Fuel-system cleaning takes time, effort

By Doug McAllister

Q. Thank you for your recent article on Gasoline Direct Injection engines. It was very informative. I have a 2012 Hyundai Sonata with the 2.0 turbo engine. I currently have 60,000 miles.

I have never had the service you mentioned performed. Instead, every 3,000 miles, I put a can of Seafoam in the tank mixed with 16 gallons of fuel. I have always used either Shell or BP fuel. Does this do the same thing?

The dealer wants $140 to perform a fuel-system clean.

- John

A. Hi John, I'm glad you found the article on GDI helpful.

Even though you are using a good-quality fuel, at 60,000 miles you can be sure you have a good amount of buildup on the backside of the valves, which eventually could cause a seating problem. A regular fuel-system clean will not do the job, so save your money.

Valvoline has done an extensive amount of testing of the products on the market and found none of them to do an effective job of cleaning the valves. We've used a product developed by Valvoline over the last six years that is extremely effective. In the long run, I believe it will save you a lot of money in getting the carbon deposits on the GDI vehicle removed.

When we do a GDI service with these products, we run 22 ounces of cleaner through the fuel rail and 44 ounces fogged through the intake plenum. This is three, 22-ounce cans of cleaner and each may take up to 45 minutes to run through the engine. It takes time and costs a bit more but the results will speak for themselves.

• Douglas Automotive is at 417 W. Main St., Barrington; 123 Virginia Road, Crystal Lake; and 416 Northwest Hwy., Fox River Grove. For information, visit douglasautomotive.com. Send questions to underthehood@dailyherald.com.