Is replacing car fuel injectors better than cleaning them? Yes, because injector performance is based on more than just cleanliness. There are seals and electromechanical actuators that can also wear. Such problems can also cause injector performance to degrade.
Generally, we recommend that you clean your injectors every 15,000 miles. However, you could undoubtedly do it less frequently: about every 30,00 miles or once a year. You may also want to be careful about the gas you put into the vehicle and always check its quality beforehand.
A clean fuel system can improve the longevity of your vehicle, increase power and performance, improve fuel economy and drive ability. Many of us tend to neglect cleaning our vehicle's fuel system, not realizing that this is actually a vital component to prolong the life of your car.
"Fuel injectors have an atomizing nozzle that distributes fuel evenly for optimal combustion and efficiency." Now, a vehicle will typically have one fuel injector per cylinder, with a lifespan of between 50,000 and 100,000 miles, or about 80,000 and 160,000 kilometers.
If you have one or more faulty fuel injectors — due to wear or mechanical or electrical issues, driving for a long time can cause several problems: Stalling or failure for your car to start. Flooding of your engine. Pre-ignition of your fuel.
CARS.COM — Cleaning fuel injectors is a service frequently recommended by dealers and repair shops. But unless there are noticeable signs of clogged fuel injectors (such as a rough idle, stalling, poor acceleration or high emissions levels), it might not be necessary.
Although fuel injectors are an important maintenance service for your vehicle, they are a relatively affordable service that most people can add to a standard oil change. The average cost of a fuel injection service ranges between $50 and $80 dollars depending on the model and make of a vehicle.
Replacement Schedule for Injectors
In normal driving conditions, the Fuel Injectors should be changed every 50-100k miles.
How long it takes to clean your fuel injectors can vary slightly, but you should expect it to take anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour for a professional mechanic to clean your fuel injectors.
One of the obvious symptoms of a clogged fuel injector is the lighting up of the "Check Engine" light in your dashboard. The fault codes usually associated with a clogged fuel injector can range from misfire codes to lean codes.
If your car's idle noise has changed and feels rougher, the fuel injectors may not be delivering fuel as they should. As with misfiring, this is normally down to the injector nozzles being clogged with particles, which interfere with the atomisation and spray of the fuel.
Common causes of injector failure
While many things can cause breakdowns, the most likely cause of premature failure is fuel contamination. Fuel contamination occurs when debris in the fuel gets past the filtration, destroying the sealing surfaces. Think microns, smaller than a human's hair-sized, clearances.
Getting your fuel injectors replaced is part of maintaining your vehicle. The cost of a replacement includes parts and labor. The labor can cost between $200 and $300, while the cost of the parts will vary from $150 to $600.
Although fuel injectors are individual, they are designed to work as part of a team with the other injectors. So, if you're wondering if you can replace just one injector or all, the answer is almost always to replace them all.
Rough idling is a sign that your automobile's engine is not getting enough gasoline, and one reason why it might not be getting enough gas is that your fuel injectors are clogged. You will feel your vehicle vibrate as you sit at an idle, and you may hear the engine cutting in and out.
Replacing a Fuel Injector is definitely not cheap. It will differ quite a bit based on where you live, what brand you want to use and where you install it. But you can expect to pay up to $350. The parts themselves are up to $200 at most, so the rest will be installation and labor related to this process.
Royal Purple Max Atomizer Fuel Injector Cleaner is specifically designed to treat these engines' fuel injectors. It also maximizes horsepower and won't cause any damage to emissions systems.
Fuel Doctor is Australia's Best Injector Cleaner and Fuel System Cleaner. Initially engineered in 1994 as an industrial fuel tank cleaner it has decades of proven performance.