were after they cleaned my fuel injectors....

[philipa_240sx]

Very weird pawprint... Can't say I've ever seen anything like that.