Short answer: GM doesn't support fuel injection cleaning as routine maintenance, and Honda calls it unnecessary. Both recommend gas with cleaning additives to help prevent buildup. Your owner's manual is the place to check.
We're not mechanics, so the facts below come straight from carmakers, the Federal Trade Commission and J.D. Power. The sources are linked at the bottom.
What fuel injection cleaning is
It's a service where a shop cleans your engine's fuel injectors, the parts that spray gas into the engine. GM calls it fuel injector cleaning.
What carmakers say
GM, in a 2024 service bulletin covering its 2025 and older cars and trucks: "General Motors does not endorse, support, or acknowledge the need for fuel injector cleaning as a preventative maintenance procedure." GM approves it only when GM's own steps for fixing a problem call for it. To help prevent buildup on fuel injectors, GM recommends regular use of TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline and says the stations that sell it are listed at toptiergas.com.
Honda, in a 2019 position statement for its Acura cars: fuel injection cleaning "is not recommended by American Honda, as it is an unnecessary maintenance procedure and improper repair procedure." If an injector isn't working right, Honda says to replace it. In its owner's manual, Honda recommends "quality gasoline containing detergent additives that help prevent fuel system and engine deposits."
What the FTC says
The Federal Trade Commission tells drivers to "follow the manufacturer's maintenance schedule in your owner's manual for your type of driving." It also notes that some shops create their own maintenance schedules, "which call for more frequent servicing than the manufacturer's recommendations."
What to say at the counter
"Is fuel injection cleaning on my car's maintenance schedule? If not, why do you recommend it?"
If the shop says it will fix a problem, ask what the problem is and how they found it.
The FTC suggests asking a shop to explain "why it recommends service beyond the recommended schedule."
For other cars
Check the maintenance schedule in your owner's manual. If fuel injection cleaning isn't on it, ask the question above.
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This is general information, not a diagnosis of your car. If your engine runs rough, hesitates or the check engine light comes on, get it checked. Your owner's manual is the final word.
Sources
- GM Service Bulletin 04-06-04-051I: Maintenance Cleaning of Fuel Injectors and Information Regarding Gasoline Detergent Additive (2024), from NHTSA's records
- American Honda: Use of Additives, Fluids, and Flushes in Service Maintenance on Acura Vehicles (2019), from I-CAR's records
- Honda owner's manual: Fuel Information
- Federal Trade Commission: Auto Repair Basics (2012)
- J.D. Power: What Is A Fuel Injector? (2023)