I'm taking my car in for it's first oil change since buying it. I will be doing the oil change at only half way through the 15000km interval, so at 7500km since last done. Anyways, I was just looking over the previous owners maintenance bills and it looks like every time he took it in for a service they sold him and put in "fuel additive 000-989-61-06-09". Just curious your guys' thoughts on if this is needed/worth it and how often it should really be done (if at all). I only run "Shell with up to 10% ethanol" in my car, but not sure that will tell you much as I'm in Canada and I'm sure it differs from the USA. Also kind of curious how it might affect the octane/ron/performance of the particular tank of gas it'll be added to. Is this snake oil or worth continuing since it's an actual mb part number that it appears they've added into the services?

 

Mercedes 000-989-61-06-09 Is a fuel injector cleaner, something like Chervon Techron. I have used Techron on my old cars but not on my W213. I too use shell v power and from I heard, v power gas keeps injectors pretty clean. If you not getting long starting cranks or hesitation during acceleration, I would skip the gas treatment.

 

Ran into something similar with my Porsche cars. Upon getting car back after oil/filter service I noticed a fuel additive included in the list of supplies. Wasn't Techron but something else. I asked this not be added. The SA agreed and that was that.

Now there can be a need for a fuel system "cleaner". I had one car with some big miles on it that I fed a steady diet of Shell V-Power. Good gasoline. The techs at the dealer used Shell V-Power. Then the Shell station raised its prices. But a nearby Chevron station (and Exxon) station did not. At some point I filled up the car's gas tank with Chevron Supreme with Techron. Before the tank of gas consumed I noticed the engine running better. I talked to the techs about this and they told me that while they will use Shell gasoline they'll fill up the fuel tank once in a while with Chevron for the benefit of Techron. Or they will add Techron to the fuel tank.

(My SA told me while the techs could get Brand X fuel system cleaner -- the same stuff that was added to my car's fuel tank at oil/filter service time -- at an employee discount when he walked through the service area every tech's tool box has a bottle of Techron on its top. For Techron they had to buy this at a retail store.)

Might add I had two cars. Both car engines received a steady diet of Shell. Then both were fueled with mostly Chevron gasoline. One engine as I noted above reacted favorably to Chevron gasoline. The other engine didn't object but didn't complain, so to speak, either.

The one that reacted had "big" miles. Engine ran good. Didn't use oil. But it has big miles. (200K+) The engine was naturally aspirated. And last but not least it was fitted with narrow band O2 sensors. The one that didn't react had around half as many miles and was turbo charged (from the factory) and the engine was fitted with wide band O2 sensors. Wide band O2 sensors provide for more precise fueling. I assumed then the engine even with Shell gasoline just ran cleaner and there were no engine deposits for Techron to remove.

If a Chevron station not convenient you can add a bottle of Techron to the fuel tank. The advice I received was to do this a few hundred miles before an oil change was scheduled. Techron can increase oil contamination. One way because it is designed to *not* burn but in the heat of the combustion chamber turn into a vapor then when this vapor contacts colder surfaces it reverts back to a liquid and in doing so this provides some engine deposit removal. But some Techron liquid can end up in the oil.

If you don't want to use Techron, there's an organic way to cleanse the engine. I have found that just a long drive -- ~50 miles at freeway speed -- can apparently remove engine deposits. After such a run the engine is running better. Not lots but noticeably better to be sure. The prolonged steady state running gives whatever brand of gasoline is being used a chance to remove engine deposits.

 

Thanks for the replies. I did some research and also read that it sounds like it's best to use right before an oil change, so maybe I'll toss some in before my next oil change. It's only been 4600 miles since it was last used - and the car onky has 20k miles (33k km) .

 

I have a 2019 E300-4matic and a number of years back I noticed that MB was recommending the use of a fuel cleaner. Since I only use hi-test in my MB’s I asked the service manager (who I’ve known for 25+ years) and he told me not to bother as long as you only run hi-test since all gasoline has detergents in it, it was the beginning of the MB “nickel and dime” mindset that has now taken hold since MB moved to GA about a dozen years ago. So save your money and realize MB is now run by accountants who will sell you ice in the Winter if you’ll buy it! As an aside, another member posted all the items that were standard on the 2019 E class sedan that were removed from the car that added a touch of class to the car and are now unavailable or they became extra cost options. Two items were the analog clock and the passenger side secondary sun visor as well as other items. For an alleged “Luxury Car” to have various items removed that undoubtedly cost less than $100 and cheapen the look of the car is inexcusable. Perhaps my biggest pet peeve is the fact that you can no longer get an E class sedan with the chrome strip that is located on the side of the car that runs from front to back. Oddly enough it is still available on their cars built in Europe.
I guess the bean counters at MB think us folks in the US have no taste for style and removed the chrome because we’re too stupid to notice. It may sound like a small thing but when you’re spending about $65k with some options as in any business, it’s sometimes the small things that count.