Sunoco 94 octane has betrayed me...

[StanF18]

Originally Posted by FSETH

......
I was under the impression that the ethanol content can vary regionally and some people really might not have a choice as to how much they get?

I know in my area it can be as much as 10% according to the stickers on the pumps and I am pretty sure BMW recommends 10% or less.

Correct. Here in NJ it's 10% ethanol in almost every station, including Shell. Some stations post it on a sticker, and some don't. In any event, I think it is very unlikely that y5choi's problem was caused by the 10% ethanol since all current engines are designed to handle it just fine, including BMW. Perhaps there was another problem with the Sunoco gas he got, but it was not the ethanol itself. Maybe there was some other crap in it, like water. Who knows....

[y5choi]

Originally Posted by StanF18

Correct. Here in NJ it's 10% ethanol in almost every station, including Shell. Some stations post it on a sticker, and some don't. In any event, I think it is very unlikely that y5choi's problem was caused by the 10% ethanol since all current engines are designed to handle it just fine, including BMW. Perhaps there was another problem with the Sunoco gas he got, but it was not the ethanol itself. Maybe there was some other crap in it, like water. Who knows....

I mean if I have to drive out to the middle of nowhere and the only gas i can get is the 87 unleaded with 10% ethanol, i should be able to pump that in and make it out, right?

In fact, the manual says 87 is the minimum that can run on without problem- but the gas cap says minimum 91 octane recommended and also I hear people have the check engine light come on when they consistently use 87 octane fuel.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by StanF18

....I think it is very unlikely that y5choi's problem was caused by the 10% ethanol since all current engines are designed to handle it just fine, including BMW. Perhaps there was another problem with the Sunoco gas he got, but it was not the ethanol itself. Maybe there was some other crap in it, like water. Who knows....

Well, we all know, because he posted above that the dealer diagnosed a camshaft sensor failure, and that his problem had nothing to do with the fuel.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by y5choi

I mean if I have to drive out to the middle of nowhere and the only gas i can get is the 87 unleaded with 10% ethanol, i should be able to pump that in and make it out, right?

In fact, the manual says 87 is the minimum that can run on without problem- but the gas cap says minimum 91 octane recommended and also I hear people have the check engine light come on when they consistently use 87 octane fuel.

Yes, you can run on 87 without problems. Yes, 91 is recommended. If the fuel you buy is not really 87 due to a quality problem, you could get a check engine light, but it runs fine on 87, with no damage. I found that it ran better on 89 than 87, but the fuel in my area may be better quality than the fuel available in your area so you may also find a difference if you use 91 over 89. If the fuel in your area is really crap, you may even notice a difference using fuel labelled better than 91 (which just proves that what they are selling you as 91 probably isn't really 91)

The owner's manual has been updated to eliminate the premium fuel scare tactics they tried for several years.