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I Use Fuel Injector Cleaner, Always Have

24K views 38 replies 23 participants last post by  golf strom 
#1 · (Edited)
And that's been a part of every oil change, for many years now. Every car we've owned that was fuel-injected, I put in a bottle of a name brand Fuel Injector Cleaner approximately every 5,000 miles or so. Now, on page 305 of the 2011 Fiesta Owner's Manual, it says I am not to add any aftermarket fuel additive products, on the grounds that doing so could result in damage to the engine's fuel system. It goes on to say that any repairs that might result from using such products may not be covered under the Fiesta's warranty.

Is Ford serious about this? According to page 305, all I have to do to keep the fuel delivery system in excellent condition is to regularly use a "high quality" fuel, which, I presume, would include "The Hottest Brand Going," to use the old advertising slogan of the petroleum company whose gas I pump into the Fiesta's tank once or twice a week. But as we all know from experience, every once in a great while a tanker truck will deliver a less-than-perfect load of gas no matter whose brand it is. That's why I've always used injector cleaner. I operate on the theory that a $3 bottle of cleaner is slightly cheaper than paying a mechanic to replace one or more fouled/ruined injectors at $100 a pop + labor.

And for those of us who live in climates where winter comes calling each year, many of us put a bottle of gas line antifreeze into the tank at least every other fill-up. Since this is also a "fuel additive" I guess this is taboo as well? Our car is not garaged, so using such a product is almost a necessity in places like MO in January, where we live.

I'd like to know your thoughts on this. I've already added a bottle of injector cleaner to the Fiesta's tank after Tuesday's oil change, out of habit, before I discovered the bad news on page 305.

Harry :mad:
 
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#2 ·
Today's fuels don't cause injector clogging like many years past.

I would think that the additives in the cleaner may hurt some parts of the fuel system ... so I would follow the Ford warning!!!!
 
#4 ·
If you use any type of additive you're wasting your money and possibly causing damage. Think of it this way, if those products are so good, then why isn't the auto manufacturers using them and promoting them? After all it won't hurt their business and it might help them meet the Government mandate on mileage requirements. Ford, GM, Honda Toyota and all the other car makers are paying engineers and chemist big dollars to compete and design a car to give you the best engineered product possible. If these third party additives are so great why doesn't the gov't, ASME, the chemical industry and the independent like Good Housekeeping promote them?

Gas at the pump is seasonally formulated to compensate for the change in weather and altitude. Unless you know specifically that you have heavey moisture in you tank you don't need dry gas. Too much dry can can corrode your lines, seals and pump.

If you don't believe me, will you believe the The Car Talk Guys (Click and Clack, The Tappit Brothers)? If you're not familiar with them go to NPR Car Talk.

And if you watch this video (YouTube - BG Products Fuel Service Improves Gas Mileage), it's very far from scientific. I bet they can't consistently repeat their results using many different drivers or cars. How did they do it the first time you ask? I willing to bet that they unconsciously drove much more conservatively. Although I can't site specifics I know that driver behavior changes when you think you have something that will improve your mileage. Until such time that you loose interest and revert back to one's old habits.

However, on an old car that does in fact run rough and gets poor mileage then yes those products may help to some degree. But that's because the car was not maintained from the start. Like Tom & Ray said, "It won't help, but it can't hurt". But on a new car lets be safe and not stupid. Do what the manufacturer says.

That's my two cents anyway. Just Say'n.;)
 
#5 ·
98% of the time, "bad gas" from a from a gas station is going to be noticeable long before the next oil change. material water contaminations are far more quickly evident because the fuel stops being mixed gasoline/ethanol and starts being something closer to a lava lamp of ethanol and gasoline... diesel/gas contaminations are equally noticeable when material enough.
 
#6 ·
Gas has all the additives your baby needs...

..and, yes, all gas is the same. There are stds. that must be met, and it's not always like the old days when Sinclair was Sinclair, and Esso was Esso...there's a lot of mixing of brands from refinery to station, with some refineries cracking fuel for many brands.

Fuel injector cleaner is best used when there is a specific problem that can be traced to a dirty fuel injector. Otherwise, it's just extra corrosives in there. And, the typical problems with 'bad' gas...H20 and dirt/sand..are impervious to fuel injector cleaner..which is a solvent to remove the gunk and deposits that can form under some severe conditions (like extended storage in warm conditions)...not evaporate H20 or unblock physical debris like sand.

Bottom line: Treat any and all additives the same way you treat anything else that's 'corrective' you'd otherwise use in your car...as a remedy to a specific problem, rather than some mythical prophylactic remedy.
 
#8 ·
..and, yes, all gas is the same. There are stds. that must be met, and it's not always like the old days when Sinclair was Sinclair, and Esso was Esso...there's a lot of mixing of brands from refinery to station, with some refineries cracking fuel for many brands.
Branding these days is down to the additives that are added to the gasoline blendstock & ethanol. All of these additives, from generic gas to branded, are highly similar and most won't notice the difference between Sunoco, Exxon and that no-name gas station down the street.
 
#7 ·
Thanks!

After reading your thoughtful posts I have decided to forget about adding any more injector cleaner to the tank, from now on. It used to make for a good rule of thumb to use it after every oil change, but because the Fiesta is a new car line with a different engine I'm not going to tempt Fate (and the warranty) by going against the manual and your good advice.

