If you spend any amount of time at an auto parts store, you’ve surely seen the wall of chemicals, additives, unguents, and potions claiming to cure all your car’s ills. You know what I’m talking about, right? At best, these various automotive tinctures are temporary cures that allow you to limp your car to the nearest mechanic for a real repair — or to sell it quickly if you don’t have any morals. At worst, they’re snake oil — a way to separate automotive-illiterate rubes from their money ten bucks at a time.
Most of this stuff works on the placebo theory and is aggressively marketed by companies like Bar’s Leaks, Lucas Oil, and K-Seal. We all know that now in 2025, Google is mostly worthless and clogged with AI slop unless you’re real careful and specific with your search queries. I just think it’s interesting when you search for, say, “Does radiator stop leak work”, all your top results are studies done and published by either the companies selling the stuff, blog entries by Auto Zone, or 4,000-page arguments on some forum. Of course, the first two all say the same thing, “Oh, yeah, this stuff is great. Totally works. Buy a crate of it.” Sounds legit.
Now, look. I hear you. “But, Jason, what about a fuel injector cleaner?” Ah, okay, what about it? Is fuel injector cleaner snake oil? Does it actually work? Well, let’s talk about it.
Does fuel injector cleaner really work?
In a word — or two? Kind of. According to a study performed by Motor Trend, proper usage — that is, usage of the product per the instructions of the bottle — yielded no change in the output of well-used injectors on a pair of the magazine’s test cars. I’ve found other studies on the subject, but they’re mostly performed by the companies trying to sell you this stuff in the first place. They might be a bit biased, you know? There are also other publications that state that fuel injector cleaner works, but again, they tend to source Techron, Chevron, and Reddit, of all places.
One thing that nearly all of these sources point out, once you get through all the promises of improved performance and extra horsepower — and how this stuff’ll shoot around corners and make you breakfast in the morning — is that using it isn’t a cure. It’s a preventative at best. Preventative maintenance is great — it’ll save you more money in the long run — but these various tinctures and tonics aren’t a replacement for a good, honest, mechanical cleaning by a certified mechanic.
Should you use a fuel injection cleaner? Honestly, if you buy good quality gasoline from name brand stations, you shouldn’t need to. Modern fuel is chock full of various cleaners and detergents designed to keep modern fuel systems as clean as possible, especially higher octane fuels and those without too much corn squeezins in it. Just use good gas, get it from someplace reputable, and save your money for road snacks.