Auto Throttle Body Servicing & Injector Flush: 2017 Equivalent to Strut Scam????

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patriciamgr2
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Auto Throttle Body Servicing & Injector Flush: 2017 Equivalent to Strut Scam????

Post by patriciamgr2 »

I own a 3 y/o Subaru Impreza (the boring version, not the zoomy, turbocharged WRX model) with less than 35,000 miles. Repair place recommended servicing (I assume that means cleaning) throttle body and performing an injector flush. I'm not experiencing any performance issues or getting bad mileage.

I've never heard of doing this for a low-mileage vehicle, but I keep my cars for so long, it's been over a decade since I had a low-mileage car! I also tend to be too cynical about auto repair proposals.

I'd be grateful for any thoughts. Thanks in Advance.
runner3081
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Re: Auto Throttle Body Servicing & Injector Flush: 2017 Equivalent to Strut Scam????

Post by runner3081 »

Better off reading/posting on one of the many excellent Subaru forums out there, this topic has come up a bunch.

https://www.google.com/search?client=op ... 8&oe=UTF-8
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StevieG72
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Re: Auto Throttle Body Servicing & Injector Flush: 2017 Equivalent to Strut Scam????

Post by StevieG72 »

It is a money maker for the shop.

Not needed, skip that service.

Review the owners manual service recommendations. I doubt you find mention of throttle body service at 35,000 miles.
Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.
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patriciamgr2
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Re: Auto Throttle Body Servicing & Injector Flush: 2017 Equivalent to Strut Scam????

Post by patriciamgr2 »

Thanks Stevie. I appreciate you sharing your opinion.

Runner: Thx for link to Outback site. I had searched Impreza owners' site, but the turbocharged group DIYs & the discussion focuses on performance issues. The Outback site was more helpful.
keaton
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Re: Auto Throttle Body Servicing & Injector Flush: 2017 Equivalent to Strut Scam????

Post by keaton »

Scam...

People LOVE injector cleaning, which is a joke since gasoline IS an excellent solvent. Add to the fact that 10% ethanol is even better of a cleaning solvent.

Cleaning throttle body on that low of mileage is very rare, and The ones I've done are over 200k miles. Most don't even need it depending on the make and model.

Side note: if you own a diesel, yes having injectors serviced in the 200k-300k range is just fine. This is a totally different issue as the nozzles on diesel injectors do tend to wear or have spray pattern issues. Way more important to have a diesel injector work correctly then a gasoline injector.
MindBogler
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Re: Auto Throttle Body Servicing & Injector Flush: 2017 Equivalent to Strut Scam????

Post by MindBogler »

keaton wrote:Scam...

People LOVE injector cleaning, which is a joke since gasoline IS an excellent solvent. Add to the fact that 10% ethanol is even better of a cleaning solvent.
No, it's not a scam. The scam is paying someone to clean your injectors. All they do is dump a can of BG-44K or similar into the fuel tank. Go on Amazon and buy a can of BG-44K, it is a professional grade injector cleaner. They're about $15 and you should do it once a year.
amd2135
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Re: Auto Throttle Body Servicing & Injector Flush: 2017 Equivalent to Strut Scam????

Post by amd2135 »

This strongly depends on the vehicle.

Throttle body cleaning- On my old GMC Envoy the throttle body absolutely had to be cleaned at a regular interval (30k miles). Failure to do so would come at a significant fuel economy penalty. Throttle response would lag and idle would get rough.

This service wasn't mentioned in the manual, but neither were other some other important maintenance items. Google was definitely my friend there.

Thankfully I was able to do this myself to save some cash. Throttle body cleaner is VERY nasty stuff though so you need to be careful with it.

Injector flush- Use Top Tier fuel and it's likely unnecessary on most vehicles. But this is also strongly vehicle dependent. I personally don't bother with it.
RudyS
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Re: Auto Throttle Body Servicing & Injector Flush: 2017 Equivalent to Strut Scam????

