Auto - Carbon Flush?

Took my car in for a 36,000 mile service and was told that a "carbon flush or service" is being recommended for my carb, fuel system. It's on a 2004 Dodge Stratus.

Has anyone ever heard of a carbon flush/service? I'm being told that the "recommended" interval is once a year - at $150 a pop.

Funny though, because it's not in my service manual - surprise.

I put 186,000 on a Mazda 626 without ever "flushing" the injectors.

I currently have a Ford Explorer with 175,000 on it, and it's never had that done, either.

Both vehicles are fuel injected.

-Kevin

I'm willing to bet you took your car to one of the 15-minute lube
joints... where their SOP is to upsell the $19.95 oil change by
claiming your knueter valve or PCV widget is due for service.

A Google search for 'carbon flush' supports this theory. Although
it might be a valid procedure for diesel engines.

Never heard of a carbon flush. Just get some Lucas Fuel Treatment and follow the instructions on the bottle. It's about $9 per quart at an auto store, like Advance Auto. A quart will last at least a year or more. I use it and I think it works great. Seen in the upper right of this page: https://www.anythingtruck.com/performance_lucas.html

BS. Pure BS. Steer clear of this vendor in the future.

Later,
EV
- Automotive Engineer

The last time I took my work car in for an oil change, at one of those 15 minute places, the told my I was due for an injector flush. It was only going to cost 29.99, and wouldn't take but a few extra minutes. I said no. It's just another plot to get your money. All they would do, is to open your gas cap, and pour in a bottle of injector cleaner. Now, I have had an "injector service" done to my truck, which did involve removing the injectors, and cleaning and inspecting them, and I watched them do it.

The automotive industry has become like any other, probably worse, since there's so many people who know nothing other than buy it and drive it. Most repair places take advantage of this. If you can find a reputable, trustworthy local mechanic (difficult, I know), use them exclusively. Even if it costs a little more. I'm lucky enough to have one, which suprisingly was also my first job ever, that does only what you need or want, and their prices are very reasonable. I had them put shocks (I bought the shocks) on my truck, and one of the leaf springs had become unseated and turned, they straightened that out, and I was only charged 40 bucks. They don't go by the industry standard charges from a book, they charge what they think is reasonable.

Oh, I forgot to mention this . . . it's a Dodge dealership.

I took it in just shy of 36,000 miles to ensure that if anything major's wrong it's covered by the warranty.

I'm not having it done, unless I discover it's legit.

Originally posted by akpilot
Oh, I forgot to mention this . . . it's a Dodge dealership.

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Not surprised. We've had a Dodge dealership try to get us to pay for a "brake cleaning", which means pulling the wheels and spraying a $5 can of brake cleaner in there. For the low, low price of $39.95.

-Kevin

36,000 miles is not enough to warrant doing anything inside the engine or fuel system. unless there is a real problem.

Some call it carbon flush, or motorvac. It is NOT B.S.

Not at all needed on a 36,000 mile car. Mabey 136,000 miles, if the right symptoms are present.

The process uses cleaning agents, mixed with fuel for a preset length of time. The result is to clean the carbon deposits from the valves and combustion chambers.

This system is far more efective than the fuel system cleaners in a bottle.

Usually done when a vehicle doen not pass an emission test, and the test results indicate an unclean burn.

I would never recomend a motorvac for any engine with less than 89,000 miles and only if the vehicle presents the right conditions. Regular charge in the S.E. Massachusetts area is $69.00 to $89.00.

Some cars are more expensive to motorvac, depends on the make and model. Due to the fact the the machine must be connected to the fuel system and the vehicle's Fuel system isolated or run in a closed loop (depending on the vehicle).

Hope this helps. I've been an auto mechanic for 25 years.

did they offer to top off the blinker fluid too????

Originally posted by SwingWing
did they offer to top off the blinker fluid too????

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No I made sure I filled that up before I went.

The Honda dealer tried to sell put nitrogen in our tires for $50 with free refills for life. They said the nitrogen molecules are bigger than air "molecules".

at least they didn't tell you that your blinker fluid was low

Last time I went to Jiffy-Rob I declined their offer to:

• Upgade the air in the tires to new high performance air
• Replace the brake pedal as If i had kids in the car and could not get good traction in an emergency, ie would not be able to live with myself
• Really happened - vacuum out my oil pan

In college, I worked as a part-time mechanic at the corner service station, we had this rich old lady, that would bring her car in EVERY two weeks to have the tires rotated, and the AIR changed in them. She stayed and watched to be sure we bled each one and reinflated them. Boss charged her 50 bucks for the air job and 50 buck for the rotation. Said she had been doing the same thing for about 10 years... he just got tired of argueing with her and started doing it... (he gave me 20 of the air money so i didnt complain)

thats the problem.. people TRUST mechanics and other service "professionals" without question... most times what they suggest isnt really needed. Somewhere in that poor ladies history... some fool told her that the air went bad in the tires over time... what he probably told her, was that it might seep out over time... who knows how it started. worked there 4 years and changed her air every two weeks.

later
Jerryb

Originally posted by m85476585
The Honda dealer tried to sell put nitrogen in our tires for $50 with free refills for life. They said the nitrogen molecules are bigger than air "molecules".

Click to expand...

Here is a web page that describes the de-carbon procedure:

https://homepage.ntlworld.com/dorothy.bradbury/probemx/p_p6.htm

I have found a lot of good information for my Ford Probe on this web site. You might want to look for something similar for your car.

I heard this years ago on a Disney cartoon and I think I was the only one to catch this remark. The cartoon had a salesman giving a shpeal (is that a word?) on a used car.

"And it comes with Original Factory Air ...in the tires."