Anyone ever heard of this? Can't say that I have. Took the 06 xA into the Toyota dealership for a post-drop alignment; and the service tech recommended that an EFI INDUCTION SERVICE be performed because of the high ethanol content in gasoline causing excessive carbon deposits on the intake side.

It threw me for a loop when he recommended it. I thought ethanol was added to major pump gasoline for a cleaner burn, not a dirtier one. Not only that, but I've never - in years upon years of car ownership and service/maintenance - heard of such (rubbish?) a thing.

Is this perhaps recommended because of the inaccessible (maintenance-free) fuel filtration system in the xA/xB/Yaris/Echo? Or, is this just another money-making ($166 quoted for this service, by the way) scam that Toyota dealerships pull on 1 out of 10 customers who come in for service? Interestingly enough, I was at the dealership for a coolant system flush/refill just one month back; and this so-called INDUCTION SERVICE wasn't recommended, nor was any other service for that matter. Anybody have a clue?

 

No response yet but over 140 views? Hmmm. . . Until someone can prove its validity, I think I'll take the lack of responses as evidence that this so-called INDUCTION SERVICE recommendation is nothing more than a heaping load of excrement. Beware.

Funny - I was just watching the movie, FARGO, last night. This induction service recommendation reminds me of the car salesman in the movie who tries so hard to convince his customers to purchase "paint sealant treatment".

 

ethanol is bad for our cars mainly fuel lines and injectors seals and what nots
unless it was designed to run off it in the first place...
we are at most able to run 10% ethanol...

it's just a scam and don't bother with it and you'll be better off just using a off the shelf product you buy at the store/parts house

 

Complete and utter scam.

 

Yep, figures. I wonder if there are any 'former' dealership techs around here who would like to share and perhaps argue (with evidence) the validity/integrity/benefit of such a service.

I mean, it doesn't sounds like total BS, just more than a bit shady that it would cost so much. I suppose I can imagine the benefits of removing buildup from the intake mani, throttle body and fuel injectors, but it's the cost that I have a hard time swallowing relative to the marginal benefit it could provide.

 

Sound pretty certain about that. I'm leaning toward total scam too, but I can't say that I can't imagine what slim benefit (if any) such a service could provide. 1 MPG more efficient may be a tiny improvement, but it's an improvement nonetheless - if of course such an improvement were measured under controlled circumstances.

The way I see it, the cleaner the better. Now, $166 better? Ummm. . . no, not in this case.

 

It doesn't hurt to get it done, but I usually check the throttle plate for any carbon build up if i recommend it. It wont hurt anything to get it done but it wont kill your car if you don't do it. It's basically a non Toyota recommended service, it will clean up the throttle body and the fuel injectors and internals. Some of the older throttle cable driven Toyota's would come in with the gas pedal sticking at times and we would perform the service due to all the build up on the throttle body. So in reality no you don't have to do it but it wouldn't hurt, the price is very expensive for what they quoted you. We charge 129.99 at my dealership to perform the service. Hope this was some help for you

 

Yes, it helps tremendously to hear from someone who evidently works for a dealership. I can understand the justification for the service, but there's nothing wrong with my car. As preventative maintenance and being one who's quite obsessive about his cars, I can understand that too; but the quoted price was really stretching it. Even at $130, I'm pretty shocked. I'm assuming that the cost of labor is the reason for such steep pricing.

So, if I were to perform this service on my own, would you recommend a new throttle body to intake manifold gasket? Are there any o-rings for the injectors that would need to be replaced if I decided to remove the injectors? Also, would you happen to know the torque specs for the bolts securing the throttle body/intake mani interface? And what about the MAP sensor? Should that be sprayed with MAP sensor cleaner while I'm at it? There appears also to be an idle air control valve. Should that be cleaned as well along with a new gasket?

Sorry to bombard you there with 20 questions, but you sound knowledgeable.

Much obliged!

 

I have 50k on my 2011 xb and my personal mechanic (whom I totally trusted) recommend this (is this the same as fuel injection cleaning) and after I totally notice a better throttle response. Low end feels a little bit quicker.

 

a search of google has yet to yield any positive review or recommendation of this service.

 

I have personally done many of these services on customer vehicles, not a scam (most of the time). It does very from car to car, and dealer to dealer , on how well it works. The best one that I have used is a machine you actually hook up to the fuel lines and run the car off of the fuel in the machine mixed with a very strong cleaning agent. It is called a motor -vac and I believe snap-on makes it.

Other "box" systems I have used can be hit and miss. As far as what brands to use I couldn't tell you, we use a few different products at my shop but I've only used one. I personally didn't notice a difference with the amsoil product we sell but some customers have come back and praised it so to each their own.

Guess I should say it was a 92 cavalier that I used these products on just in case that matters.

 

Yeah, tell me about it. I noticed that too. . .

However, I have dug up a few supporters of this service: primarily owners of high-odometer, older vehicles that weren't particularly well-maintained or burned a bunch of inferior fuel throughout their lifespans.

I'm sure it wouldn't hurt the car to have it done, but I'm leaning toward my own garage method instead of a certified shop/dealer that's going to charge $100+ to hook up a machine to the fuel system. Now, I haven't a clue how 'labor intensive' such a procedure is (could probably find out on youtube though); but if 90% of it involves automated equipment, then the quoted prices I'm seeing for such a service are nothing more than your run-of-the-mill highway robbery.

 

I really appreciate the input. It always helps tremendously to hear from someone who's actually in the biz. Thanks.

 

I don't think you paying for the labor. I think you would be pretty much paying for the machine they bought. :-/

 

Yeah, sounds that way, doesn't it? Guess it depends on where you have it done and how the shop calculates their ROI on such a machine and/or the labor involved. At any rate, though, this is something that I'll do on my own if I do it at all.

 

I'm actually getting induction service right now...forced induction service... lol

 

Yep, that would do the trick, assuming you're swapping the intake manifold, throttle body, injectors and valves with high performance replacement parts in the process ;)