Fuel Injection Cleaning and Induction Service - 50k miles

Exactly. If it needed to be done, Toyota would have included it in the service manual.

 

If it makes you feel better, pour a $5 bottle of fuel system cleaner into the tank. That's probably all they would do, but at many times the price.

 

Maybe it IS on the recommended service list for 50K.
A can of Techron in the gas every oil change should take care of the injectors nicely and at a much lesser cost.
There really IS some throttle body type cleaning that needs to be done on a schedule and you probably should not
skip that for very long.

 

Your dealer is somewhat unique in they offer a fuel service AND induction cleaning. Mine just says Fuel System on there chart of extra's. Which may be smarter form a marketing standpoint.

The fuel service is a can of gas system cleaner you can do for $5 as previously stated but if its really an induction cleaning I would have that done if they actually clean the throttle body.
Modern cars run pretty sooty although reports that the Gen 3 runs much less sootier then the G2. My own G2 looks pretty bad after 30K miles.

This would require removal of the air cleaner box and using some long strips of rags and soaked in throttle body cleaner the tb bore is scrubbed clean and flushed out and the tb butterfly plate is scrubbed clean. The TB see's alot of soot becasue the pvc valve is dumped into the tb. This is real important on a G2 for instance as many reports of owners never having it down and the butterfly edge gets corroded and will not open & close smoothly. The butterfly is motor driven and unable to drive past any sticking. The butterfly gets stuck and it throws a TPS nag. Then the TB must be replaced at around $1500-2000. Not cuw.

I would have this done at least once then if they come back at you with a hey you have a bad throttle body blah b;ah later on you can say whoa...I had the Induction cleaning!!

And if your really worried about maintenance be aware when you ask the dealer to change the oil he's going to use the cheapest crappiest oil he has on the lot. Usually vat oil. May be the right viscosity but its not very good oil.
Guarantee you it won't come out of a bottle unless you pay extra. I wouldn't put it in my car.

Find a good local guy who can change the oil using high quality synthetic and get the trans fluid changed there too.

And lastly make sure you check the oil after its changed. Almost certainly it will over filled if done at the dealer. Why? becasue they are using vat oil and the vat oil fill pump is notoriously inaccurate so they put more in to make sure its not under filled. Retarded? Yes. But thats what you get at the car dealer.

 

I wonder what the dealer is putting in my Prii, we have the Toyota Care for another year on the Gen3 and 1.5 year on the C, but after that Mobil 1 it is…. The cars seem to run louder and different when I pick them up from the dealer… Funny every 5k the receipt says Toyota Synthetic and I always point out that I know you didn't change the oil as this was only a tire rotation.. They never change it…

Every couple tanks or couple months depending on the mood I use the Chevron Techron Fuel Injector Cleaner; I'm happy I stocked up as Costco had 6 bottles for $8.00 I wound up getting two boxes. I went today and they were cleared out, said that its a "Seasonal Item" I found that a little strange.

Dealer always hits me up on the In Cabin Filter and the Air Filters… I always remind them that I put in a new cabin filter and that I have a K&N filter (even though the K&N Stop Do Not Discard sticker is on the air box)

I was running a tank of Premium every 3rd tank, but Shop Foreman told me not to run Premium in the Prius, says it makes no difference and that the car would get better fuel economy with 87 vs 91… Not sure if there is any truth to that or not… anyone here or know about 87 vs 91 on the Prius?

Hope everyone is having a great weekend….

 

I would stop with the Techron and the premium gas. Your just wasting your money. Modern cars don't need that stuff unless you live in the boonies and the gas supply is questionable.

All Prius as far as I know no matter what Gen use regular gas. 87 octane. Premium gas is just a waste of money and you'll probably get poor mileage running it.

Read the manual.

 

Opinions vary.

There is little doubt that using "premium" (high octane) gas does nothing useful.

A shot of injector cleaner occasionally, however, is pretty much universally recommended
by auto makers and mechanics alike. He is just doing it a LOT more often than necessary; a bottle every 10K miles is plenty.

 

Thanks Easy Rider…….

Every oil change sounds frequent enough 10k miles I can do….

The C got a bad tank of fuel and drove like crap that is the commuter car, 10 will rack up fast, the Gen3 I can do once a year…

I've had BMW, VW, Jag, etc so I'm use to running Premium Fuel… habit to break

 

HowStuffWorks "Why Fuel Additives Won't Improve Performance and Gas Mileage"

 

Good article.
In the context of this thread, note page 4:
"Fuel system cleaners can also be helpful on occasion to clean-up harmful build-up and keep your engine running as it should."

 

Just remember that using regular will save you a couple bucks a tank. That should help break the habit.

 

Ok. On an older car maybe or water in the gas use a product like Stabil but a 2012 Prius should have no build up.

if you really want to do something good for your car your much better off putting your money into a Product that actually works and improves the life of the car like High Performance Motor oil.

I have been using this product and have seen remarkable improvement in the sound and smoothness of the engine.
It has a high quality ZDDP additive that really works well for a Gen 2 with solid lifters. Have not gone far enough for a UOA but will post it when I get it. Has really quieted down the motor and runs really good.


Red Line Synthetic Oil - Motor Oil - 5W30 Motor Oil


If you want to see some reports about it just google :

Redline Motor Oil

 

And yet then you go on to describe a different kind of marketing hype that you have bought into hook line and sinker.

The fuel injectors are TINY little things that clog easily. As the fuel evaporates at the tip it leaves tiny little deposits. Those deposits are self cleaning to a point. You might never have a problem with a stuck or clogged injector but LOTS of people DO over time.

Unlike your "super oil" which is overkill and likely overpriced compared to the other top of the line synthetics and blends these days, injector cleaner DOES have a place in a rational maintenance plan.

 

This thread is getting out of hand lol.

To the point, you should clean your throttle body, it does build up carbon deposits from long time use, just use a throttle body cleaner and a rag to clean the carbon build up like any other vehicle, just don't over due it on the throttle body fluid or a check engine light will light up due to the throttle body fluid which can make the ECU thinks that it's running rich.

As for the fuel injector, just toss a fuel additive like techron in the gas tank or use premium gas to clear out clogged fuel injector, higher octane fuel burns longer which helps clear injector being clogged.

You don't need to use fuel additives all the time you fuel up, just every 30k miles is fine because that's what dealers use every 30k and that's what they recommend to do when they recommend fuel induction system cleaning.

 

And posting yet another myth about the advantages of higher octane fuel just takes it a little farther out of hand.

Octane rating alone does NOTHING and poses NO advantage in an engine that does not need it to reduce pre-ignition......NOTHING. It certainly does not clean injectors.

Now, whether or not you buy into the marketing claims that some "premium" fuel also has a higher
level of detergent additives.........that's just a crap shoot the way I see it. I will put my extra money
directly into a can of Techron every 10K miles or so; that way I know what I'm getting.

 

If burning fuel is coming in contact with the injectors in a Prius (or any non-direct injected car), something is wrong.

 

where's your proof?

 

What I meant was that it takes longer for the combustion chamber to burn the fuel, not meant that the fire will go into the injectors.