4 Of The Best Fuel Injector Cleaners On The Market

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Dirty fuel injectors can cause many problems, from minor annoyances like a rough idle or lower gas mileage, to more immediate and pressing concerns like a no-start condition or a check engine light. And while many auto shops or oil change joints will try to upsell you a fuel system cleaning every 60,000 to 90,000 miles, a simple do-it-yourself solution often works just as well. In some cases, the fuel injector cleaner in a bottle that you can grab off the shelf at Auto Zone is the same product your mechanic is using.

Fuel injector cleaners do work, but not all are created equal. SlashGear has done the work for you and assembled this list of four of the best fuel injector cleaners on the market. We picked these fuel injector cleaners based on sales data, mechanics' forums, auto repair blogs, and my own experience working at oil change shops, corporate auto service chains, and independent auto shops — all of which suggested fuel system cleanings based on mileage — over my career as an automotive technician.

As a company founded to meet the racing industry's needs in 1979, Red Line Synthetic Oil knows a thing or two about keeping an engine and its fuel system working properly. Mechanics and engineers alike love Redline's complete fuel system cleaner for its proprietary blend of lubricants and high- and low-temperature detergents.

A product's material safety data sheet (MSDS) is a treasure trove of information about products that are made with chemicals. The legally required document provides the appropriate first aid, storage, handling, and firefighting measures to be taken in case of an emergency, but more interesting for our purposes is the list of substances that make up the product. According to its MSDS, Redline SI-1 Complete Fuel System Cleaner is 30-40 percent PEA, a nitrogen-based detergent that's stable enough to clean the unfriendly environment inside a combustion chamber. Deposits are lifted away and burned, and a barrier to prevent future deposits is also formed with use of PEA-based products.

Redline SI-1 claims to clean not only fuel injectors, but also carburetors, valve and combustion chambers, and pollution control valves. The product also enhances fuel stability, which is useful if you're putting that classic car in storage, and using it is as simple as pouring a bottle into your fuel tank.

Redline SI-1 Complete Fuel System Cleaner is available to order on Amazon for $16.

The best-selling fuel injector cleaner on Amazon earns its reputation with an easy-to-use product that cleans and protects the entire fuel system. It's also a versatile product, able to be used in cars and trucks as well as boats, lawn care equipment, dirt bikes, ATVs, and more. While Chevron's MSDS doesn't list PEA detergent outright, it does include something called a "trade secret," a proprietary mixture of similarly effective cleaners.

If you fill up your vehicle with Chevron fuel, you may have noticed that Techron is advertised as being in the pump; however, concentration levels between Chevron Fuel with Techron and a bottle of its fuel system cleaner are significantly different. Chevron says that a bottle of Techron Complete Fuel System Cleaner, when added to a full tank of gas, results in an additive concentration up to ten times higher than its in-fuel additive. The result of that means faster cleaning of intake valve deposits and a reduction of combustion chamber deposits.

Chevron makes a few different additives, including a fuel injector cleaner, high mileage fuel system cleaner, and a diesel version. If you're already planning on cleaning the fuel injectors, choosing a product that will do that while also cleaning valves, combustion chambers, and more seems like an easy decision.

Chevron Techron Concentrate Plus Fuel System Cleaner can be ordered on Amazon for $12.

Love it or hate it, people have strong opinions on Royal Purple. The brand's synthetic motor oil is one of the best and most popular, not just because of its unique Synerlec additive and purple dye. The brand is a little more expensive, and some fans equate that to higher performance. It's a higher-end product, but it's not going to miraculously turn your '94 Camry into a sleeper track monster.

A stabilizer for seldom-used engines and a fuel system cleaner for all engines, Royal Purple Max-Clean Fuel System Cleaner and Stabilizer claims to provide a laundry list of benefits to your vehicle. Horsepower and fuel economy can improve, deposits are removed and prevented, and even emissions can be improved. It's a lot of bang for your buck from one of the most trusted brands in automotive fluid additives, and is well reviewed on automotive blogs and retail sites like AutoZone. Royal Purple even goes so far as to provide a data sheet with test results from independent labs to verify the product's abilities.

A 20-ounce can of Royal Purple Max-Clean Fuel System Cleaner and Stabilizer can be purchased from Amazon for $13.

My first experience with BG44K was when I started working at an independent auto shop. It came in a big silver can with a pop top, and when we ran it through a vehicle's throttle body using a canister pressurized with shop air, it produced some of the heaviest, whitest clouds I had ever seen. From my experience, it's one of the best fuel system cleaners I've ever used, with customers often coming back or referring friends after seeing a significant improvement in both fuel economy and engine performance.

BG says that its 44K Fuel System Cleaner cleans injectors, filters, chambers, and upper engine deposits, and can improve engine performance simultaneously. Independent tests on YouTube have shown its effectiveness in a neutral environment, but plenty of forum dwellers also speak to its quality, whether it is introduced to the fuel system via the fuel tank, throttle body, or fuel rail. It's also now available in long-necked bottles, which are way easier to pour into a fuel tank if you don't have a funnel available.

BG 44K Fuel System Cleaner is available in an 11-ounce bottle or an 11-ounce can. Either can be purchased for $11 on Amazon.