Injection cleaner mistake?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by BoHenriksson, Jan 5, 2008.

  1. BoHenriksson

    BoHenriksson New Member

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    30 K coming up on my 06 and I had the dealer print out what they wanted to do in the way of servicing. Included was "injection cleaning" for 50 bucks or so. In the past I have as a habit a couple of times a year thrown in some STP cleaner in all my cars, and have never had a problem with the injectors. The parts store this time recommended some oily gunk called Lucas which they said was better than the regular stuff, so I put that in the Prius. However, researching this site I found someone not recommending any additive because of the fuel tank bladder. Have I screwed up here?
     
    #1 BoHenriksson, Jan 5, 2008
  2. firepa63

    firepa63 Former Prius Owner

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    The dealer was just trying to line his pockets with YOUR money. Hopefully you have not damaged the fuel tank bladder with just one dose of additive. When you get to half a tank fill it up with gas to further dilute the additive.
     
    #2 firepa63, Jan 5, 2008
  3. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    The people who designed and built your car know what maintenance it needs. The people who sell cars know that their boat payments are due. Do the stuff listed in the scheduled maintenance guide that came with the car. Anything else is a waste of money.
     
    #3 richard schumacher, Jan 5, 2008
  4. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    Yes I agree with this. Only after a diagnosis shows there would be a benifit should you accept additional service, even then ask questions.
    An example of this is throttle cleaning, why do it if it isn't going to make any difference?
     
    #4 patsparks, Jan 5, 2008
  5. BoHenriksson

    BoHenriksson New Member

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    Well, this car won't see any dealer service until its got 100K or so. I just wondered if anyone had any input on how much damage, if any, use of injection cleaner could do to the bladder?
    Some of the small airplanes I used to fly had rubber fuel cells in the wing and they are a fairly high maintenance item that will deteriorate by themselves over time.
     
    #5 BoHenriksson, Jan 6, 2008
  6. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    Habits developed under previous generations of car technology can lead one astray. Injector cleaner is an unnecessary risk in a Prius. Replacing the fuel bladder is a sincere pain in the @ss, as was documented somewhere here by galaxee. Stop using the stuff and you'll never miss it.
     
    #6 richard schumacher, Jan 6, 2008
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  7. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Properly formulated gasoline, especially the Top Tier stuff, should eliminate any need for injector cleaning. Considering how long the emission system warranties are in the US, we would have seen very widespread issues by now if the injectors were fouling

    Then again, Top Tier wouldn't have come into being if some sort of problem wasn't evident. THis is an interesting article

    http://www.sfrcorp.com/news/automakers-oil-industry-in-fuel-fight.php

    It's interesting that companies normally at each others throats - GM, Toyota, etc - got together to create Top Tier. Either it's a Conspiracy Theory (Money maker for GM and Toyota) or it's really needed

    Locally, Shell Top Tier is priced the same as major brands, so I use it in both my Prius and FJ. I avoid the off-brand and discount brands, have had driveability issues in the past with them

    If the car is running fine, I would strongly question the need for an expensive injector cleaning service. If it has driveability concerns, then perhaps a cleaning with professional equipment is needed. THis is one such machine, apparently the most widely respected one in use

    http://www.motorvac.com/products/CarbonCleanMCS245.html
     
    #7 jayman, Jan 6, 2008
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