Engine Flush & Injector Clean at 20K? Serious?

[prav]

I have a 2008 VTIL and just had the 20K KM service done at the Honda Stealership. All up cost me around $220.

What I dont understand is why they would do an Engine Flush and Injector clean for a car that has done such few K's?

Is this normal?

My second car is a 1995 RAV4 which I service myself and I have only flushed the Engine once at 100K KM and do not use any Injector clean products, I opt to run some 98 RON every 4 tanks of petrol as these have cleaning agents in the fuel itself.

Edit : Anyone servicing their Civic at a Honda Stealership please read this thread!

[bennjamin]

just my opinion

You are getting ripped off.A new car , even let alone a older car should never need a engine flush. It is a gimmick that dealers add ontop to make money out of you.
Consistent oil changes and using say 95 or 98 octane fuel will keep both your engine clean and clear of sludge , and deposits on your injectors.

[prav]

You are getting ripped off.

Thats what I figured.

I will let this one go through as from what I understand with Engines, the first lot of oil used on a new engine is quite coarse to wear in the engine before they start using standard oil (this is my reasoning.....).

I will keep an eye on this in future though. I think it may be due to the fact that m wife took the car in the last time.

[bennjamin]

ask for an estimate and quote before taking the car in. If you dont agree to what they will do , tell them.

[dmx]

just my opinion

You are getting ripped off.A new car , even let alone a older car should never need a engine flush. It is a gimmick that dealers add ontop to make money out of you.
Consistent oil changes and using say 95 or 98 octane fuel will keep both your engine clean and clear of sludge , and deposits on your injectors.

did mine at 40k ? what do u think ben ?
but i feel the engine have better response or just my sense..haha

[BC8]

ask for an estimate and quote before taking the car in. If you dont agree to what they will do , tell them.

yeah I agree with ben

always go for estimate and the work done before you pay up.

i've been quoted

$250 and $275 at dealerships in sydney for 20K service

[Stig]

noooooooooooo, my 20k service is comming up

[TODA AU]

You are getting ripped off.....
It is a gimmick that dealers add ontop to make money out of you.

Exactly...
Also, there is no requirement in the service schedule for either of these processes.

I agree with Ben & my take on it is,
It is likley the dealership has a deal with some addative company & tags these products onto each service.
So people are aware, addative companies are known to prowl around workshops like hawkers trying to strike up such deals.
I haven't heard of a dealership doing this, but it's not inconceivable.
The injector clean could be either an addative or an excuse to use their injector cleaning machine.

Either way, the way around it is pretty simple,
Just ask them to stick to the manufacturer's service schedule,
If they won't go to a dealer or licenced workshop that will.

[prav]

im taking my Civic in tomorrow morning as the CD changer jammed and they are replacing it under warranty for me. I will ask the service guy what the deal was with the Injector clean and engine flush and why they did and and I will report back what excuse they cook up :P

BTW, what was even more weird is how much they charged for the two and how they managed to fit it into an express service which lasts more or less an hour. FYI they bill they gave my wife reads
$12.10 - Injector Clean
$12.10 - Engine Flush

This HAS got to be some additives as I dont expect a proper Injector Clean or Engine flush can be done so quick and cost so little? WTF?

[blk_shadow]

never flush your engine. in Hondas, especially type R's. It will actually messed up your journals and timing.

[prav]

Latest update : spoke to the stealership today and the service guy said that this is done every 20,000K. I was totally shocked. More so when he said that they used "additives".

I dont know about you guys but i dont want my engine flushed every 20,000KM. That as far as I am concerned is a bit NO NO.

So in future, when you get your Civic (or any car for that matter) serviced ASK them to break down what the service includes when you get a price estimate and tell them NOT to flush the engine or clean the injectors.

i learnt my lesson this time and I hope this is some good feedback for other owners.

[Muzzy]

I just had my 20k service done today.
Similar to your story, they also tried to con me into doing a "recommended" fuel injector clean...

