NINEZeRO

I clearly asked for 93 and I don't know if he maliciously did it on purpose or if he's just dumb but he put in 87 gas instead. Will this damage my engine or adversely affect my car at all? I would appreciate some help because if it does then I have to sue the SOB. It's a full tank of 87 BTW.

Big Andy

The engine will automatically retard the ignition so, while you will not get full performance, it will not harm it in any way. As you top up the car with the higher octane fuel it will return to normal.

muhbuhtuh

nope nothing bad should happen. maybe a slight decrease in performance thats about it. at least you saved a few bucks at this fill-up

UDel

Nothing bad should happen on a modern engine using lower octane gas during a fill up aside from decreased performance and maybe running a little rougher, constantly using lower octane gas over a long time could cause some issues especially if the car is driven hard. Doing it once or a few times during ownership is not going to hurt the engine.

A while ago my cousin almost put diesel in my Mitsu Eclipse, luckily the nozzle did not fit in the hole. That would have been a disaster if that happened.

mmarshall

Probably won't hurt it for one tankful. The electronics will retard the timing so the 87 won't cause any knock. But, just to be on the safe side, drive like Granny for a couple of hundered miles. Then, when it is down to half-full or so, you can put 93 back in and mix it with the El Cheapo stuff still in the tank, raising the octane in the rest of the tank a little. A couple of times doing this and it will be about back to normal. (You should not let the gas level get below one-fourth to one-third full anyway in a fuel-injected car).

Tanks can be formally drained and refilled, if necessarily, but I see little reason to do so. Just drive gently for a few hundered miles, keep refilling it, and you should be OK.

-J-P-L-

Take a look at your owners manual. It will say that you can put the lower grade gas with no problem. You could put 87 in for the life of the car and it wouldn't "damage" the car. It just may not perform to it's potential.

Stormwind

You can add a bottle of Chevon with Techron additive in your tank to boost the octane a little bit although it is primarily for deposit cleaning but it does increase some power.

leedogg

plus there are plenty of octane boosters out there, that might be able to fix things.

mmarshall

This is sometimes the case, and sometimes not. Many cars that run on 93 octane can tolerate 87 octane only for short periods of time with no damage; others, as you note, can run forever on it, with reduced power.

So yes, you are correct that the Owners' Manual should be checked.....but that is not necessarily what the manual will say.

mmarshall

Some octane-boosters, though, even some of the ones the ones without lead, can screw up the catalytic converter.....others are fine. They have to be used carefully, in conjunction with manufacturer and service recommendations.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Most octane boosters wont even add on enough octane point to really make a difference. Just run the tank down a bit further and add in 93 octane. Your engine wont die because of this mishap. Avoid running the car hard at this time.

mmarshall

Yep. Techron is GOOD stuff.

TwiBlueG35

Shouldn't cause any harm to your engine. As someone mentioned, use up one third of the tank and then fill it up with 93 to raise up the octane little by little. Next time always fill gas up yourself okay?

NINEZeRO

Is one tank of low octane gas fine? Do you think its an amount you describe as short periods or long?



Good to know the consensus is that my baby will be fine. Because if it wasn't I think I would have had to hurt the guy.

NINEZeRO

Stupid NJ law says people can't put gas in their own cars. But is good since I'm moving to Cali in month, yay.