Frank Leutz

 

 

Techron FAQ's

Learn more about Techron Complete Fuel System Cleaner 

from Frank Leutz, ASE certified mechanic.

Frequently asked questions

What Techron® Does

Techron® is a patented fuel additive with powerful detergents to help keep vital engine parts clean. Techron's unique formulation helps fight deposits in an engine's fuel intake system and minimizes contribution to harmful combustion chamber deposits.

Techron® targets carbon deposits, breaks them up and clears them out of your car’s system, and keeps vital engine parts clean with continued use. This helps optimize performance, minimize emissions, restore lost power, and maximize fuel economy. Techron® will help deliver the best engine efficiency your car can get.

The main difference is additive concentration and rate of deposit clean up. Over multiple fill-ups, Chevron fuels with Techron® will help clean deposits on intake valves and minimize harmful combustion chamber deposits. When added to a full tank of gasoline, a bottle of Techron® results in an additive concentration up to 10 times stronger than Chevron fuels with Techron®, which provides a much quicker clean-up of intake valve deposits left by lower quality gasolines. The high concentration of Techron® also reduces combustion chamber deposits, which can help eliminate deposit-related engine knock or power loss.

Yes, Techron® is effective, fully compatible, and safe to use in all commercially available ethanol-blended fuels. Specifically, Techron® Diesel Fuel System Cleaner can be used in all types of diesel fuel, including biodiesel and ultra-low sulfur diesel.

Unlike some competitors’ PEA-based fuel additives formula, our technology will not cause sludge in engine oil. When Techron® is stored properly and used as directed, it will not cause any change to engine oil color, appearance, or performance. 

No, Techron® is compatible with all types of fuel systems and will not harm aftertreatment devices.

How To Use Techron®

Chevron offers a variety of Techron® products based on application. Please refer to the Techron® Product Comparison Chart for each Techron® product’s use frequency. For example, our Techron Complete Fuel System Cleaner is recommended for use every season (winter, fall, spring, summer) or right before an oil change with no more than two treatments between oil changes.

Please refer to the product label or the Techron® Product Comparison Chart for recommended treat rates. Slight overtreatment of Techron® will not cause harm to the engine, but adding too much may cause oil thickening and fuel dilution. It is important to know that Techron is not a fuel replacement and should never be used as such.

Please follow the bottle’s instruction guide. For best practice, pour the recommended treat of Techron® into a nearly empty tank, then top off the tank with quality fuel. This helps to facilitate mixing and maximize effectiveness. If your tank is half or all the way full, it is best to wait until your next fill-up. Detailed instructions are also available on our YouTube video.

No, using a high quality, premium fuel additive like Techron® will generally not void your car’s warranty. Enacted by the federal government, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is intended to protect consumers’ rights, including, among other things, the right to use aftermarket fuel treatments. In fact, using Techron® in a new vehicle is a good preventative measure to keep that new fuel system clean and deposit-free. It also helps to maintain the gas mileage that your new vehicle is designed to deliver.

Techron® Complete Fuel System Cleaner is designed for gasoline engines. There is no harm in using it in a 2-stroke engine, but Chevron recommends Techron® Protection Plus Powersports & Small Engine Fuel System Treatment, which is specially formulated for smaller gasoline-powered engines. 

No, Techron® Complete Fuel System Cleaner is designed for gasoline engines. Using it in a diesel vehicle will raise the sulfur content, making it difficult to pass the clean air emission standards. Internal diesel injector deposits are also chemically different than typical carbon deposits found in nozzle coking. Chevron recommends Techron® Diesel Fuel System Cleaner, which is designed specifically for diesel engines and to eliminate both types of deposits from diesel injectors.

There is no harm in using Techron® Complete Fuel System Cleaner in high mileage vehicles, however we recommend using Techron® High Mileage Fuel System Cleaner for vehicles with over 75,000 miles. That’s because Techron® High Mileage Fuel System Cleaner is formulated differently with the addition of corrosion inhibitors to protect fuel system components from corrosion, which is more common in engines with higher mileage.

Why Engines Need Techron®

Normal, everyday engine combustion can cause carbon deposits to build up throughout the fuel system. Those deposits can clog the fuel injectors and impede the flow of fuel. Left unchecked for too long, they can impair engine power, start-up, acceleration, and fuel efficiency.

A new car is just as vulnerable to deposit buildup. As engine technologies advance, operating temperatures become hotter, fuel pressure increases, tolerances are tighter than ever, and fuel injector holes become smaller and more numerous. Deposits can start building up within the first few thousand miles. But here’s the good news: Techron® is formulated to work in both older and newer engines.

If you regularly use a high-quality gasoline such as Chevron, Texaco or Caltex gasolines with Techron, using a bottle of Techron® Complete Fuel System Cleaner every season will achieve the best possible results.  It’s similar to getting your teeth cleaned at the dentist a few times a year, it gives you that deep clean that regular brushing can’t achieve.  

 

If you occasionally fill up with lower quality gasoline, you should use Techron® to help clean up deposits that can build up over time and negatively impact the performance of your vehicle. If you have a sensitive vehicle or you use it regularly under severe conditions, you may also benefit from using Techron®. Additionally, if you are buying a used vehicle and you're not sure of its history, Techron will help clean up harmful deposits in the engine and fuel system.

How Techron® Helps Improve Engine Performance

Techron® is proven effective in a wide range of field tests against the competition. At Chevron, we routinely look at competitors' products on the shelf and compare them against the performance of Techron®. Some competitor products either completely lack or have very little of the key detergents found in Techron®. And unlike some competitors, Chevron has test results to back up every performance claim. That explains why engine manufacturers and professional mechanics worldwide use Techron to solve deposit-related problems.

Knocking and pinging are generally caused by improper combustion in your engine, called “auto-ignition.” Increasing engine load, temperature, compression, spark-advance, air-fuel ratio and combustion chamber deposits all increase the tendency for an engine to knock. Using higher-octane gasoline reduces an engine's tendency to knock. If excessive combustion chamber deposits are contributing to the knocking problem, you may benefit from adding a bottle of Techron® to your next tank.

Techron® can help reduce particulate emissions. Lower-quality gasolines leave deposits behind on intake valves. Techron® has the ability to clean up these harmful deposits, allowing engines to operate efficiently and minimize emissions.

Carbon can build up during the combustion process and make its way to the carburetor. Yes, Techron® designed to be used in gasoline engines cleans clogged fuel injectors as well as dirty carburetors, intake valves, and combustion chambers.

Techron® products for gasoline engines does not contain any octane booster, but Techron® Diesel Fuel System Cleaner contains a cetane booster to improve cold starting, combustion, and reduce emissions.

Yes, both Techron® Marine Fuel System Treatment and Techron® Powersports & Small Engine Fuel System Treatment products contain fuel stabilizers to keep fuel fresh for up to 2 years with quality fuel. Techron® High Mileage Fuel System Cleaner also stabilizes fuel for up to 1 year.

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