Harry
 
#10 ·
It's a trap!

My dad told me that stuff is a bad idea because it can cause damage, and I trust his opinion most highly. :) I think a person could probably find damning and praising articles of the stuff.
 
#14 ·
Bobby, I hear ya, I feel ya, I get what you're saying...to a point. With apologies to the OP and overall health of this topic: what's the deal with Top Tier Gas? Is it strictly a marketing exercise, or is there some sort of actual standard / bump in quality?

I don't care about brands, and can't say that I've observed any real difference from one gas to the next (with the exception of my old Focus, which got noticeably better milage when filled at one specific Citgo station...) I just want to know if paying the slight premium for a top tier gas is actually worth it when we consider the additives that bump a gas to this "standard."

I get it with motor oil. There are actual industry standards whose parameters must be met in order for the designation (ILSAC GF-5, ACEA whatever, etc etc etc) to be printed on the bottle. Furthermore, we can test new and used oil to see if it meets the standard and holds up over time.

Gas...seems like a different story.
 
#16 ·
Sean...



Gas is gas, fill 'er up cheaply and rest easy.

I use the oil example to indicate that marketing plays a lot into the 'Top tier' designation, regardless of the actual quality of the final petro product. "Top" probably is a bit of self aggrandizement on the part of the manufacturer, based more on ego and maybe corporate size...and remember that the same folks that want us to believe that their gasoline is "tops" (like BP), also want us to believe that their motor oil (Castrol=BP) is "tops", too. But, like oil, there are specific gov't(pollution) and manufacturer (drivability) regulations that determine the additives that are added...so, even though there's no 'API' designation for gas, there are still strict requirements that all refiners and marketers must adhere to.
 
#15 ·
Specifically regarding the fuel injection cleaner...issue.....

As long as you use a major name brand like Techron Gumout Regane, or Redline LS-1 you won't have any problem or damage anything as long as you use the cleaner as recommended by the maker....

You see a good cleaner like the ones mentioned above don't rely on solvents to clean but specifically formulated gasoline detergents in a more concentrated form....the best available gas detergent is "PEA" from the amine family of chemicals. Actually this is exactly what Chevron puts in their regular pump gas in very small amounts, so if you use that brand regularly you will keep a clean fuel system clean...However if your fuel system is dirty and have been using gas low quality detergents or a minimum amount you can use the bottle products which come in a highly concentrated form of PEA to clean larger residues and deposits of carbon and or old remants of lesser quality detergents.......because the detergents only attack deposits and NOT actually rubber and plastic parts like solvents you can be sure that NO damage will occur to your fuel system as long as you use the cleaners as directed .

WARNING STAY AWAY FROM HARSH SOLVENT BASED PRODUCTS as they will do damage !
 
#18 ·
I don't know if this is available everywhere, but every now and then I will spend the extra money and put ethanol-free (pure) gas into my vehicle. It usually runs about .10 more per gallon, but the increased fuel ecomony is worth it--my dte was up by over 10%. And believe it or not, the car runs better. :)
 
#20 ·
There are very few areas of the USA that offer pure gasoline at retail pumps anymore, and I suspect that it will dwindle down to 0 in a matter of a couple of years from now....
 
#22 ·
Bobby is putting exactly right. Everything he says is true. The only thing I'll add concerning TOP TIER gas is this. In order for a company to get its gas on the list, what must it pay to the organization. Now if the organization is totally independent and no 'listing" fee is required then perhaps it has merit. Does anybody know more about who runs the Top Tier gas organization? And how do they fit into the petro industry? It's kind of like UL listed or Good House Keeping labeled.
 
#24 ·
Ford has to put disclaimers like that in there simply due to all the garbage for sale in the marketplace today.

They don't know what you're putting in and they can't warranty issues caused if you put in something of questionable quality and they shouldn't be required to.

As far as modern cars and modern fuel, I've never added anything to the fuel system of my 2002 SVT Focus and it's never given me a single issue.

That's 103,000 miles in Minnesota weather from 100+ in the summer to -30 in the dead of winter, never ever had the need to use ANY fuel additives.
 
#25 ·
Ford has to put disclaimers like that in there simply due to all the garbage for sale in the marketplace today.
Ford should just sell a relabled bottle of what they think is best.

Here is a bottle of BMW fuel systems cleaner. Look familier?














































Yes, it's exactly the same fluid, not just the bottle shape.
 
#30 · (Edited)
There's a difference between knowing the consequences and still deciding to spend the money, and not knowing the consequences and spending money because you didn't know any better.

When I feel like I can spare the cash, I fuel up at Chevron for a couple tanks rather than get the standalone cleaners.
 
#33 ·
I have never used any fuel injector cleaner. i will use a little Stabil if the temps go really low though, and the car hasn't been driven in a while.
I prefer BP branded gas. Over the last 6 years it's consistently given me the best gas mileage.
 
#39 ·
The only thing that matters is that the product uses a high percentage 30-60% of PEA, the most effective gasoline detergent that dissolves carbon and other desposits. Also very important is that the detergent DOES NOT leave any of its own residue behind during the clean ing process. PEA is the only one that does NOT do this.

Avoid using products containing strong solvents as they can damage plastic and rubber fuel parts.


Chevron Techron Total Fuel System cleaner has 50% PEA in it.
 
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