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During a recent service on my 2002 Nissan Maxima I was charged for a "combustion chamber cleaning kit". What exactly is this, and what does it do?

Tom

From the "Ask Jack" archives - 8 August 2008

The garage that added it to your bill is probably the best people to answer the question.

I guess they will claim it helps remove deposits which build up in the intake system and around the valves.

In theory, the cleaner the intake track and valves are, the more efficient the combustion process becomes.

The end result is better performance and lower fuel consumption.

BP claim similar success with their BP Ultimate fuel. The big difference and benefit with having a fuel additive like this is the cleaning up of excessive deposits works over a long period of time, or as long as you keep adding the BP fuel.

I certainly respect the technical information oil companies like BP can produce to support their claims as well.

Does a 2002 Nissan need or benefit from such an additive at time of service comes down to a matter of opinion I guess. A quick call to a Nissan dealer suggested they do not use such products and they have had no issues with excessive carbon build up on these engines.

I would like to think these additives are added for the right reasons, and the garages who use them genuinely believe they are doing their customers a good service and the costs are justified.