WDP-Acura TL

TODAY AT THE MOBIL Oil station they recommended me to get my fuels cleaned. They said I due for that service. I said ok. They hooked this container with green solution inside with a tube connected to it. Took my fuel line from my engine and plugged the two lines together. Then told me to turn my car on and he kept my car idling at 2500 rps. My car was draining the liquid from the bottle. After all the liquid was gone, he reved my car higher. My cars exhaust started spitting out white smoke. The mechanic said that was the contaminents that built up in my engine. This cost me $54.00. Im wondering now was that neccessary and is a fuel cleaner that you pour in the gas tank sufficent? Thanks for the responses.

SilverQuartzTL

The white smoke was not the contaminants, it was whatever those jokers ran through your fuels system burning off. This is not an Acura recommended service and is something that probably shouldn't need to be done unless you are having fuel system problems.

Bottom line... you're out $54 bucks and your car doesn't have the slightest clue what happened.

fasttl

SUCKER!

mickey3c

I think I added fuel injector cleaner to a full gas tank once in 83,000 miles. I would not be doing anything like that to my car.

WDP-Acura TL

What those f$%kers ripped me off. Hmmmm. My car did have a slight hesitation when I accelerated my car. It doesn't exist anymore. But you guys think that wa worthless. That really sucks.

mickey3c

Your car is what about 15 months old? And you had a hesitation? Premium gas typically comes from the same place regardless of what station you buy it. Yes, I hear some companies might have some different additives. But aside from fuel injector cleaner in your gas tank I have never known anyone to need the 54 dollar service that you had ..

empathy

the white smoke could the cleaners removing carbon build up. is it always good to remove carbon build up? sometimes yes, sometimes no. for older cars, the carbon build up makes a seal and helps prevent leaks. for 54 dollars, you could of had done a lot more other stuff :P i forgot what the product is called, but it's about 4 dollars and it does the samething that the mechanics did. 1/3 in ur gas tank, 1/3 gets sucked through ur brake booster, 1/3 in your oil. run ur car for a little and drain ur oil and ur done.

WDP-Acura TL

Oh well. I am out of $54 dollars. Never again I'm getting that. How often must we replace our Transmission fluid?

empathy

it should be in the manual. i would do it every 10,000 miles, but i still follow the 3000 mile oil change intervals..see what other people on this forum has to say about it.

mickey3c

Change the tranny fluid every 10,000!? That's just crazy... I would follow the manual or change it every other year or 30K. I still think it is crazy since they should be able to get 50K from tranny fluid. The acura 5AT is rather delicate and so I would do it every 30K. Remember the oil jet was installed to get more lubrication to second gear, so it might be a good idea to get ir changed every other year. Another money maker for acura! 90 bucks for a drain and fill and about 120 for a flush...

I heard somewhere the reason for changing the tranny fluid so often was because there is no filter in the system.

ndx2

Sorry, I'm not laughing at you, WDP. Just at that thoughtful comment.

The general rule, which you really should've learned at the age of 26 (unless, of course, you just started driving for whatever reason, and this is your first car), is that you decline the "recommended service" these shops offer (at a special discount good for today only - lucky you!). Since these grease monkeys suck at sales pitch, a simple "no" would do. Just remember what the recommended services were and cross reference your manual, the owners on this forum, and/or the Acura dealership.

SodaLuvr

I think most would agree with me on BITOG that "shocking" the fuel system with a cleaning periodically or "shocking" it with a bottle of Techron periodically does little good since it wouldn't keep the fuel system clean, continuously.

Thus, I recommend using a fuel system cleaner such as FP60 at every fill-up, to keep the fuel system clean and to reduce nox levels, insolubles, and improve combustion efficiency.

It is MUCH cheaper than paying a grease monkey $50+ to clean the system.

As for ATF, drain/refill for the first time at <10K to remove the break-in debris. Then, drain/refill every 10-15K thereafter, as the TL does not have a serviceable filter. A disposable magnefine in-line tranny filter is a good investment, but it may be wise to wait until you're out of warranty.

Michael