Lucky I read your post and refused to take up the offer. Thanks for the heads up mate!

PS: Due to this and another few things I'm truly inclined to believe that dealers are a huge rip-off!

[tinymoon]

Me too, i trully believe dealer is a f^&*&^ rip-off guy. Fuel Injector clean is now advertising heavily thru out QLD at every dealer. :D

[teh_mechanic]

just incase there is confusion, these additives literally are just bottles of additive. at our work (private workshop) we have valvoline engine flush, pour it in the engine before oil change, let it run for a bit, change oil. its mainly used for toyota's that seem to sludge up very easily or car's that have gone over 20000km since last service. It's also very useful for clearing up noisy (sticking) hydraulic lifters. With regular oil changes it is not necessary to use an engine flush.

The fuel injector cleaner is just a pour into the tank bottle. It's not a bad idea if you love your car, especially if you use a lower quality fuel most of the time etc. but yeah it is just a maintenance thing and not really necessary, i do it every 20000km or so, so i can feel warm and fuzzy inside for my car. It drops the octane rating of your fuel whilst its in the tank so its best to do the treatment when you are planning a highway trip or similar. If you wanted to do it and your concerned honda is ripping you off, just tell them to stick to the maintenance schedule and you can buy a bottle of the stuff yourself from any auto store.

[asshat]

With regular oil changes it is not necessary to use an engine flush.



What counts as regular? Changing oil every 5000 KMs?

[gumus89]

What counts as regular? Changing oil every 5000 KMs?

I change my FEO in my BB6 every 5000kms and the oil is as black as death.
Obviously why I am looking at this thread :P I will be going to edge sport 5W30 and was thinking of trying to get as much gunk out as possible during the transition.

[chichichibo]

Latest update : spoke to the stealership today and the service guy said that this is done every 20,000K. I was totally shocked. More so when he said that they used "additives".

I dont know about you guys but i dont want my engine flushed every 20,000KM. That as far as I am concerned is a bit NO NO.

So in future, when you get your Civic (or any car for that matter) serviced ASK them to break down what the service includes when you get a price estimate and tell them NOT to flush the engine or clean the injectors.

i learnt my lesson this time and I hope this is some good feedback for other owners.
Hi, may i ask, why it is not good to let them flush the engine? (apart from the cost)
and, what is 'additives'??
thanks :)

[chichichibo]

just incase there is confusion, these additives literally are just bottles of additive. at our work (private workshop) we have valvoline engine flush, pour it in the engine before oil change, let it run for a bit, change oil. its mainly used for toyota's that seem to sludge up very easily or car's that have gone over 20000km since last service. It's also very useful for clearing up noisy (sticking) hydraulic lifters. With regular oil changes it is not necessary to use an engine flush.

The fuel injector cleaner is just a pour into the tank bottle. It's not a bad idea if you love your car, especially if you use a lower quality fuel most of the time etc. but yeah it is just a maintenance thing and not really necessary, i do it every 20000km or so, so i can feel warm and fuzzy inside for my car. It drops the octane rating of your fuel whilst its in the tank so its best to do the treatment when you are planning a highway trip or similar. If you wanted to do it and your concerned honda is ripping you off, just tell them to stick to the maintenance schedule and you can buy a bottle of the stuff yourself from any auto store.

hmm....so, may i ask, what exactly a fuel injector cleaner is for?
and is it just pour into the engine will do? no need to replace the engine oil until next service after pouring in?
i saw so many automotive product at auto shop, but dont know which is really useful for my FD2....... :(

[chichichibo]

I change my FEO in my BB6 every 5000kms and the oil is as black as death.
Obviously why I am looking at this thread :P I will be going to edge sport 5W30 and was thinking of trying to get as much gunk out as possible during the transition.

may i ask among all the Genuine Honda engine oil, which one is the best? 5W-30? 10W-30?
and what are the diferences between them?