Howard
Dallas,#2UPDATE Employee
Fri, April 24, 2009
Yes, the employee was probably wearing latex gloves, since most of our employees do. It's not for effect, it's to keep our hands clean, so that as we get in and out of cars all day, we don't get the inside dirty. This is standard practice throughout most of the automotive industry. The "Gunk" in the throttle body is only one of 3 places that get cleaned during the "Fuel System Service" that we did to his vehicle. We clean the Throttle Body area, because build up in this area can affect the way the throttle position sensor works. We also use another chemical that is introduced through one of the large intake vacuum hoses, to clean the intake runners, intake chambers, and valve train. It also works to loosen deposits in the combustion chamber. Finally we use a very strong fuel additive that is poured into the tank, so that it can clean the spray nozzles of the injectors and also finish cleaning the valve train and the combustion chamber. As you can see, a little more than just spraying something in the throttle body. He forgot to mention the fact that this service is only sold as preventative maintenance. We don't promise that the fuel mileage is going to increase dramatically , or that your vehicle will suddenly develop an extra 50hp. Every vehicle will react differently, depending on how well the customer has maintained the vehicle in the past. We also put mileage restrictions on how often this service is suggested, to make sure that we are not suggesting a service that was possibly done a few thousand miles ago. As for his friend, if he is such a knowledgable mechanic, he should know all these details and should know better than to make blanket accusations against a shop without having all the facts. If this "mechanic" doesn't think that maintenance should be done and only wants to address things when they are finally broken, I sure don't want to have him working on my vehicle. Oh, and one other thing he forgot to mention. While talking with my Asst. Manager yesterday, when he was asked when this all occurred, his response was "about 2 years ago". I have to wonder why it took so long for him to become so upset if this was such a rip off.