Post by RudyS »

MindBogler wrote:
keaton wrote:Scam...

People LOVE injector cleaning, which is a joke since gasoline IS an excellent solvent. Add to the fact that 10% ethanol is even better of a cleaning solvent.
No, it's not a scam. The scam is paying someone to clean your injectors. All they do is dump a can of BG-44K or similar into the fuel tank. Go on Amazon and buy a can of BG-44K, it is a professional grade injector cleaner. They're about $15 and you should do it once a year.
Reminds me of the old days (like 50 years ago, 57 Chevvie, etc.) when every year or so I put a can of Gum-Out into the gas tank. A cheap and effective way to "clean the carburetor." But I usually waited till I saw symptoms, like rough idling.
ArmchairArchitect
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Re: Auto Throttle Body Servicing & Injector Flush: 2017 Equivalent to Strut Scam????

Post by ArmchairArchitect »

Make sure to always use a brand of gas that meets "Top Tier" specifications: http://www.toptiergas.com/licensedbrands/

Non-Top Tier brands have 19x more carbon deposits, and no, it's not a gimmick. This has been independently verified by many sources.

Other than that, throw Techron cleaner in the gas tank right before a fill-up, at least once per year.

As for the throttle body, any dirt around the valve would be due to a dirty air filter. So make sure you change your air filter regularly (very easy, takes 5 minutes). If you feel like cleaning the throttle body, pull off the hose/pipe that leads up to it which will gain you access to the inside of the throttle body. Once in there, use a rag, q-tip, and rubbing alcohol to clean out any dirt inside, especially on/around the valve. Another optional thing to do at the same time is to carefully (it's sensitive) clean the MAF (Mass Airflow sensor) with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol.
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patriciamgr2
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Re: Auto Throttle Body Servicing & Injector Flush: 2017 Equivalent to Strut Scam????

Post by patriciamgr2 »

Thanks so much for all of the excellent replies. I am very grateful for your time & expertise.
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Re: Auto Throttle Body Servicing & Injector Flush: 2017 Equivalent to Strut Scam????

Post by iamlucky13 »

ArmchairArchitect wrote:Make sure to always use a brand of gas that meets "Top Tier" specifications: http://www.toptiergas.com/licensedbrands/

Non-Top Tier brands have 19x more carbon deposits, and no, it's not a gimmick. This has been independently verified by many sources.

Other than that, throw Techron cleaner in the gas tank right before a fill-up, at least once per year.
If you're using Top Tier fuel, an additional additive should be unnecessary. If you live in an area where Top Tier fuel is significantly more expensive than non-rated fuel, you might consider using the additive occasionally instead, but even Arco now claims to meet the Top Tier standard. In my area, the main sellers that do not are the gas stations owned by the grocery stores.

As background, Top-Tier is not a rating created by the fuel industry, who obviously is a non-neutral party, but by the auto manufacturers, who are more interested in vehicle longevity than in selling gasoline, and who test their engines well beyond the lives of regular vehicles. If you check your owner's manual, you may find that the manufacture does actually recommend this. My 15 year old Honda, for example, says "We recommend gasolines containing detergent additives that help prevent fuel system and engine deposits."

The 19X figure comes from a report commissioned by AAA.
http://newsroom.aaa.com/2016/07/aaa-not ... ted-equal/

A caveat is that the report is based on an out-of-vehicle (dynamometer) test designed to accelerate deposit build-up, and it didn't investigate if deposits tend to continue building up at the same rate over the life of the engine or plateau at some point. It also did not attempt to quantify how the deposits might affect engine life expectancy.

Lastly, while Top Tier fuel reduces intake valve deposits radically (-95%), it only slightly reduces deposits on the piston tops (-8%), and slightly increased cylinder head deposits (+17%).

Total deposits were reduced by 27% in AAA test, so the 19x higher claim isn't quite so simple, but I suppose valve deposits are more likely to cause issues than cylinder deposits.
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