Although many don't agree with me, I bring my 2002 Maxima to Nissan Service based on the maintenance schedule book. My question is: I'm bringing the car in for the 18,750 Mile Service and besides the normal changing of the oil and inspecting belts and stuff they recommend two other services. I wanted to ask if you all think they are a waste of money or if they seem resonable. They are as follows:

1) FUEL INJECTION SERVICE $119.95

"Becasue deposits build up in your fuel induction system if not cleaned periodically, we recommend this service at regular intervals to help your engine performance and fuel mileage. Highly effective cleaners are applied by our technicians utilizing specialized equipment to clean your car's entire fuel induction system."

AND/OR

2) THROTTLE PLATE SERVICE $59.95

"Using specialized equipment our technicians will quickly and effectively clean and service your throttle plate and air idle control valve by removing built up deposits. These deposits cause rough idle, surging, and poor throttle response. This service will restore lost power and performance and will reduce harmful exhaust emissions."


Should I have either or both of these services done or am I throwing my money away?

 

Is this and addendum to the original NISSAN printed manual? I would ask to be present for that second one for sure. Sounds like a scam job. Easy to charge and "forget" to do.

The fuel injection service might need further explanation. If they just add something to the fuel, no frickin way. But do remember that Nissan does NOT recommend fuel additives. I cant see a difference in a fuel added cleaner versus force fed cleaner?

 

Here is a link for the "do-it-yourself" throttle body cleaning. http://www.motorvate.ca/ This instruction is for the 4th gen Max but the process should be the same.
Regarding to the fuel injector service, I was told by a mechanic who work at the dealer said that the service involved adding a BG-44K fuel system cleaner to the gas tank after running a hookup concentrated fuel injector cleaner machine on the engine. This is for a severe case. But since your car is still relatively new, I suggest that you should add a bottle of the BG-44K fuel system cleaner to your gas tank and run it empty prior to your scheduled oil change, as a preventive maintenance. Your other alternative is to get the Redline SI-1, fuel system cleaner. It is highly recomended by what I've researched and is pretty fair pricewise. Here is the link http://www.myoilshop.com/AutoPrds.html (there is a 10% discount code (675421) if you decide to make purchase from this site)

 

This is all my understanding and as I am not a mechanic by trade you have to take it for what it is worth. I would suggest you ask your service manager to explain the pro's and con's of each operation.

These are both really a matter of the quality of gas you buy and the quality of your air filter. They are intended to keep up your gas mileage and power by preventing deposits from building up. Deposits from the fuel can clog your injectors (less fuel == less power). Air particles can restrict/retard your throttle plate from turning fully or easily (slower or less response to WOT).

If you buy low quality gas than you can consider these options. If you monitor your gas milage and see a significant degradation over time (a small variation in MPG is not really significant as there are many factors that impact MPG) than I would consider them. At ~19k miles it is unlikely your car is suffering for either of these problems. These operations are usually done with a tune-up which for 5th gen's is 100K miles (or 120k I can't remember).

If the injector cleaner is simply adding Nissan Fuel injection additive than go to the parts department and buy the can yourself and pour it in. This is unlikely the case for this cost. For this price they are probably using a high pressure cleaner with the injectors removed from the car. This is much more reasonable in that they will remove all deposits from the injector. They will also be able to tell if the injector needs to be replaced. Since you don't have the equipment yourself you might want to consider this option if your gas mileage is poor.

Throttle plate cleaning requires them to remove the air intake system and spray cleaner on the plate and lubricate the assembly. This is something you could do if you are so inclined (especially if you've already done the air intake replacement). Replacing your air filter regularly will prevent most of the throttle body plate problems.

More importantly is what would happen if you don't do them. Your car would feel sluggish but since that is really hard to objectively tell, MPG is really the only thing to go by. MPG would go down pretty significantly, 20% or more. The first option then would be to use a gasoline additive then try the high pressure injector cleaner. If they failed, then you would probably need new injectors which is expensive.

The MAF would likely be destroyed before the throttle plate showed any problems. So I just don't see doing anything there unless it was really obvious.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks so much for your very informative explanations. I think I am going to hold off on both extra services since I use NOTHING but 93 octane Mobil gas and havent seen any decline in MPG. I will probably get these services done at the 3 year point when they recommend doing it again. Thanks again.

 

Wisest thing to do. As much as I hate Nissan N.A., this site is what makes me love my car on an everyday basis. People here are informative and extremely knowledgeable. I cleaned my throttle body at 40K and it was virtually clean when I performed the service. I only run Exxon and Mobil93, which is what the service manual calls for anyway. That write-up you were referred to is super-easy to follow. If your car felt sluggish at 18K, I think you have other problems, serious ones. That doesn't sound like the case. I'd probably also hold off on the injector cleaning for now. It does sound like a smart thing to do at about 100K.