What is a 'Fuel Injector Service'?

[cohenfive]

so i have my m3 in the dealer today for a normal oil service after a year and 11.8k total miles (yes the car had the initial oil service done a year ago) and i get a call asking if i want to do the optional (ie, at my cost) alignment and fuel injector service. i know what the former is and declined, but have never heard of the latter before. has anyone heard of the fuel injector service, and if it is important why isn't it covered under the bmw service policy which pays for all required service....

or maybe i know the answer which is that the dealer is just trying to upcharge their customers on service, which would be a new trick by this dealer who i've always been happy with on the service side.

thanks!

[Twinbo]

That looks to be an upsale. If it were important for the car it would be included in the service package.
Call another dealer in your area and ask for a fuel injector service - ask what it is first. If they have no clue or seem to question why you would require that it will answer your question.

[THE TECH]

Skip it. No need, especially at his mileage.

[checkmate]

Its basically to clean up any carbon build up. Not necessary at the mileage. Haven't heard one done for any BMW unless I missed something.

[jrlee53]

I was asked the same by my dealer about this service. Apparently it has something to do with there direct injected models where carbon build up is a problem, which correct me if I'm wrong, we shouldn't have that big of a problem since ours aren't.

[DBH]

It's basicly a heavy duty cleaning (for severe carbon buildup) of the injectors. If you use a good (tier one) gasoline with a decent detergent package you don't need this service. If you should feel the need, you can purchase a fuel injector cleaner at your local auto store and put it in your fuel tank every couple of thousand miles.

BTW, what are they chargeing for this "service"??

[CrazyIvan]

Originally Posted by DBH

It's basicly a heavy duty cleaning (for severe carbon buildup) of the injectors. If you use a good (tier one) gasoline with a decent detergent package you don't need this service. If you should feel the need, you can purchase a fuel injector cleaner at your local auto store and put it in your fuel tank every couple of thousand miles.

BTW, what are they chargeing for this "service"??

The dealer probably uses very similar Fuel injector cleaner that you can buy at auto store for $3-5 but will charge you something like $50 for it...

[apecush]

A real injector cleaning involves the removal of the injectors and ultrasonically cleaning them using an appropriate solution. This typically costs arond $20/injector + removal/re-install.

Cleaning is not for carbon, it is for varnish and other deposits from the fuel. The injectors are generally not exposed to combustion carbon as they are in the intake tract not the actual cylinders.

[chmura]

Its a BS service, do not do it.

M3 engine is port injected, port injected engines do not have that much carbon build up especially at this miles.

[Grail05]

its just a sales pitch... i was asked before as well... they will probably just add the injector cleaner through your gas tank... its called the TECHRON... lol

[ShadeD1]

cat piss and mothballs

[mjf6175]

While it may clean your injectors, it will really clean your wallet. As mentioned above in other posts, if you use quality gas with a detergent package there is no need for it. And you can get the best stuff yourself and add it to the gas tank which is TECHRON (I believe it was Chevron that originally made this stuff). In fact most other injector cleaners you find at auto stores are re-packaged Techron and usually in lower strengths.

[mkiv808]

The injectors aren't the problem, it's the valves. And it's not a problem until you have AT LEAST 60k miles. If you want to clean the injectors, just throw some Seafoam in the gas tank. But at your mileage, there's absolutely no reason for it. Just use a top tier gas like Shell and you'll be fine.

I was offered a cleaning by my dealer when I hit 60k. I don't have the M3, but I will likely just use Seafoam before my next oil change. I did that in my old direct injection VW and it worked wonders.

[shendrick]

Its a way for dealers to extract $ from whales

[BPMSport]

Originally Posted by apecush

A real injector cleaning involves the removal of the injectors and ultrasonically cleaning them using an appropriate solution. This typically costs arond $20/injector + removal/re-install.

Cleaning is not for carbon, it is for varnish and other deposits from the fuel. The injectors are generally not exposed to combustion carbon as they are in the intake tract not the actual cylinders.

+10

And not necessary, I wouldn't do it at your mileage.

[robb7979]

Hasn't the fuel injector cleaning been a scam for a while now? I'm surprised to see BMW going to this level of depravity.

[Ateam]

I don't think its a "scam" however just another overpriced service that can be had for a fraction of the cost at autozone. BMW relabels chevron techron fuel injection cleaner. They also do offer a larger service that injects stuff directly into the fuel system.

If you use decent quality gas from day 1 and go ahead and use a bottle of chevron techron with each oil change (I plan to do it at 7500 with oil and techron) then this will give you the absolute best chance at keeping everything spotless

[spyderco10]

my dealer recommends i have the fuel injectors cleaned every year when i go in for service, and i put on less than 4k miles/year. iirc they charge like $300 for it. they also want to align my wheels at every service for another $300.

[JCtx]

BMW recommends oil changes every 15K miles because they're paying for it. And dealers would recommend it every 1,500 miles if they could get away with it to make more money. The optimal interval lies somewhere in-between, so consumer education thru forums like this is the best way to find the right maintenance approach for your needs.
I'd take any dealer 'recommendation' with a grain of salt .

[muzeon]

I just brought my car in to replace a daytime running light bulb. The SA said since I'm at 22k miles, for the first 20k miles BMW 'suggest' a fuel injection service. But it's not covered under the service warranty because it can be caused by 'outside influence'. Cost $250.

I said no thanks, glad I read this thread!

He also said my rear tires are low (4.32 I think). Is that true?

[cohenfive]

i was really appalled by the s.a. at my dealer offering up a fuel injector service and a wheel alignment on a 1 year old car with 12k miles that is running perfectly and where the tires are in perfect shape (rears only about a month old). that really ticked me off, on top of their not fixing my tpms issue because i have aftermarket wheels.

[Ateam]

An alignment once a year is actually pretty reasonable. You cannot always tell if your tires are wearing unevenly and bad alignment can really stress many suspension parts causing increase wear and tear. The fuel injection service is a joke but alignment once a year is pretty reasonable. I get one every 2 years but 1 year is not by any means overkill