BG Fuel Injector Cleaner - Thoughts? (4 Viewers)

[mlinkibikr]

I've seen how BG Products pushes their various cleaners (fuel injection, air conditioning, etc) to dealerships as a high margin product that customers will benefit from. My dealership recommended I get the air conditioning and fuel system cleaning done, at considerable cost to me, on my 15k mile GX550 OT.

I use only Shell or Chevron gas - both which have their cleaning additives, and have noticed no issues. I still have that new car smell, no odors from my A/C system. I've never used these products on any of my fuel injected vehicles before, nor had my air conditioning system "cleaned". I'm very skeptical of this sort of "magic snake oil".

Am I wrong? Convice me.

Dave.

 

[SkyHigh]

BG has been around for decades and does make very good products, IMO.

You can buy it yourself and put it in with your next fill up.

Anytime these services are offered to me, I decline.

As for the AC cleaning, if it still smells new, you don't need it.

 

[GreySkyAdventures]

I've seen how BG Products pushes their various cleaners (fuel injection, air conditioning, etc) to dealerships as a high margin product that customers will benefit from. My dealership recommended I get the air conditioning and fuel system cleaning done, at considerable cost to me, on my 15k mile GX550 OT.

I use only Shell or Chevron gas - both which have their cleaning additives, and have noticed no issues. I still have that new car smell, no odors from my A/C system. I've never used these products on any of my fuel injected vehicles before, nor had my air conditioning system "cleaned". I'm very skeptical of this sort of "magic snake oil".

Am I wrong? Convice me.

Dave.

Having worked as a service advisor in a Honda dealership I can say first hand (at least for the Honda brand) these are not required or recommended by the manufacture. BG and others like BG contract with the dealerships to bring their products in. They then incentivize service advisors to push their products by paying them cash spiffs. My personal opinion especially for a vehicle with only 15k miles is that it is all snake oil. I would only use and do as Lexus the manufacturer recommends not Lexus the dealership.

 

[mlinkibikr]

Having worked as a service advisor in a Honda dealership I can say first hand (at least for the Honda brand) these are not required or recommended by the manufacture. BG and others like BG contract with the dealerships to bring their products in. They then incentivize service advisors to push their products by paying them cash spiffs. My personal opinion especially for a vehicle with only 15k miles is that it is all snake oil. I would only use and do as Lexus the manufacturer recommends not Lexus the dealership.

That aligns with what I suspected was going on. And it really turns me off of the whole dealership experience.

 

[cmfhsu]

Yeah, don't pay a dealer for a fuel injector cleaning service. Techron fuel cleaner is, to my knowledge, literally the same additive your local Chevron station has in its tanks. Can't imagine BG is very different.

If you're really worried about carbon deposits, I believe I read an SAE article which stated you can burn & remove a significant amount of deposits on your valves simply by driving down the highway at 70mph above 3000rpm for 15 minutes. The elevated cylinder temperatures burn off the carbon. Do that every 5k miles with a bunch of full throttle acceleration for extra fun, and you'll be fine.

I can see the value in A/C services, if you want your dealer to do them, but not if you don't have any weird smells.